Marcy Playground - Sex and Candy Lyrics Meaning

As we all know the physical words "Sex and Candy" in the song have a story behind them. The song itself is way more complex.

To me the narrator of the song is singing about the feelings he's having following not a break up with a partner of several years but a short fling with someone (in this case a woman) who after a short period of time coldly ditched him. The woman most likely had a agenda to use the narrator for some quick short term validation both for sexual and other personal means. The narrator on the other hand may have entered the relationship with good intentions and hence got emotionally invested therefore falling into a trap. Listening to not just the somber tone of the singer but the grungy, arousing, and even groovy melody of the music (especially the guitar) it's clear that the narrator has a roller coaster of emotion following the fling that is mentally eating him from the inside.

Let me start with the chorus : I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting devious stares
In my direction

Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream

To me this is the narrator reiterating to himself the feelings he had with the woman; i will add that my guess is that the narrator has either not been in a relationship for awhile or has a lack of love and sex in his life therefore making him vulnerable. Beside from the physical sex that was engaged in between the two (hinted by the first line in the chorus), the woman probably gave him a false feeling of both physical and emotional validation. With an agenda in mind she probably made him feel like he was everything to her. He more than likely felt a legit connection to her (hence validated by her sweet deceiving words). She probably made him feel as thou he had found "the one". The devious stares she gave him (and without a doubt he gave back) indicates that he may have felt in love and her "devious stares" may have indicated that she felt the same. Adding the physical sex to the equation the narrator probably truly felt like he was living a dream.

Sooner than later the woman coldly ditched him once her needs were met. This is where the versus come in.
The narrator must feel a mixture of hurt, sadness, and anger as well as the feelings of (toxic) attachment for her that are still clinging onto him and don't seem to want to let go.

Hangin' round downtown by myself
And I had so much time
To sit and think about myself
And then there she was

The woman in the song might be physically gone but the emotional and sexual validation that he felt days before are lingering. Add that to the heartbreak, sadness, and anger at getting used the narrator is doing whatever he can to distract himself form thinking of her but no matter what he does he can't. It's impossible. No matter what he does to keep the thought of her from his mind she out of nowhere just appears hence taking him back to his undertow of emotions. On one hand the thought of her feels good but shortly the pain and sadness from heartbreak rush right back to him giving him headaches and him not being able to think straight.
The whirl pool of emotions damage him and stresses him draining all his energy.