Sutton was born on t… Read Full Bio ↴Tierney Sutton (b. 1963) is a U.S. jazz singer.
Sutton was born on the 28th June 1963 in Omaha, Nebraska, and was educated at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut and the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
Sutton fronts the Tierney Sutton Band, featuring pianist Christian Jacob, bassists Trey Henry and Kevin Axt, and drummer Ray Brinker. The band is an incorporated unit and makes all musical as well business decisions together. They tour throughout the world, and have headlined in recent years at Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, and Jazz at Lincoln Center.
For eleven years, Sutton taught in the Jazz Studies Department at the University of Southern California. In 2008 she became the Vocal Department Chair at Los Angeles Music Academy in Pasadena, California.
She has recently also been performing in a trio format with flautist Hubert Laws and guitarist Larry Koonse.
* Official site
It's Only A Paper Moon
Tierney Sutton 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
Tierney Sutton’s song “It’s Only A Paper Moon” depicts a masquerading world that one can only appreciate in fantasy. The paper moon is personified as it sails over a cardboard sea, and the canvas sky hangs over the muslin tree made up of artificial elements. If someone believed in the person singing, then the make-believe world would become a reality: “But it wouldn’t be make-believe if you believed in me.” The stanza serves as a reminiscent of a time, a space where dreams could be brought to life if one believed, giving one the opportunity to indulge in an alternate reality.
The song’s chorus serves as a commentary of the futility of life without love. The honky-tonk parade’s melody played in a penny arcade is an image of a world filled with noise and chaos. The world of Barnum and Bailey and all its phony attributes are referred to in this stanza, indicating the inauthenticity of the mundane world. The refrain of the song is a subtle message to the listener to awaken their imagination and believe in their dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
Say, it's only a paper moon
The singer is acknowledging the falseness of reality
Sailing over a cardboard sea
Comparison is being made between life and a poorly constructed, baseless environment
But it wouldn't be make-believe
The singer implies the existence of true reality
If you believed in me
The artist believes in the power of personal relationships
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
The falseness of reality is being furthered through imagery
Hanging over a muslin tree
The environment is portrayed as unstable and temporary
Without your love
Lack of trust in the world is being conveyed
It's a honky tonk parade
The artist is describing something chaotic and without meaning
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
The artist is describing a cheap, artificial form of joy
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
The world is being portrayed as a performance, empty and lacking in truth
Just as phony as it can be
The world is false
But it wouldn't be make-believe
The artist implies that true reality exists
If you believed in me
The singer trusts in the power of personal relationships
Say, it's only a paper moon
The singer reiterates the falseness of reality
Sailing over a cardboard sea
The comparison of life to something shoddy and fake is restated
But it wouldn't be make-believe
The artist invites the listener to consider a reality beyond the false one
If you believed in me
Personal relationships are advocated as the key to true reality
Without your love
Lack of trust in reality is restated
It's a honky-tonk parade
The chaos and fakeness of the world is restated
Without your love
Lack of trust in the world is reiterated
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
Artificial happiness and cheap thrills are being restated
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
The world as a performance is restated
Just as phony as it can be
The falseness of the world is asserted
But it wouldn't be make-believe
The possibility of true reality is being posited
If you believed in me
The singer believes that personal relationships are the key to this true reality
It's phony it's plain to see
The singer is reiterating the falseness of the world
How happy I would be
The singer is expressing their own desire for a true reality
If you believed in me
The artist believes that personal relationships are the key to transcending falseness
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, S.A. MUSIC, 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