He died on 13 November 2018 at the age of 70.
Discography
Better To Laugh Than To Cry (1982)
Tear It Up: The Ska Album (1997)
Our World (1998)
Alchemy (2001)
Believer (2002)
Mind Over Matter (2004)
Paper Moon
Floyd Lloyd Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
Without your love
It's a honky tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Say, it's only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Without your love
It's a honky-tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
It's phony it's plain to see
How happy I would be
If you believed in me
The song Paper Moon by Floyd Lloyd is a romantic tune about the power of love to make things seem real. The lyrics compare various elements of the world around us to paper, cardboard, and muslin, suggesting that these things are simply illusions. However, the chorus reassures the listener that if they believe in the singer's love, these illusions can become real. The lyrics also mention the sadness that comes without love, comparing it to a honky tonk parade or a pennny arcade melody.
The song can be interpreted as a plea from the singer to the listener to believe in their love and to see past the artificiality of the world around them. The use of imagery such as a paper moon and cardboard sea emphasizes the idea that the world can be a facade, while the repetition of the phrase "if you believed in me" shows the singer's conviction that love can make even the most artificial things seem real.
Line by Line Meaning
Say, it's only a paper moon
The singer acknowledges that the world may be artificial, although persisting like the illusion of a paper moon, yet he doesn't want the illusion to be a product of his own imagination.
Sailing over a cardboard sea
The paper moon traverses a sea of false representation or fictive realities like how people create false identities for themselves.
But it wouldn't be make-believe
Although these realities may be false, the emotional value that comes with them isn't contrived.
If you believed in me
If there is trust or the recognition of the shared reality between two people, then the paper moon could represent something more genuine.
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
The artist stresses again that life may be artificial, but true emotions still have power like the canvas which can represent the sky.
Hanging over a muslin tree
The canvas sky hanging over a muslin tree is like a surreal and irrelevant background, but it's the singer's hope that it could mean more if someone believes in him.
Without your love
The singer's life has no meaning if this love is not present.
It's a honky tonk parade
The honky-tonk parade is a representation of the artist's misery.
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
The artist's sadness is reduced to nothing but background noise that people can easily ignore.
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
The world is represented as a circus, which implies that everything is affected by human greed and dishonesty.
Just as phony as it can be
The world is just as artificial as it can be.
But it wouldn't be make-believe
However, the artist still believes that true love can still have genuine value amidst this layer of deception.
If you believed in me
The singer is saying that if people would just trust him, then these high-quality emotions might become more apparent.
It's phony it's plain to see
The singer acknowledges that the artificiality of the world is visible and not unknown.
How happy I would be
It's apparent how happy the singer would be if the person he's with could see beyond the artificial.
If you believed in me
The artist reiterates that his happiness would increase if people believed that there's still realness buried inside an artificial world.
Lyrics © S.A. MUSIC, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Billy Rose, E. Y. Harburg, Harold Arlen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind