Lyric discussion by bostonrag 

Cover art for Paper lyrics by Talking Heads

This is a tough one but I think it's just about [song]writer's block and how frustrating it is.

When he tries to put his ideas (not sure if he's talking about lyrics or music or both) onto the paper, they seem undeveloped - literally the paper is "thin" and it doesn't hold up to scrutiny (i.e the sun rays pass right through).

I think the "take a few weeks off, make it tighter" is again the idea of him pressuring himself to write an even better or more perfect song, while struggling with writer's block. The Offspring's incredible song "Gotta get away" expresses basically this same theme in its lyrics - i.e. it never feels good enough ("I think I'm on a roll But I think it's kinda weak" - The Offspring). So basically David is wishing that everything he came up with is worthy of being put "on the paper" but unfortunately because of his own exacting high standards, it's not.

PS Tina's bass playing on this song is so cool.

Positive
Subjective
Enjoyment
Writer's Block
Self-pressure
Creativity
High Standards
Musicianship