Based in Sydney, all band members are long-time professional Jazz & Swing musicians who have toured the US and around the World. Band members
Greg Poppleton released a 4 track CD entitled Greg Poppleton & his Bakelite Broadcasters in 2003.
In 2006 Greg Poppleton & his Bakelite Dance Band released The Phantom Dancer: 14 Swing Era Songs of 1926 - 1939
It's Only A Paper Moon
Greg Poppleton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hanging over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believe in me
It is only a canvas sky
Sailing 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
On 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 believe in me
Without your love
It's a honky tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played
On 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 believe in me
The song "It's Only a Paper Moon" by Greg Poppleton features a series of relaxed, jazzy verses that describe a world that is not real, yet only exists when there are people who believe in it. The song starts with the line, "It is only a paper moon hanging over a cardboard sea," which uses imagery to convey a sense of ephemera and lack of permanence. However, the singer suggests that this paper moon could become real if someone believed in it. This idea is further explored in the following couplet, "But it wouldn't be make believe if you believed in me." The singer implies that his love for the person listening to the song is enough to make this paper moon a real thing.
The second verse continues in the same vein, with the lyrics, "It is only a canvas sky sailing over a muslin tree, but it wouldn't be make believe if you believed in me." This verse builds on the idea that things only exist as they become real in someone's imagination. The singer then explores what the world would be like without his love, describing it as a "honky tonk parade" and a "melody played on a penny arcade"—an image of something cheap and insubstantial. The final verse borrows from the world of circus and carnival, describing it as a "Barnum and Bailey world," meaning it is as fake as the circus. The singer, however, suggests that even this world could become real if someone believed in him.
Line by Line Meaning
It is only a paper moon
The moon is actually made of paper, a flimsy material, and may seem of insignificant value at first glance
Hanging over a cardboard sea
The world beneath the moon is nothing but a mere illusion, something that has been fabricated by humans
But it wouldn't be make believe
The idea of a paper moon and cardboard sea may not be real, but there is an underlying truth that gives it meaning
If you believe in me
The artist is urging the listener to have faith in them and they will provide a sense of reality to even the most fantastical things
It is only a canvas sky
The sky is not real, but a mere painting or canvas hung out, also meaning that everything in life may not always be what it seems
Sailing over a muslin tree
The tree is merely a material and not real, just like the sky above
Without your love
Life without the love of the singer's beloved feels empty and unsatisfying, as if there is something missing
It's a honky tonk parade
The world without love is bleak and depressing, like a cheap and tacky parade
It's a melody played on a penny arcade
The artist's world becomes a low-budget and repetitive musical tune, with little variety or spontaneity
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Life is like a circus, filled with illusions and trickery that can seem overwhelming to those without faith
Just as phony as it can be
This life is fake and insincere, stripped of all authenticity and genuineness
If you believe in me
The artist can bring truth and authenticity into this fake world if the listener has faith in them
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., S.A. MUSIC, SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC.
Written by: BILLY ROSE, E. Y. HARBURG, HAROLD ARLEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind