Tiger
Cole Paula Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Where do I put this fire
This bright red feeling
This tiger lily down to mouth
He wants to grow to twenty feet tall

I've left Bethlehem
I feel free
I've left the girl I was supposed to be and

Someday I'll be born
I'm so tired of being shy
I'm not that girl anymore
I'm not that straight A anymore
I want to sit with my legs wide open and
Laugh so loud that the whole damn restaurant
Will turn and look at me and say
Look at the tiger jumping out of her mouth

No more sex-starved teachers
Trying to touch my ass
I can finally be a teenager at age twenty-six
Go to hell lions, tigers, and bears
I'm not afraid of you anymore
And my fear broke apart like fifty balloons
And I'm thrown around the room like party confetti now

Someday I'll be born
Someday someday someday I'll be born
Someday someday someday I'll be born
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon

High and noon
High and noon

Overall Meaning

In Cole Paula's song "Tiger", the artist sings about breaking free of societal expectations and norms, and embracing her true self. The opening lines "Where do I put this fire, this bright red feeling, this tiger lily down my mouth" alludes to the struggle of containing one's passion and desire, like a flower that wants to grow tall but is forced to stay small. She then continues with "I've left Bethlehem, I feel free, I've left the girl I was supposed to be, and someday I'll be born", signifying a rebirth and shedding of her old self.

The artist then declares her freedom from harassment and sexual objectification, reclaiming her agency and power. The final lines of the song, "Someday I'll be born, high and noon" repeats throughout, suggesting a hopeful anticipation for her true self to finally be fully realized and accepted by society. The song ultimately is about overcoming societal expectations and restrictions to embrace and celebrate one's true self.

Line by Line Meaning

Where do I put this fire
Wondering about how to channel the strong emotions inside

This bright red feeling
Describing the intense, passionate nature of the emotions

This tiger lily down to mouth
Referring to the desire to express these emotions boldly and freely

He wants to grow to twenty feet tall
Expressing the desire for these emotions to be big and powerful

I've left Bethlehem
Leaving behind a restrictive or limiting environment

I feel free
Feeling liberated and unrestricted

I've left the girl I was supposed to be and
Rejecting societal expectations and norms

Someday I'll be born
Looking forward to a new, authentic self

I'm so tired of being shy
Expressing frustration with previous limitations on expression

I'm not that girl anymore
Rejecting previous expectations and identities

I'm not that straight A anymore
Rejecting pressure to conform and excel

I want to sit with my legs wide open and
Desiring the freedom to be openly expressive and comfortable in one's own body

Laugh so loud that the whole damn restaurant
Desiring attention and recognition for one's bold self-expression

Will turn and look at me and say
Desiring validation and acceptance from others

Look at the tiger jumping out of her mouth
Describing the intensity and passionate nature of the singer's self-expression

No more sex-starved teachers
Rejecting sources of sexual harassment and exploitation

Trying to touch my ass
Describing a specific instance of harassment

I can finally be a teenager at age twenty-six
Expressing a sense of missed opportunities or delayed development

Go to hell lions, tigers, and bears
Rejecting sources of fear and intimidation

I'm not afraid of you anymore
Asserting personal strength and resilience

And my fear broke apart like fifty balloons
Describing the sudden disappearance of fear and anxiety

And I'm thrown around the room like party confetti now
Expressing a sense of excitement and joy at newfound freedom

Someday I'll be born
Repeating the desire for a new, authentic self

High and noon
Repeating a phrase that may represent a new beginning or significant moment

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PAULA COLE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Rodrigo M

7y↑16

"Where do I put this fire
This bright red feeling
This tiger lily down my mouth
He wants to grow to twenty feet tall

CHORUS:
I've left bethlehem
I feel free
I've left the girl I was supposed to be and
Someday I'll be born

I'm so tired of being shy
I'm not that girl anymore
I'm not that straight A anymore
I want to sit with my legs wide open and
Laugh so loud that the whole damn restaurant
Will turn and look at me and say
Look at the tiger jumping out of her mouth

CHORUS
I've left bethlehem
I feel free
I've left the girl I was supposed to be and
Someday I'll be born

No more sex-starved teachers
Trying to touch my ass
I can finally be a teenager at age twenty-six
Go to hell lions, tigers, and bears
I'm not afraid of you anymore
And my fear broke apart like fifty balloons
And I'm thrown around the room like party confetti now

CHORUS
I've left bethlehem
I feel free
I've left the girl I was supposed to be and
Someday I'll be born...

Someday I'll be born
Someday someday someday I'll be born
Someday someday someday I'll be born
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon
High and noon..."

All comments from YouTube:

Ludvik M.

4y↑8

Great song in general, and also excellent to test how well your hedphones/speakers are reproducing low frequencies. That base at 0:46 is huge and deep.

arunashamal

3y↑4

If you got a good stereo system you know this song has unbelievably deep bass..

Stacia

12y↑14

LOL, this song still gives me chills at the end, just like when I was a teenager :D

Gloriam Mercado

4y↑4

Wow, almost 40 and I can still sing this song as I bought my first Paula Cole cassette and play it over and over as my mother raged pounding the damn door. Good ol' times to be a pissed off teenager ! Hahahahahahahaha

Sabrina Hutz

5y↑11

Such an underrated song

LoveMusicMD

11y↑3

amazing how I still remember all the lyrics... hahaha... this song is classic

Rodrigo M

7y↑16

Brandy Koleta

6y↑8

First album I ever bought...at 10 years old 😳

lara spencer

Me too!!!

Alexis Ann Thomason-Stacy

5y↑2

God I remember being young and jamming to this, screaming ths words top of my lungs

yellowplaidguitar87

11y↑4

didn't realize back then that this was my introduction to screamo rock. 25 now, grew up to be a fan of screamo, post-hardcore. Never heard a woman scream before this. Now there are women like Lacey Mosley of Flyleaf, etc. Fan of male singer/screamers like Silverstein (Shane Told) etc. as well. BTW, I am an African American woman lol. Good music crosses boundaries. So glad Paula Cole shared her amazing technical abilities with music fans. Can't wait 2 see artists in the future that she influenced

Lorena Ribeiro

4y↑1

Vc lembra do vórtice de minha dor.... Eu tive q me catar os cacos enquanto vc riam. Escuta essa canção agora, BRUACA! Mas agora com carinho 🖤👑

colorme happy

10y↑25

Who doesn't wanna shout this at the top of a mountain and just be Free?!

Lorena Ribeiro

4y↑3

" I want to sit with my legs wide open and laugh so loud that the whole damn restaurant will turn and look at me and say: look at the tiger jumping out of her mouth!!!!!"
I FEEL FREE

Lorena Ribeiro

E eu cantei hj...

Vanessa Islas

9y↑11

Tis one of the best songs of the 90's

Ellie SparkleSeed

8y↑13

I love this song so hard.

Robert Nagy

12y↑2

Nothing to say....beautiful :-)

今井輝

9y↑2

この歌は、好きです！アルバムもってます！一人の女性が、生まれ変わる歌。。。その魂の震えと叫びと、歓喜を、表した歌詞と歌の表現力は、素晴らしいと思う！

chisa tatum

For Steven harrold ❤ i love this album. I also singing this

kanshou

7y↑2

As a sufferer of anxiety disorder you'd like to identify with this song but it's so hard.

Rafaela Barz

I can. :)

Troy Brown

8y↑4

it is the best one of the album of this fire

Lorena Ribeiro

DONE🖤👑

four cats

5y↑2

What happened? Where is Paula Cole???

specularreflection22

11y↑1

Um, actually they aren't being an idiot or a bigot at all. They have a very important point to make. Why does the color of her skin matter in what music she listens to? It doesn't have a point. If he was being an idiot and a bigot then he would be acting all surprised that because she's black that she listens to any songs like that.

yellowplaidguitar87

@specularreflection22- Kathleen and I were both making very important points. She pointed out that heart.defect did not communicate the comment clearly the first time it was written because of his spelling, and because of his bias towards a fan who wants to share what heritage they are from. I made an important point about people of African descent making fun of each other for liking music associated with Euro-Americans or what is called "Caucasians", and I made an important point about how "Caucasian" music fans may treat fans of African descent who like the same music. Kathleen's and my points are very important too, which you did not acknowledge. This record came out in the 90's, during a time where I could have been mistreated by other people of African descent and mistreated by some "Caucasian" fans of this genre. The comment I wrote was about this specific time period in my life when the record came out, and when I was mistreated by music fans of both African and "Caucasian" backgrounds. One bigot, is one bigot too many, and I was speaking to even just that one who has done this to others who might have read these comments, or may read it in the future. Lastly, Paula Cole's Tiger = screaming performed by a woman. Most genre's of music = LITTLE AGGRESSIVE SCREAMING FROM WOMEN OF AFRICAN DESCENT. My first comment = me sharing that she inspired a woman of African descent to perform screaming during a song. My first comment= DISCUSSING THE HARDCORE ROCK GENRE THAT HAS AGGRESSIVE SCREAMING BY MOSTLY "CAUCASIAN MEN", LOW PRESENCE OF SCREAMING BY WOMEN OF AFRICAN DESCENT. Specularreflection, heart.defect., and other commenters may not be as familiar with the screamo/emo/death metal/hardcore genres where there is a low presence of screamers who are of African descent. I simply. was pointing out. that Paula Cole. inspired. a woman. of african descent. to scream. My first comment -->about Paula Cole's screaming in this song 3:18-3:27-~~---~~>reference to emo/screamo/hardcore genre where there is screaming performed mostly by people who aren't of African descent and female, like me. Therefore, Paula Cole-~~---~~> my introduction to screamo-~~-----~~>I became a fan of aggressive screaming in music years later without realizing why until now.

Lola Else

about pride

yellowplaidguitar87

11y

If defect's comment was really about just focusing on talented female singing, then he would have mentioned r&b as well as his mention of rap and hip hop. These are over-reactions based on ur assumptions of what I meant, simply because I didn't explain myself perfectly in an informal youtube comment about my experience with being exposed 2 rock music beginning with this album. If I went 2 a Paula Cole show around when this album came out, U are in denial that I wouldn't have experienced racism.

Fred Dabbelt

Parlez maintenant 💋💋

yellowplaidguitar87

11y

I wrote it 4 other ethnic individuals who are made fun of by people of their own background for liking music associated with another culture. Another reason why I wrote it is because you cannot see what I look like from just my comment. I don't want 2 upload a picture to every single social network tool I use. The last reason why I wrote it was 2 address even 1 single person of European descent who would mentally or verbally accuse me of being a poser fan of rock because I am African American.

yellowplaidguitar87

11y

Kathleen called heart.defect017 an idiot because of his spelling of the word acknowledging. The commentor's bigotry is in his assumption that I described myself physically because I think all white people assume I only listen to rap or hip hop. He assumed I described myself for that reason, instead of just asking me why, and instead of admitting that I was writing to and about people that actually are bigots towards ethnic fans of rock music. Defect didn't mention R&B for a reason as well.

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