Paper Moon

I feel that this song is about feeling trapped by the demands set by society. An increasing number of young people don't philosophically believe in wasting their lives away stuck in an office. They feel that there is a lot to enjoy in the world, and that spending eight hours each day for five days per week sitting behind a desk is a sin. Unfortunately, the standards and expectations set by generations before us and maintained by consumerism leave some of us feeling trapped, especially in young urban communities and elite circles where there's a lot of pressure to have stylish clothes, a nice ride, and a sweet crib. If you don't see this where you live, take a trip to the hip metro areas in the U.S. and check out how many guys are walking around in pairs of $75 Express Jeans when it's over 90*F outside.

The line, "They just don't know anything at all," explains that the singer feels as if those around him (and probably especially the older generations) are also trapped, but they don't have a clue or realize that they're wasting their lives away. While their ignorance is bliss, the singer's enlightenment and realization that they're so caught up in the materialistic standards of society has them feeling dragged down and beaten. They're seeking refuge if anyone knows a way out.

I love this song, yet haven't quite nailed down the meaning. Perhaps it's something along the lines of wanting to lose yourself...?

Anyways.

Kudos to this song, and the phenomenal lyrics:

Youll fight traffic jams and big TVs, and Hipsters trapped in their own irony, but Youll finally think about settling down Oh you quit your job and you sell your car Youll burn your clothes and pray to the stars, cause You swore to God that you'd never end up this way

I think its about coming to realize who you really are people get so caught up in everyday things they kind of forget what makes them unique and now he's looking to get away to be himself

absolutely love this song!!!

Yep I think you're all about right on this one. It's about being stuck in that boring job doing boring things just to fit in with society: the exact thing you promised yourself you'd never do when you were 15-20-25 years old... All those dreams and grand ambitions have been toned down over time.

Somehow the song reminds me of the book Generation X by Douglas Coupland (a Canadian author btw, most of his books are quirky and worth a read!). Roughly: the characters (born in the 60s and 70s) are jaded young adults trying to find some extraordinary thing to do with their lives. But they're kinda stuck in a rut and having to conform to make it trhough. OLP are GenX, and somehow I think they would have read the book, and identified to it. 'Cause I kinda did too.

It's as if the last song on the album is balancing out the first song (which I thought was pret-ty bad).

OLP continues to have some of the best lyrics regardless of their actual musical direction, if you ask me, and this song proves it. "Youll burn your clothes and pray to the stars, cause You swore to God that youd never end up this way"

Love it.

(Also, I have no idea how my brain drew a comparison between Miley Cyrus and Raine's voice in the choruses.)

I went to see Our Lady Peace in concert last night here in Montreal. (AMAZING btw) Anyway, before playing this song Raine said that it was about the huge, white moon that's so vivid and clear over the Canadian prairies. They've toured Canada a lot, and he was inspired one time while they were in the prairies. He said it's the same moon Neil Young wrote a song about, and they wanted to write one too.

So there you go.

Thanks for posting the lyrics. This song is amazing, This song should shut all the whiny people up that want old OLP back.. This song does it.

You can hear it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9zcHfELb2Y&feature=channel_page