The band formed in 2006, and appeared on a compilation, The Kids At The Club, later that year. In April 2007, Pocketbooks played the first ever Indietracks event on a 1950s steam railway in Derbyshire. This show coincided with the release of the band's debut single, Cross The Line, on Atomic Beat Records. A year later, Pocketbooks released an EP Waking UP on Make Do And Mend Records.
The band's first album, Flight Paths, was released in July 2009 on How Does it Feel To be Loved?. The album contains the single Footsteps and the track Fleeting Moments, which appears on the Rough Trade Shops Indiepop '09 compilation.
The second Pocketbooks album, Carousel, was released in September 2011 on Odd Box Records, preceeded by the single Promises, Promises. The band were joined for the album recording by violin players from A Little Orchestra.
Pocketbooks have played live shows across the UK, Europe and the United States, including festival appearances at Offset, Indietracks and Rip It Up, and popfests in London, Edinburgh, New York and San Francisco.
https://pocketbooksgroup.blogspot.co.uk/
Paper Aeroplanes
Pocketbooks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We're frozen on tiptoes in fear
And sink to our heels in relief
Past kids on their paperround trails
Milkfloats and shiftworker cars
And revellers staggering home
Rendezvous at the top of the park
The buildings suspiciously quiet
And I reach for a Paperchase bag
Rip pages from plain A4 pads
Write notes for the city below
And I'm folding arrows, and you're folding darts, dear
And I'm E H Mathews and you're Ninomiya
It's all in symmetrics and aerodynamics in classic design
As it glides from my hands
Past the padlocked park gates
Through the cold city streets
Past the tired chief execs
Somersaults and pirouettes
Past health spa retreats
Venture capitalists
'Til they swoop and they fall
Paper aeroplanes are raining down
Just to haunt you
We'll launch 'til we drop
Chapped hands and sharp paper cuts
Bruises and javelin arms
And they'll glance off the lampposts and trees
Knock hats off the suits in the street
And land in their coffees and teas
So I'm making airfoils and you've built a fuselage
I'm writing sound bites and you've written monologues
So, pick the targets, they'll fly with a serene velocity girl
Glide and then fall
Past the rush hour cars
And the cinema aisles
And the rooftop hotels
Pirouettes and somersaults
Past old market stalls
And juvenile courts
Til they swoop and they fall
Paper aeroplanes are raining down
Just to haunt you somehow
And as the sun comes up
Gaze at the horizon and ask
What on earth is going on?
Pirouettes and somersaults
The lyrics of Pocketbooks's song "Paper Aeroplanes" recount a playful and nostalgic narrative of two protagonist's nocturnal and secret escapades, where they engage in the art of making paper aeroplanes and launching them from the highest point of a park. The first verse captures the trepidation and excitement of the moment, where even the slightest noise could attract unwanted attention. The verse ends with a description of the scenery that embodies both the mundane and the celebratory as the two protagonists tiptoe past the city's asleep streets. In the pre-chorus, the two meet at the top of the park and gaze onto the smoking skyline as they prepare to launch their paper aeroplanes, which they craft from plain A4 pads.
In the chorus, the lyrics describe the technical aspects of the paper aeroplanes, evoking the image of the two crafting their designs with a sense of precision and sophistication. The lyrics also allude to the two's chemistry as they engage in this playful activity, highlighting their differences but also emphasizing the pleasure of their differences. As the song progresses, the paper aeroplanes take flight and flutter through the city's streets, landing on unsuspecting pedestrians and, as the lyrics suggest, haunting them.
Overall, the lyrics of "Paper Aeroplanes" evoke a sense of childhood wonder and adventurousness, and the song's catchiness and buoyancy embody these qualities.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a snap as you step on a twig
We hear a sudden snapping sound as we step on a twig
We're frozen on tiptoes in fear
We become scared and motionless as we stand on our toes
And sink to our heels in relief
We feel relieved and relax as we step back on our heels
Past kids on their paperround trails
We walk past children delivering newspapers on their bicycles
Milkfloats and shiftworker cars
We see milk delivery vans and cars of people going to work early
And revellers staggering home
We observe partygoers walking unsteadily as they return home
Rendezvous at the top of the park
We meet at the highest point of the park
Gaze down at the smoke and the lights
We look down at the city lights and smoke
The buildings suspiciously quiet
The buildings seem strangely silent
And I reach for a Paperchase bag
I take out a bag from the Paperchase store
Rip pages from plain A4 pads
I tear out sheets of paper from plain A4 notepads
Write notes for the city below
I jot down notes for the city beneath us
And I'm folding arrows, and you're folding darts, dear
I'm folding paper into arrow shapes and you're folding it into dart shapes, my love
And I'm E H Mathews and you're Ninomiya
I'm taking the alias E H Mathews and you're using the name Ninomiya
It's all in symmetrics and aerodynamics in classic design
We're focused on symmetry and aerodynamics in classic design
As it glides from my hands
As the paper aeroplane glides out of my hands
Past the padlocked park gates
The paper aeroplanes fly past the locked gates of the park
Through the cold city streets
The paper aeroplanes fly through the chilly city streets
Past the tired chief execs
The paper aeroplanes fly past the exhausted CEOs
Somersaults and pirouettes
The paper aeroplanes do somersaults and pirouettes
Past health spa retreats
The paper aeroplanes fly past health spa centres
Venture capitalists
The paper aeroplanes fly past investors in risky ventures
Til they swoop and they fall
Until they curve and then drop down
Paper aeroplanes are raining down
Paper aeroplanes are falling from the sky
Just to haunt you
Just to bother or unsettle you
We'll launch 'til we drop
We'll keep throwing them until we can't do it anymore
Chapped hands and sharp paper cuts
Our hands become dry and cracked with tiny cuts from the sharp paper
Bruises and javelin arms
We get bruises from throwing the paper aeroplanes with full force
And they'll glance off the lampposts and trees
The paper aeroplanes will hit and bounce off of lampposts and trees
Knock hats off the suits in the street
They will knock hats off of people in suits walking on the street
And land in their coffees and teas
And land in their cups of coffee and tea
So I'm making airfoils and you've built a fuselage
I'm constructing the wings and you've built the central body of the paper aeroplane
I'm writing sound bites and you've written monologues
I'm writing short and catchy phrases and you've written lengthy speeches
So, pick the targets, they'll fly with a serene velocity, girl
Choose the targets, they'll fly smoothly and with a calm speed, girl
Glide and then fall
They'll glide for a moment and then descend to the ground
Past the rush hour cars
The paper aeroplanes fly past cars caught in rush hour traffic
And the cinema aisles
They fly past people walking in the aisles of the cinema
And the rooftop hotels
They pass by hotels with rooftops
Pirouettes and somersaults
They spin and turn in the air
Past old market stalls
They fly over old markets in the city
And juvenile courts
They fly towards areas with juvenile delinquent courts
Til they swoop and they fall
Until they curve and then drop down
Paper aeroplanes are raining down
Paper aeroplanes are falling from the sky
Just to haunt you somehow
Just to bother or unsettle you in some way
And as the sun comes up
As the sun rises
Gaze at the horizon and ask
We look at the horizon and ponder
What on earth is going on?
What is happening in the world?
Pirouettes and somersaults
Spinning and turning in the air
Contributed by Maria L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.