Rise Against: Paper Wings Meaning

Song Released: 2006

Paper Wings Lyrics

One last thing I beg you please just before you go
I've watched you fly on paper wings halfway around the world
Until they burned up in the atmosphere and sent you spiraling down
Landing somewhere far from where with no one else around
To...

1. anonymous

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   May 6th 2020 !⃝

   "is this the life that you lead?
   or the life that's led or you?
   will you take the road that's
   been laid out before"
   this part of the lyrics is telling you to lead your own life
2. anonymous

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   Apr 27th 2014 !⃝

   I personally think this song is about one of Tim's friends who was abusing drugs. Tim sings about how he's getting tired of waiting around for his friend to get help. When he sings "there's a train leaving town in an hour/it's not waiting for you, and neither am I," he's talking about how if his friend doesn't shape up, then everyone that he was close to is going to leave him behind. When Tim asks if he is going to see him again, it is the worry over whether his friend is going to die because of his drug abuse.
3. anonymous

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   Sep 2nd 2012 !⃝

   First comment, you know that Tim doesn't have a son? He has 2 daughters.
   About the meaning, I think it's also be another people than who you really are.
4. anonymous

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   Jun 20th 2012 !⃝

   I think this could also mean about someone who trying to be someone that they're not, aka their "Paper Wings." They feel on top of the world, but they're in conflict with their true self, which eventually causes them to break down, indicated by the first verse: "I watched you fly on Paper Wings, halfway around the world, until they burned up in the atmosphere and sent you spiraling down." The lyrics after that indicate that no is there to help that person after they falls.
   
   In the chorus of the song, it shows the inner conflict of the person.
   
   During the second verse, it shows that someone was trying to tell them to try their hardest to be their self, but they just ignore that advice and instead embrace their fake, "Paper Wings" self."'Swing for the fences, son'" he must have told you once
   But that was a conversation you took nothing from so
   Raise your glass now, let's celebrate, exactly what you've done.
   Just put off another year of knowing where you're from
   You can catch up with yourself
   If you run..."
   
   In the bridge of the song, the singer is asking if that person's life is the one they want to truly lead, or its lead for them by others who pressure them to lead a different life.
   
   Finally, the final chorus shows that the singer truly knows what that person's true "Wings" are, but tells them that they need to have the courage to show them off and the will to discover them.
   
   It's an awesome song, one of my favorites, and it actually has a meaning people can connect to and learn from. Sadly, this kind of lesson often doesn't show up in mainstream music.
5. CRL

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   Jan 20th 2012 !⃝

   Paper Wings is really about a loss of innocence, really clearly outlined in the first verse:
   "I watched you fly on Paper Wings, halfway around the world, until they burned up in the atmosphere and sent you spiraling down."
   
   The rest of the song seems to suggest that the person who lost their innocence is trying to run away and not confront whatever problems have arisen, while the singer seems to be telling them that they should face up to the problem.
6. anonymous

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   Apr 25th 2011 !⃝

   love song of course. tim is singing the song for his son. he cares about him, and he wants him to know to keep on fighting. just think about it. dont just believe what is said, think.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway

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