Paperthin Hymn

this is how i understand the song:

"When your only friends are hotel rooms Hands are distant lullabies If I could turn around I would tonight"

he is lonely and alone in hotel rooms all the time, because he's on tour and he cannot spend alot of time with his family/friends. he wants to go home more, but being on tour is his job and he needs to do that.

"These roads never seemed so long Since your paperheart stopped beating leaving me suddenly alone Will daybreak ever come?"

now someone dear to him has died and he's feeling like he can never get home, like there isn't really a home to go back to anymore. the paperheart refers to the heart of the person who died, and "paper" could mean that this was an old person, as paper is often used to signify something thin and easily torn.

"Who's gonna call on sunday morning? Who's gonna drive you home? I just want one more chance To put my arms in fragile hands"

now that the other person is dead, he knows he will miss his/her support, the calls on sunday morning and he's wondering who will take care of him now. he wishes for another chance to be with the other person, to hug him/her and tell him/her he loves him/her.

I thought you said forever Over and over The sleepless night becomes bitter oblivion These thoughts run through my head Over and over Complaints of violins become my only friends

he thought the other person would always be there and now he realises that things changed, that death breaks up this "forever". the violin is often seen as one of the most expressive instruments and to be almost like the human voice. thus the complaints of violins are the intense feelings and maybe regrets that now keep him company and which torture him in a way.

August evenings Bring solemn warnings To remember to kiss the ones you love goodnight You never know what temporal days may bring So laugh, love, live free and sing When life is in dischord Praise ye the lord

the loved one who died, probably died in August, thus he talks about August evenings, and how they now remind him to keep telling the people he loves that he loves them while they're still alive. he encourages others to live fully and to turn to the lord and praise him, even when life is tough.

i think this is one of the most awesome songs (also the first one i heard from this album), and it just pulls you in and you can't help feeling the anguish and just being a part of the song. i think that's such an amazing talent to have, to be able to do that through music. anberlin is an inredible band! i LOVE their songs!

I saw Anberlin live a few weeks ago, and right before the played this song, he kind of explained the song. Very briefly, he said that the song is about a couple that has gone out for a long time and the girl gets sick with cancer and is hosiptalized. So the boy tells the girl that he will stay by her side forever, well he lies and then leaves right before she dies. Paperthin is meaning their relationship in the end.

This song to me...is about a guy who is truly in love with this girl. and although things arent always good between them two he still loves her. when it says "when your only friends are hotel rooms" its basically just meaning...that people will come in and out of your life whether you realize it or not..and he just wants another chance to be with her again to make things better because she promised him she'd be there for him and it ended up being the total opposite. he felt like he had to have her to rely on...because life is always about having people coming in and out of our life...but you kno when it says "when life is in discord praise ye the lord" basically meaning when that person passes off and you feel like you have no one else to go too always know you have God because thru it all God is watching you and everything that is happening....this song is just all about losing someone and knowing your not alone..because God knows...idc if anyone thinks im wrong or not..but anberlin is a great band. they do NOT talk about sex...just because it says when your only friends are hotel rooms doesnt mean he is girl hoppin and having sex with mulitple girls. to anyone else they may not seem like your average typical christian band because every song doesnt mention God in it one way or another...but they're songs are actually about things that we as christians struggle with as well as those who dont even believe...really people its like listening to Underoath not every song has to have God in it...because they are writing about things that like i said christians struggle with today. we arent perfect we go thru things the same way the average non christian goes thru. always remember..you dont have to be completely talking about God in your songs when you sign on a christain label...because to them...ITS EVERYTHING.

dont judge...dont critize...just lissen to the words and the music that goes along with it...

"2. Although Anberlin is not listed as a Christian band, many of their songs refer to Bible verses in some way, shape, of form. Also, all of the members are Christians and do not deny their faith.

3. About the whole Godspeed lyric thing... "When needles and lovers collapse on guilty beds" might be talking about sex, it might not. But it's not putting sex into the context that most other music does these days. It's talking about sin, and your sins catching up to you."

I agree completely.

Anberlin is a "christian band", because the members are Chrisitian. Most people stereotype Christian bands, thinking they have lyrics about God; no, that is a Worship band. Huge difference.

THE SPECIFIC MEANING FOR THIS SONG: In a radio interview, Stephen said that it's about his Grandmother. She was dying in the hospital, and the doctor said that her heart was as thin as paper. She unfortunately passed away; the song is in her memory. Simple truth.

I love this song.But does anyone know what the vid really means? My interpretation of it was more of a girl whos obviously sick..and the boy next to her is not her boyfriend but like someone who is with her..in that coma like state.And they're connected through that..I dont know thats what it just struck me as.

the lyric about the "hotel rooms" isn't a referecne to sex. it talking about a lost soul without a home or without meaning.

I don't understand how anyone could think this is about sex when this song is so depressing.

the video is more like the girl is dreaming the whole time about good times with the significant other in the hospital. but then she wakes up in the hospital, and he's on the other bed dying. u dont know that till you actually pay attention to the end where she opens her eyes.

This song is going to be on their upcoming album which will be released Feb 1, 2005.... BUT I need help from Anberlin fans... This song is currently on their purevolume page... I would like help correcting my transcribed errors... I know a few of these words are wrong and I cannot find out what he's singin at the part "Then I'll (??) " i was thing breathe again or breathe the air hell I duno if its the word breathe... but anyways I love this song and I think i may be about the band realized how harsh life on the road is and the temptations of the road and missing the ones you love on the road but still keeping faith in Jesus...

the line in ? in the chorus is: "then an oblivion" or at least I think so...

Either way, this song is def awesome. A new step for Anberlin, and a great one.

Thanx man... Yeah it is a HUGE step for Anberline lyric wise... their music has always been equially awesome... But anyways I believe that is the lyric too... I'd say i got 90% of the lyrics right...