Paper Tigers

As we all know, Adam is very introverted. I think that this song is a reflection of that. It’s also written for any of his fans to relate to easily. “Well I’ve been huddled up alone By the fire even though I’m not exactly feeling cold” The song opens on Adam sitting by the fire, deep in reflection on himself, not because he needs physical warmth, but rather something in his life just feels missing. “And I’ve been bundled up for days Too confused to be amazed At all the icy water in my veins”
Here, this represents all the internal turmoil. He’s living in a world full of extroverts, and it confuses him so much that he’s not shocked at how cold he can be to people. “Why do I feel so alone?” Why doesn’t he fit in? “Yeah I’ve been moving in and out Of this old split-level house And I’d just as soon burn the whole place down” Now it’s getting personal for him. This is his “past life”, back when he worked at a Coke factory and lived a dull life. He hated that job so much, he’s said it himself. “‘Cause I quit working lumberyards To build a mansion out of cards But I feel thin behind these paper walls” He quit his old job for a life making music, but something feels missing. The walls could come crumbling down at any minute, in the dangerous world of the music business. Hence the mansion out of cards. “Why do I feel so alone?” Again. “‘Cause the angriest bark is always worse than the bite Like the ache in my chest that my heart didn’t invite But if the prettiest romance isn’t perfectly right That makes every love lost just a holiday every night” Now he moves on to his love life. He hasn’t had the biggest success with that, and this could be referring to anyone. Annemarie, the Vanilla Twilight girl (who may have been Annemarie too), “convertible girl”, which I think is the most likely since it’s the most recent. It could even be Taylor Swift, or all 4. “Well I’ve been painting through the night In the basement out of sight Brushing paper tigers black and white” Every introvert has some means of escape. For Adam, it’s his music. These are the “paper tigers”. Interestingly enough, a paper tiger is a metaphor for something that appears tough on the outside but is actually quite weak. Maybe he feels like the songs are a way to communicate with the world, but they aren’t exactly representing him anymore. “‘Cause come tomorrow afternoon I’ll fill a helium balloon And set them free into the baby blue sky So they won’t have to be alone” The helium balloon is how he shares his music with the world. Adam has always felt that music is something to be shared, and it shouldn’t be kept to just one person. “But when I close these heavy lids after dark Each sweet dream is a target And all my shots are so consistently wide of the mark” Again, he feels like this life he has among extroverts just isn’t quite what he had hoped for. He keeps trying to achieve his dreams but it’s so hard to make them a reality. “Well I’ve been huddled up alone By the fire even though I’m not exactly feeling cold But how my heartache hit the trail When a paper tiger tail Fluttered down, I guess I’ll never know” Just when he’s feeling lost and alone, he gets some sort of reminder that his music is reaching out to other people like him who really get it, and that’s all he wants. It could be a piece of fanart, a cover, a grateful tweet, or even just hearing his song on the radio. The reason this makes so much sense is because he posted it on his blog, not produced it as a single. I think it’s a thank you to all his fans, but also an admission of confusion and heartache. It really resonates with his most loyal fans, because we’re all just like him. I certainly feel this way at times, and like Adam I’m glad to know I’m not alone.