These walls are paper thin and everyone hears every little sound
Everyone's a voyeurist, they're watching me watch them watch me right now
They're shaking hands, they're shaking in their shoes, oh Lord don't shake me down
Everyone wants to move them and half of everyone else moves around
It's been agreed the whole world stinks so no one's taking showers anymore

Laugh hard, it's a long ways to the bank
I can't be blamed for nothing anymore
It's been a long time since you've been around
Laugh hard, it's a long ways to the bank
Tow the line to tax the time you know that you don't owe
I can't be a fool for everyone that I don't know



Lyrics submitted by PLANES

Track duration: 03:01

"Paper Thin Walls" as written by Brock/judy/green

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Paper Thin Walls song meanings
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  • 0
    General Comment:Meth... It's about meth...
    Am I the only one here that's abused drugs?
    I would point out a line specifically but its all there. Stay up for a few weeks or a month and you'll know precisely what he's singing about.
    Most of there music is about Methamphetamine abuse actually.
    Flag RealChion April 28, 2013   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:this is just what the song meant to me. when i first heard this song i was serving 3 years in state prison and the lyrics fit perfect for that situation. indeed it felt like all the walls were paper thin and everything you said or did was broadcast to the world. everyone was constantly watching trying to make sure someone wasn't going to try something and you had to watch everyone else for the same reason. 'Oh Lord, don't shake me down' was particularly interesting because thats what it was called when the guards went through all your stuff looking for contraband and most people tried to look out for their buddies and warn them if they got advance word of guard movement, thus 'They're shaking hands, they're shaking in their shoes '
    as it's been said, 'Laugh hard, it's a long way to the bank' always made me think of how much money the whole ordeal cost me for lawyer fees and restitution and how much some people seemed to profit from my problems. 'It's been a long time since you've been around' struck home with how many people said they would be there for me but quickly forgot i existed once i was out of sight. 'I can't be blamed for nothing anymore' was how i felt about doing my time and the false hope that once it was over it would be over. 'Tow the line to tax the time, you know That you don't owe' was how i felt about being punished for something i didn't feel i deserved, or at least the punishment not fitting the crime. 'I can't be a fool for everyone that I don't know' was how i felt about people that i never met and had nothing to do with letting me know exactly what they thought of me and how i had to decide that i couldn't worry myself with everyone's opinion.
    there are a lot of versus in MM songs that have some sort of jail reference. you can take these songs however you feel and apply them to whats going on in your life at the moment. i believe that's what gives them substance.
    Flag fitsallsizeson August 02, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think we're taking the lyrics too literally.
    It seems more like a broad statement about humanity; its faults, its perversions, and how he plans to cope with them.
    Flag Sophocles27on August 01, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:\m/ cowbells
    Flag WhateverTreveron October 22, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:'the whole world stinks so no ones taking showers anymore' - everythings so shit, people are so awful then who cares, he must have done it, i think thats what its saying, how people always believe the worst and no one beleives that people can or will better themselves..
    Flag novelwithcocaineon October 10, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I love The Moon and Antartica!
    i think it could be about the rape charge,

    i think he's saying that privacy has been destroyed, and that people nowadays are completely voyeuristic; everyone loves watching other people, especially people in the soptlight, especially people in the spotlight who have done something wrong (or in his case been falsely accussed of doing something wrong)
    "watch them WATCH ME WATCH THEM" - he (and everyone including you and me) are involved in the watching, everyone gets sucked into this cultural aspect

    "they're shaking hands" - people making decisions, "shaking in their shoes" - people nervous about the outcomes of the decisions (perhaps the girl who accused him is scared she's going to get found out, "oh lord dont shake me down" - he's hoping he's not going to go down for this

    "everyone wants two of them" - greed and selfishness "and half of everyone else.." - people want bits of other people - back to voyeurism we want to know all about them and this ends up with taking part of them for ourselves"
    then he basically says everyone in the world is disgusting (shower imagery)- self explanitory line

    laugh hard its a long way to the bank -- that girl think's she'll be 'laughing all the way to the bank" but he's saying laugh it up now (laugh hard) but its a long way to the bank aka dont count your money yet i'm not proven guilty yet and i wont be you've got a long time to go before you should be laughing

    then he's saying that he doesnt want to be the fool for everyone by taxing the time (jail time) for something he knows he didnt do
    Flag scissorspaperrockon July 28, 2009   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:the line "laugh hard it's a long way to the bank" has always been my favorite in this song. i've always though of it as, laugh hard now, be optimistic and enjoy yourself, kinda live in the moment until you get to the bank, which symbolizes a place where people receive bad news, such as being broke. but don't worry about the bad news until it comes, until then just concentrate on the good things.
    Flag PaperThinWalls5on June 29, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:to me this songs about people wanting to absorb other peoples persona's. and how as everyone wants "two of them and half of everyone else who's around", we have to dig around in other peoples shit.
    Flag woodpusheron May 01, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is what i stumbled upon while researching isaac brock.

    sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Modest-Mouse-Biography/…

    It made a lot of sense about the "Moon and Antartica" album.

    Very interesting, it will give you a new outlook on the whole cd.
    Flag allxmyxkneegrowson April 07, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:love that line

    'everyone's a voyeur it's them watching me watch them watch me right now'

    life is like that frequently
    Flag PHANTOMLIMBon November 28, 2008   Link

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