papercut
Liana Flores Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴Perhaps you've not known before
To need someone and not be needed anymore
I know nobody's to blame
My tongue's still papercut speaking your name

Perhaps you don't understand
When I want you to care but now my worlds in your hands
What am I supposed to do

Pretend I'm happy for you?

Waited all day to cry
Now I'm here my eyes are dry
Couldn't help you in the end
Don't know what I was looking to mend

Perhaps you've not sung a song
Of seeing yourself to every way come up wrong

The world cant hurt me no more
When I'm the very best at making myself sore


Overall Meaning

In "Papercut," Liana Flores addresses a difficult situation in which she loves someone who no longer needs her in the same way. The opening lines of the song are quite poignant: "Perhaps you've not known before / To need someone and not be needed anymore." Flores takes a reflective stance on this dynamic, noting that "nobody's to blame." However, she struggles with the pain of this realization and finds herself repeatedly speaking the name of the person she loves, even though it feels like a "papercut" on her tongue.


The chorus of the song highlights the tension in Flores's emotions: she both wants the person she loves to care about her and wants to pretend that she's happy for them. This emotional conflict is amplified by the fact that Flores feels like she cannot express her true feelings: "Waited all day to cry / Now I'm here my eyes are dry." Even though she wants to help the person she loves, she recognizes that there may be nothing she can do: "Couldn't help you in the end / Don't know what I was looking to mend."


Towards the end of the song, Flores shifts focus towards her own struggles with self-doubt and self-worth. She notes that she's "seen myself to every way come up wrong" and that she is "the very best at making myself sore." Although the world itself cannot hurt her in the same way as the person she loves, Flores recognizes that she can continue to inflict pain on herself.


Line by Line Meaning

Perhaps you've not known before
Maybe you haven't experienced this feeling before


To need someone and not be needed anymore
To require someone's support, but they don't need yours


I know nobody's to blame
I don't blame anyone for this situation


My tongue's still papercut speaking your name
Even talking about you still brings me pain


Perhaps you don't understand
You might not comprehend how I feel


When I want you to care but now my world's in your hands
I wish you cared, but now my happiness depends on you


What am I supposed to do
I don't know how to handle this situation


Pretend I'm happy for you?
Should I pretend that I'm happy for your success?


Waited all day to cry
I've been holding back my tears all day


Now I'm here my eyes are dry
I'm finally crying, but my tears won't come


Couldn't help you in the end
I couldn't do anything to assist you


Don't know what I was looking to mend
I didn't realize what I was attempting to fix


Perhaps you've not sung a song
Maybe you haven't expressed your pain through music


Of seeing yourself to every way come up wrong
Of feeling like everything you do is incorrect


The world can't hurt me no more
The world can't harm me any further


When I'm the very best at making myself sore
I'm the one who hurts myself the most


Writer(s): Liana Flores

Contributed by Gabriella P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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