Stray Paper Lryics

you better never tell nobody but god, all the things i’ve seen. from high above this haunted city, under elected thrones of thieves. where mighty men lay down their hearts in the service of their queens. and gave their bodies to be burned like i did before your feet. like she always tried for me. like now she does for me.

and underneath the tyranny of august and her sons, who sent fire from their fingertips in the holy vow of a teenage kiss. now we’re much too old for this. i don’t feel those kinds of things. so don’t you cry for me. i used to feel everything.

oh but love... (run, run, run.) love, love, love becomes...

all my love becomes...all my love, my love...

...became blood on stray paper.




----------original post--------------


You better never tell nobody but God
All the things I've seen
From high above this haunted city
Under elected thrones of thieves
Where mighty men lay down their hearts
In the service of their queens
And gave their bodies to be burned
Like I did before your feet
Like she always tried for me
Like now she does for me

And underneath the tyranny of August and her sons
Sent fire from their fingertips
And the holy vow of the teenage kiss
Now we're much too old for this
And I don't feel those kinds of things
Don't you cry for me
I used to feel everything

Oh but love
(Love, love, love becomes)

And oh my love becomes
And oh my love love
Became blood on stray paper (6x)

This song is so fuckin badass. From the eery kinda fantasy-nightmare lyrics to that buildup at the end to the intensity of his voice...I think this might be my favorite on the album. I don't even know what the hell he's talking about on the song, and I love that.

Probably my favorite so far as well. I could see Bob Dylan writing a song like this. It kinda reminds me of Changing of the Guards. It sounds a bit like Gaslight's version, but also has prominent female backing vocals like the original and shares the song's surreal imagery. I have no idea who "August and her sons" are supposed to be, but that's still an awesome line and this song kicks some serious ass.

magnificentdreamer wrote:

Probably my favorite so far as well. I could see Bob Dylan writing a song like this. It kinda reminds me of Changing of the Guards. It sounds a bit like Gaslight's version, but also has prominent female backing vocals like the original and shares the song's surreal imagery. I have no idea who "August and her sons" are supposed to be, but that's still an awesome line and this song kicks some serious ass.

Couldn't agree more. What makes me most excited is this part of Gaslight's bio on their website:

“Stray Paper” – which features impassioned backing vocals from the one and only Sharon Jones – provides what is perhaps the album’s most transcendent moment, its intricately orchestrated hooks and modernist dynamics unlike anything in The Gaslight Anthem’s remarkable canon. Rich with imagery and metaphorical flight, the song’s magic realism proved a revelatory mind blower for its creator.

“I had never written from that point of view,” Fallon says. “With ‘Stray Paper’ I feel that I touched something that I‘d like to continue through the rest of my career. I would like to continue down that path and find out what else is there.”

If Brian is writing more songs with that spooky imagery, magic realism Dylan-esque lyrics then sign me up.

Brian did a great job of breaking down some of the more cryptic lines from this song in the Q&A:

Those came directly from reading poetry. This is the style I am now pursuing in my writing, Stray Paper in particular.  I am really proud of that one because it’s more poetry than simply telling a story.  There’s a lot of hidden metaphor in that song.   I believe this style is my own, it’s something I’m striving for, and I don’t feel that I’ve derived it from any outside sources.  That line specifically was talking about something I was going through in the dead of summer.  It was very hot… hence, the “tyranny of August”  the unrelenting heat of the days… “her sons” - the actual days inside the month… “who send fire from their fingertips… in the holy vow of a teenage kiss”  - summer love. Young passion, before problems and life set in. It’s almost holy the purity and dedication of young lovers.  I won’t get into any more, you can fill in the rest with your own stories.

It didn't occur to me before that the line about "August and her sons" could literally be referring to the month. That interpretation makes me think of the "lure of autumn's sway" line from Mulholland Drive, which also has a similar vibe to this one the more I think about it..

That August line made me think of "August and everything after" by the Counting Crows, but that might just be me.