Oh the last time I saw Paul
I was horrible and almost let him in
But I stopped and caught the wall
And my mouth got dry so all I did was
Take him for a spin

Yeah we hopped inside my car
And I drove in circles 'round the freight train yard
And he turned the headlights off
Then the pulled the bottle out
And then he showed me what is love

I'll be your morning bright good-night shadow machine
I'll be your record player baby if you know what I mean
I'll be a real tough cookie with the whisky breath
I'll be a killer and a thriller and the cause of our death

In the blossom of the months
I was sure that I'd get driven off with thought
So I swallowed all of it
As I realized there was no one who could kiss away my shit

I'll be your morning bright good-night shadow machine
I'll be your record player baby if you know what I mean
I'll be a real tough cookie with the whisky breath
I'll be a killer and a thriller and the cause of our death

Well Paul, I know you said
That you'd take me any way I came or went
But I'll push you from my brain
See, you're gentle baby
I couldn't stay, I'd only bring you pain

I was your starry-eyed lover and the one that you saw
I was your hurricane rider and the one that you'd call
We were just two moonshiners on the cusp of a breath
And I've been burning for you baby since the moment I left.


Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher

Paul song meanings
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  • +5
    My Interpretation

    I can't believe there are no comments on this song yet. One of my favorites of all time--dreamy and beautiful.

    I think this song is about a girl who used to be with Paul. He was a nice guy, she really cared about him and he legitimately cared about her, which she almost couldn't believe--she's used to abusive guys, guys who don't show affection ("In the blossom of the months I was sure that I'd get driven off with thought"). She had problems, and he knew that...accepted them and maybe even liked them. Liked that she was troubled ("real tough cookie with the whiskey breath"), liked that he could "save her" ("I was your starry-eyed lover and the one that you saw/I was your hurricane rider and the one that you'd call")...and she let him for a while. Then she realized he couldn't fix her ("there was no one who could kiss away my shit") and he would stay with her, committed and all in, no matter how bad things were ("a killer and a thriller and the cause of our death"), so she ended things. Now he's shown back up at her door. And she wants to just start back with him, but she knows better, so they go for a drive to talk. He turns things romantic, and she starts to give in, but has to end things for good. She was destructive to herself and him, and she'll always love him, but she knows they shouldn't be together ("We were just two moonshiners on the cusp of a breath/And I've been burning for you baby since the moment I left.")

    RachWho?on July 25, 2017   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I thought of this in the complete opposite way from "RachWho", because I knew a girl who told me stories, my interpretation:

    Paul's about a girl who who was abused in the "neighbor or family member, stalkhom syndrome" type way, can't get away from her abuser but toils in the illusion. "Oh the last time I saw Paul I was horrible and almost let him in But I stopped and caught the wall And my mouth got dry so all I did was Take him for a spin" -Paul's at her door and she recalls the last time they were together how she got away from him but almost taken advantage of, maybe previous times not so lucky So Paul's at her door now and she's too passive aggressive, dry mouthed and unable to fight, she goes with him.

    "Yeah we hopped inside my car And I drove in circles 'round the freight train yard And he turned the headlights off Then the pulled the bottle out And then he showed me what is love" -Unwillingly she goes and entertains him, she knows this bit too well, takes him to a place they may have frequented once or twice in their squabbles of abuse. Driving aimlessly, making small talk (postponing the inevitable) they run out of things to say. He pulls out the alcohol and it doesn't sound like she puts up a fight this time. But that's the only form of affection she's known and misconstrue's the abuse for love.

    "I'll be your morning bright good-night shadow machine I'll be your record player baby if you know what I mean I'll be a real tough cookie with the whisky breath I'll be a killer and a thriller and the cause of our death" -This could only be what I could imagine is her trying to escape reality and tell herself she's not being abused but the "morning bright good night shadow machine", too constant of abuse and was the first thing she saw in the morning and last thing she experienced before the days end. "Record player baby" her beginning to accept and look at her situation as "I'm entertaining like song you play over and over when you're kinda infatuatedwith a tune and can't get it out of your head. "Real tough cookie with the whiskey breath", her trying to cope and numb the pain and even indulging Paul when she's had enough and her breath is like breathing vapors from the bottle. "Killer, thriller, death" Possibly her sane side battling the illusion, she notices how he indulges and she gives him a thrill and is starting to plot an end even if it means taking them both down to just end it.

    "Well Paul, I know you said That you'd take me any way I came or went But I'll push you from my brain See, you're gentle baby I couldn't stay, I'd only bring you pain" -Her now giving into "the delusion" again, that "he's really a nice guy", keeps coming back to her because he cares or loves her but berates herself with "any way I came or went" soiled or unsullied. But also now viewing herself as the monster because of maybe her thoughts and acceptance to the abuse. Seeing him as the innocent or "gentle" person and thinking "I'm no good for anyone." So she pushes him away with her new messed up resolve. (Skip the repeating chorus) "I was your starry-eyed lover and the one that you saw I was your hurricane rider and the one that you'd call We were just two moonshiners on the cusp of a breath And I've been burning for you baby since the moment" -She recalls the memories now as if the abuse was positive. That he viewed her with a gleam in her eyes, that she stood and endured the abuse but viewing it in a positive, "I was brave and didn't stand down from the hurricane" and possibly they even had a open dialog about it in conversation over the phone "wont you be my hurricane rider?". Remembering the alcohol induced times with a fondness when she was too inebriated to care about how messed up the reality of it was.

    "And I've been burning for you baby since the minute I left" She doesn't know anything else and is now too psychologically effected that she now willingly goes back to the guy and feels regret when she leaves him.

    Now I'd like to say that after reading RanchWho?'s interpretation of the song and revising all the other songs on the album. I believe his/her version is more closer to the motives behind the lyrics. The first time I heard this song and thought of my interpretation, my stomach was in knots and couldn't listen to the song for a while. I sorta thought it was just another one of those out of place songs like "Little sister" from Queens of the stone age or "Polly" from Nivana, "Ruby over diamonds" by Kashmir or "Lilly" from Smashing Pumpking. You know, those "questionable" songs that you hope are metaphors. Anyways, sorry for ruining the song for whoever reads this.

    Iartcolourson August 19, 2018   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Great song. Incredibly awesome. Record player, cause of our death. My friend also terrible for us. Great dichotomy. And true to so many relationships.

    Musically mandated egresson January 25, 2024   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    My interpretation of this song is that it is a struggle of two former lovers. The singer, at an earlier point, broke it off because she/they realized that they were not meant to be together. Paul shows up at the singers door after a length of time, who is still vulnerable as she has feelings for him, and they go for a ride to talk and get some sense of closure. It becomes obvious that Paul came with intention to get back together, the situation escalates and, for a moment, she allows herself to relive their old romance. After the night is over, the reality of their situation becomes ever present, and the singer is forced to once again push her feelings for Paul down over the months following so they can both be happier. "As I realized there was no one who could kiss away my shit" implies that the first time they broke up, she tried to rebound with other(s) in an effort to try and forget about Paul. The line, "That you'd take me any way I came or went" implies that its possible that Paul knew the singer had other partners/romances since they last split, and that Paul is willing to overlook this to get back together.

    Treetoadon November 08, 2018   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    To me the song is about a toxic relationship between two people in love or in need of each other with the unfortunate common interest of alcohol. She’s the one who took the decision of not seeing him anymore, although she’d still like to, and longs for a drink just seeing him, so instead of drinking she takes him for a ride, to talk with him. But then “he turned the headlights off” meaning he stopped all brain activity, and did what they both knew was a bad idea: “pulled the bottle out, And then he showed me what is love”, and so they start drinking together again.

    “I'll be your morning bright good-night shadow machine” meaning she’s no good for him, making a bright day into a shadow machine. “I’ll be your record player baby” meaning they are playing the same record again and again, not able to move away from the addiction. Running in the same groove. She’s a rockstar and probably thrilling to be around, but she’s also the one with the biggest problem, dragging him down her shit, and that’s why she had to leave him, to save him (“I'll be a killer and a thriller and the cause of our death”).

    3rd verse is about spring arriving which can be difficult for someone who’s in a dark place, when everyone around you are happy, so she “swallowed all of it” (meaning of course she empties a lot bottles) as she realises not even alcohol can “kiss away my shit”, which has the doubble meaning also referring to Paul, who can’t save her either.

    Paul doesn’t care that she’s an alcoholic, he loves her the way she is, but she knows that he is too “gentle” to handle her dark side.

    scharling1on March 02, 2021   Link

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