Paper Thin
John Hiatt & The Guilty Dogs Lyrics

I was gonna get up off that bar stool
I had planned to leave that stool at the bar

Just as soon as I could figure it out
But I needed more time to make sense of things

Why I was overlooked at the car pool
Why I wasn't invited to carpool with others

Stood up at the dance with no twist and shout
Left all alone at the dance with no one to dance with

When you're burnin' with your last desire
When you're consumed by your final wish

And every memory haunts you
And every past experience troubles you

You write it down in alcohol fire
You record your thoughts with alcoholic ink

'Cause that's the only flame that wants you
Because it's the only thing that still interests you

When you're paper thin
When you're emotionally vulnerable

Yeah, read all about it
All your struggles are visible to others

When you were out of luck, well, luck was doin' all right
When things weren't going well for you, everything else seemed just fine

Now you're paper thin
You're still sensitive and fragile

Yeah, they can see right through ya
Others can easily perceive your emotions and struggles

You just cut your little finger on the edge of the night
You barely avoided a precarious situation

Now, do I really have to be responsible
Do I have to be held accountable?

For what I did between those tavern walls?
For what I did while drinking in bars?

I was just mixing up some chemicals
I was just experimenting with alcohol and other substances

You could've heard a pin drop, could have heard time crawl
The atmosphere was so tense and silent that you could hear a pin drop

And every once in a while
Occasionally

You could hear your own heart pound
You could feel your heart racing with anxiety

Maybe some paper doll with a pasted on smile
Perhaps a fake and insincere person with a forced smile

Would let you write her number down
Would give you her phone number

[Chorus]
Refrain of the song