Paper Sun

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So you think you're having good times
With the boy that you just met
Kicking sand from beach to beach
Your clothes are soaking wet
But if you look around and see
A shadow on the run (on the run)
Don't be too upset because it's just a paper sun

Ah paper sun, ah paper sun

In the room where you've been sleeping
All our clothes are thrown about
Cigarettes burn window sills
Your meter's all run out
But there again it's nothing
You just split when day is done (day is gone)
Hitching lifts to nowhere, hung up on the paper sun

Ah paper sun, ah paper sun

Standing in the cool of my room
Fresh cut flowers give me sweet perfume (too much sun will burn)
Too much sun will burn (too much sun will burn)
Too much sun will burn

When you're feeling tired and lonely
You see people going home
You can't make the train fare
Or the sixpence for the phone
And icicles you're crying
Down your cheek have just begun
Don't be sad, good times are had
Beneath the paper sun

Ah paper sun, ah paper sun

Daylight breaks while you sleep on the sand
A seagull is stealing the ring from your hand
The boy who had given you so much fun
Has left you so cold in the paper sun
In the paper sun, in the paper sun, in the paper sun, in the paper sun


Lyrics submitted by T_D_Phoenix, edited by palladin69, pacealot

Paper Sun Lyrics as written by Steve Winwood Jim Capaldi

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

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Paper Sun song meanings
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8 Comments

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  • +2
    My Opinion
    The meaning of paper sun is, One mustn't trick themselves into believing something is true when it is not, and everyone must face reality even though you may crash hard when you face your monster. The real sun burns almost forever but a paper sun is temporary and can not sustain keeping us feeling warm and safe, it's just a paper sun that can leave you feeling cold when the fire goes out, when everything you expected is gone.
    Unshackledon August 27, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    "It's just a PAPER SUN," really is a paper son--a chinese immigrant. Back in the day, to migrate into the US you had to be the reletive of someone already legally here. So Chinese men would claim someone in China to be there SON. These boys became known as paper sons because they were a son on paper only. Personally it is one of my favorites, next to Low Spark.... I like the psyodillic sound. It gives an illusion to a Paper Sun, a sun made from paper like a lamp glowing in my mind. Fun.
    yatraon November 29, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    The last line of the 1st verse is "don't be too upset because it's just a paper sun". As far as the meaning of the song is concerned, I think "Unshackled" pretty much hit the spot in 2012, although I did like the other interpretations too. You can't make phone calls with "sixpence" anymore nowadays, also I wonder how many people remember those rented rooms with a gas and/or electricity metre, which did indeed "all run out" if you didn't put money in them. I remember the times that my shower would get cold because I didn't have enough 10 p coins. A friend taught me how to slightly tip over the bloody thing and that way avoid payment - please don't tell the Gas Board. xo
    palladin69on September 20, 2014   Link
  • +1
    My Opinion
    I think it's about holiday- (vacation) romance. It's beautiful while it lasts, but it can only last as long as your vacation lasts for, and once your vacation comes to an end, so does your romance, and the two of you then, have to go your separate ways- (unless, of course, you're lucky enough to live close enough together, in order to be able to continue your romance after your vacation's ended, which don't happen very often), and once either or both of you go home, that will probably be the last time you'll ever see each other. If I'm right about that, then that's quite a sad little song. x_x
    Cockney_Rebelon November 11, 2015   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    This song refers to blotter acid and the story describes a trip.
    me10136350on September 13, 2021   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation
    I always though that this song was about the British tabloid "The Sun". I thought that "Shadow on the run" refers to a paparazzi photographer, and that "hung up on the paper sun" means finding your embarrassing photo inside its pages.
    amitkapiton May 31, 2012   Link
  • -1
    General Comment
    i like to think it was a tab of acid with a sun on it.... and the song is just about this guy who had a big night out and woke up on a beach because hes got no more money. 'too much sun will burn'
    chimpydudeon December 25, 2008   Link
  • -1
    General Comment
    Though has a Chinese-ish sound (with the upright piano, flute, and though an Indo-Iranian instrument...the sitar). It seems that the Paper Sun is temporary and the real sun is a metaphor for hell (too much sun will burn). The 3rd verse looks like the person is stranded so all they can think of is the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31) He remembers when he he had heaven on earth but got hell afterwards. Could this be a metaphor of hell?
    Warren67on September 15, 2014   Link

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