[LEMONed 05]

I'm aware that Ayumi uses plenty of symbolism in her lyrics, but I think there is less symbolism in some of the little nuances of her message, particularly the things like the "key" and "clock." However, if I were to interpret them, I think I would see them this way:

Ayumi has mentioned keys a few times. In her "Duty" album, she has a song called "key" where she sings "I turn the key and send it to you." In "MY STORY," she urges listeners to "Make violent noises on the closed door of your heart if you have lost the key to open it." I suppose keys have always held symbolic meaning to her. As to what that meaning is, I have no idea. Perhaps she feels "locked in" that she doesn't know who her father is and feels if she only had a "key" to this secret, it would open a whole new world for her. Or maybe, if she had known her father, her life would have been a whole different world and she would not be where she is today. (Notice in the "Moments" PV, she opens a door and sees a strange world, in "About you" she is locked in a box, in "M" the doors of a church are being opened and closed, and in "NEVER EVER" she is locked in handcuffs that need a key to open them).

Time has always been an issue in Ayumi's lyrics. She constantly refers to events in the past, most notably in her song "Duty" that centers around the entire concept. "I am..." and "RAINBOW" mention words like "future" and "tomorrow" and at the same time, most of the verbs are verbs of past tense. I have no idea where that fits in the grand scheme of things, but honestly, I thought the clock was just a cute graphic to accompany the album's image concept of living through a day, which was the same theme used in the "A Song for XX" booklet.