At the end of 2016, Hayley celebrated the release of her major-label debut EP CITRINE, which included pop confections "Pretty Girl" and "Palace", by launching her nationwide "One Bad Night Tour". The completely sold-out headline tour saw Hayley performing her new music for her passionate and devoted fans in cities throughout the US. According to Baeble, Hayley "managed to turn a sold out Studio at Webster Hall into an intimate dance party for everyone to feel free in a safe zone."
Following singles including "Sleepover", "Feelings", and "Curious" have been released to accompany her debut studio album Expectations, which was released on March 30, 2018. The album reached the top 20 of the charts in United States, Canada and Australia. She has also created a comic book, with the help of Naomi Franquiz and Marla Vazquez, based on her song "Gravel to Tempo".
Kiyoko was a founding member of The Stunners in 2007. The group supported Justin Bieber's My World Tour, before disbanding in 2011.
Kiyoko was born to figure skater/choreographer Sarah Kawahara and actor/comedian Jamie Alcroft. Her mother is from Canada and her father is from Ohio, USA.
This Side of Paradise
Hayley Kiyoko Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm caught up in the day with my night dreams
and my mistakes.
Tell your vision no, your acting
the little boys go on pretending
they're wide awake.
But I've got better luck in my head
we're just ghosts inside my bed
I've got better luck in my head
playing poker with the dead
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
I'm not here, nor anywhere
I wanna be with you, you're unaware
I'm a paper weight.
I fantasize
a secret life and place where we hide
it feels right.
I'll settle on the dust, settle on the dust
But I've got better luck in my head
we're just ghosts inside my bed
I've got better luck in my head
playing poker with the dead
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
I don't want to be anywhere else
than anywhere else but here,
I don't want to be anywhere else
than anywhere else but here
I don't want to be anywhere else
than anywhere else but here,
I don't want to be anywhere else
than anywhere else but here
'Cause I've got better luck in my head
we're just ghosts inside my bed
I've got better luck in my head
playing poker with the dead
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
This Side of Paradise by Hayley Kiyoko is a song that explores the ideas of escapism and living in one's own head, as well as the desire for connection with someone else. The opening lines describe a false start, perhaps indicating that the singer is stuck or unable to move forward in their life. They feel caught up in their own thoughts and mistakes, unable to escape their own mind. The next few lines describe how others pretend to be wide awake but the singer is on a different wavelength, feeling like they're not really there.
The chorus repeats the phrase "This side of paradise," which seems to indicate that the singer is trying to find happiness or fulfillment in their current situation, even though it may not be perfect. They imagine a secret life or hidden place where they can be with someone they desire, but ultimately feel like they are simply a "paper weight" in their current reality.
The second verse continues the theme of escapism and the desire to be with someone else, highlighted by the line "I'm a ghost inside my head." The singer settles on the idea that they have better luck in their head, where they can create a world where they play poker with the dead - perhaps a metaphor for their own inner struggles and demons.
Overall, This Side of Paradise is a song that delves into the complexities of the human psyche, and the desire for connection and escape. The lyrics are introspective, with a sense of longing for something more.
Line by Line Meaning
False start, ya sleepyhead
You're starting slow and being lazy.
I'm caught up in the day with my night dreams and my mistakes.
I'm focusing on my dreams and trying to forget my past mistakes during the day.
Tell your vision no, your acting, the little boys go on pretending they're wide awake.
Your vision is not reality, you're acting like a child pretending to be awake.
I'll settle on the dust, settle on the dust
I'll accept defeat and give up.
But I've got better luck in my head, we're just ghosts inside my bed, I've got better luck in my head, playing poker with the dead
I have a better chance with my imagination, where ghosts join me in bed and we play poker with the dead.
This side of paradise
This is not where we would find paradise.
I'm not here, nor anywhere I wanna be with you, you're unaware, I'm a paperweight.
I'm not physically present, and although I want to be with you, you don't know. I feel useless.
I fantasize a secret life and place where we hide, it feels right.
I dream of a secret place where we can be together and it feels like the right thing to do.
I don't want to be anywhere else than anywhere else but here
I don't want to be anywhere else other than with you right here and now.
'Cause I've got better luck in my head, we're just ghosts inside my bed, I've got better luck in my head, playing poker with the dead
Because my imagination provides better outcomes, where I can play poker with ghosts while in bed.
This side of paradise
This is not where we would find paradise.
Contributed by Max A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
ashleydaniella
False start ya sleepy head
I'm caught in the day
With my nightdreams
And my mistakes
Tell your vision no your acting
The little boys go on pretending
They're wide awake
I'll settle on the dust
Settle on the dust
But I've got better luck in my head
We're just ghosts inside my bed
I've got better luck in my head
Playing poker with the dead
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
I'm not here nor anywhere
I wanna be with you, you're unaware
I am paperweight
I fantasise
A secret life and place where we hide
It feels right
I'll settle of the dust
Settle on the dust
But I've got better luck in my head
We're just ghosts inside my bed
I've got better luck in my head
Playing poker with the dead
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
I don't want to be anywhere else
Then anywhere else but here
(This is my paradise)
I don't want to be anywhere else
Then anywhere else but here
(This is my paradise)
I don't want to be anywhere else
Then anywhere else but here
(This is my paradise)
I don't want to be anywhere else
Then anywhere else but here
'Cause I've got better luck in my head
We're just ghosts inside my bed
I've got better luck in my head
Playing poker with the dead
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
This side of paradise
First Last
"This video was a representation of how i felt hiding from my true self. [He] represented everything i was to supposed to feel and have...and the glass represented how far way i felt from it. This was just the beginning..." Love that she explained the actual meaning of this video. Newfound love for this track after realizing this was her coming out as gay moment. Just the beginning indeed, her next videos would start expressing openly what she could only hint at here.
arcadia lyrics
where did she say that ? (i'm just curious lmao i "stalk" hayley)
Douglas Caldas
I was wondering about that. Because first of all, this EP is the one where she starts to say "I am lesbian and I don't care about people are gonna say" and I found odd with the guy at the beginning of the MV. But the music says about being on this side of paradise where the rules do not apply as common sense says. So it makes sense to the semiotics in the video about she not being able to express her full self because after all, she's hiding the real version to be in the outside world what people expected from her.
BUUUUUUT, there is something else that came to my mind: the video seems to say that people who live on the other side of paradise, which means that is the hell, are always lost and uncomfortable, while she besides being hiding is looking like she is aware of her feelings, which means: comfortable. The semiotics with the glass and the house, OMG obsessed
Jewels The Fool
And then the glass breaking 🥺
Lkc Tom
OMFG AND THEN THE GLASS BREAKS AT THE END! THE SYMBOLISM!
Lkc Tom
Lmfao should have read the replies before commenting
megan thee barrel
to everyone saying Hayley is bi, she's said that this song is about before she even realized she was gay and she would crush on girls and when she went home she would fantasize a world where people accepted her and her crushes liked her back. this song was written before she came out. bisexuals are valid, but Hayley is a lesbian.
moon crater
as a bi girl, I approve of this statement
A Human That Exists
@moon crater as another bi girl, I too approve of this statement.
Shelby Kery
:) 💯