The phrase, "Paris is burning" comes from when Hitler asked one of his military men "is Paris burning?" to find out whether or not they had conquered Paris. Paris burning can then be taken to mean war.
The line in which she asks "is it love or just Paris?" is probably one of the most important lines in this song. Paris, "screaming" with "madness", is her mind, in which a war is being waged. She's confused and struggling. Therefore, "is it love or just Paris?" translates to "is it love or just desperation?"
"My heart is yearning, but Paris is burning" = "my heart is yearning but I'm also scared"
She's not sure whether what she's feeling is real or if it's just circumstantial. Pretty nice metaphor I think--it's a well written song.
As for the interviews in which she talked about "one crazy weekend that she had in Paris where she got way too wasted and just partied the entire time", I have not seen them, but I don't think she means to say that is what this song is about. If anything, it was just her inspiration for writing the song this way. (Besides, I've noticed artists sometimes lie about what their songs really mean. Who wants to harsh the vibe by telling the serious truth to the camera and interviewer?)
The phrase, "Paris is burning" comes from when Hitler asked one of his military men "is Paris burning?" to find out whether or not they had conquered Paris. Paris burning can then be taken to mean war.
The line in which she asks "is it love or just Paris?" is probably one of the most important lines in this song. Paris, "screaming" with "madness", is her mind, in which a war is being waged. She's confused and struggling. Therefore, "is it love or just Paris?" translates to "is it love or just desperation?"
"My heart is yearning, but Paris is burning" = "my heart is yearning but I'm also scared"
She's not sure whether what she's feeling is real or if it's just circumstantial. Pretty nice metaphor I think--it's a well written song.
As for the interviews in which she talked about "one crazy weekend that she had in Paris where she got way too wasted and just partied the entire time", I have not seen them, but I don't think she means to say that is what this song is about. If anything, it was just her inspiration for writing the song this way. (Besides, I've noticed artists sometimes lie about what their songs really mean. Who wants to harsh the vibe by telling the serious truth to the camera and interviewer?)
that's an interesting analysis. I didn't realize that the song was so deep, makes me love it even more.
that's an interesting analysis. I didn't realize that the song was so deep, makes me love it even more.