I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
The birds were falling limbless from the sky
Falling in nobody's eyes but mine
The birds were closing in again, I try
To fight them back and find my way outside
Squinting like a newborn in the light
I walk for like an hour, maybe five
You're the only reason that I might find
My way, out here tonight
I came here when the road was very dry
The road was dry as paper so I typed
And in the accident of hands producing lines
I hope to clear the birds away and give them flight
And when you clear the birds away you see the sky
And when you see the sky you know which way to tread
And I think you're the only reason
That I might, might, might
Illuminate the text
So I can see to where the grass is really bright, bright, bright
Meet you there and know which way to step
Oh my love you're always further than I'd like
Always moving just ahead of me like time
And it isn't that I want to fall behind
And it isn't that I don't know how to love
But the world is made of paper so I type
I write but I could never write enough
Now I can see to where the grass is really bright, bright, bright
But I don't know if I'll ever make it out
And all the birds are falling limbless from the sky
Falling in nobody's eyes but mine
And I'm squinting like a newborn in the light
Squinting like a newborn in the light
Of a paper forest starting to ignite
Of a paper forest burning out of sight
And I think you're the only reason
You're the reason, you're the reason
The reason for the fire
Oh
Let these paper forests burn and burn until they're down
Maybe then the birds will herd, emerge and lead you out
Let these paper forests burn and burn until they're down
Maybe then the birds will herd, emerge and lead you out
Falling in nobody's eyes but mine
The birds were closing in again, I try
To fight them back and find my way outside
Squinting like a newborn in the light
I walk for like an hour, maybe five
You're the only reason that I might find
My way, out here tonight
I came here when the road was very dry
The road was dry as paper so I typed
And in the accident of hands producing lines
I hope to clear the birds away and give them flight
And when you clear the birds away you see the sky
And when you see the sky you know which way to tread
And I think you're the only reason
That I might, might, might
Illuminate the text
So I can see to where the grass is really bright, bright, bright
Meet you there and know which way to step
Oh my love you're always further than I'd like
Always moving just ahead of me like time
And it isn't that I want to fall behind
And it isn't that I don't know how to love
But the world is made of paper so I type
I write but I could never write enough
Now I can see to where the grass is really bright, bright, bright
But I don't know if I'll ever make it out
And all the birds are falling limbless from the sky
Falling in nobody's eyes but mine
And I'm squinting like a newborn in the light
Squinting like a newborn in the light
Of a paper forest starting to ignite
Of a paper forest burning out of sight
And I think you're the only reason
You're the reason, you're the reason
The reason for the fire
Oh
Let these paper forests burn and burn until they're down
Maybe then the birds will herd, emerge and lead you out
Let these paper forests burn and burn until they're down
Maybe then the birds will herd, emerge and lead you out
Lyrics submitted by lazywolfeyes, edited by middledistancerunner
Paper Forest (Birds) Lyrics as written by Euan Hinshelwood Emma Moss
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Mute Song Limited
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Great version of a great song,
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I think this is about someone who's getting older but doesn't want to come to terms with the fact that she's not young anymore.
Wrong lyrics?
I think it's about being afraid of getting so caught up in meaningless things that you lose a part of yourself.