Paper Sun by Traffic

Album: Mr. Fantasy (1967)

Charted: 5 94

License This Song

lyrics

Songfacts®:

Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi wrote this song in March 1967 when Winwood was in the Spencer Davis Group and Capaldi was a member of Deep Feeling. The bands were on tour together, and after a show in Newcastle, the two convened in a hotel room and put the song together.

"I got the title from a newspaper in a boarding house in Newcastle," Capaldi explained. "I was half-asleep, lying there writing this lyric in my head at about 3:30 in the morning. I woke up Steve with this idea and then we went into the living room where there was a little upright piano and finished the song."

When Winwood and Capaldi formed Traffic a short time later with Dave Mason and Chris Wood, they recorded "Paper Sun" and released it as their first single.
Released in May 1967, this trippy track was a good fit for the Summer of Love. Featuring Dave Mason's sitar, Chris Wood's flute and a rather inscrutable lyric, it became a psychedelia classic.
Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" was released shortly before "Paper Sun" was issued as Traffic's first single. The Procol song stole much of Traffic's thunder, as the bombastic track proved to be a musical Godzilla, and one with a similar sounding vocalist, no less (Gary Brooker).

Comments: 4

Markdh from NycI prefer to take this “breakout” song for the just-formed Traffic at face value, evoking a seaside adventure for teens in the UK’s summer of love, with lyrics and harmonies that round out the fine instrumentation. Coupled with “Vagabond Virgin” featuring Chris Wood’s flute magic on that album, it sets a mood and tone unique to the band.
Sfed from CaliforniaI think Paper Sun was named after one of the most popular acids in the '60, orange sunshine. The lyrics sound like someone on an acid trip, especially seeing a shadow on the run, and then realizing its just the acid playing with your mind.
Reiver Lad from WorcestershireYou're all wrong! I know the girl for whom the song was written, she told me what it was all about back in '74 and showed me the paper sun, she still has it.
No, I'm not going to tell, that's for her to do if one day she wants to. I just enjoy feeling smug when reading everyone's inventions!
Misha from UsaThis song refers to several older things including the boarding room coin operated gas/ electric meter and the old English currency. Around this same time, LSD was sometimes sold on little pieces of paper called blotter acid. Acid was sometimes referred to as Sun (the Doors song "Waiting For The Sun"). So, paper sun refer to blotter acid. In the song, the girl referred to has very little if any money, so while other people go about having fun, she escapes to the paper sun, where all kinds of cheap adventures are possible. But, too much LSD (sun) will burn you out. It's pretty obvious to an older person who did these things back in the 70's.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Open ArmsJourney

"Open Arms" was a pioneering power ballad. Stadium rock bands like Journey shied away from slow songs, but when they reluctantly agreed to record the song, it became their biggest chart hit.

That's The Way Love GoesJanet Jackson

The longest-running #1 US hit for a member of the Jackson family is Janet's "That's The Way Love Goes," with eight weeks on top.

Born In The U.S.A.Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The U.S.A." was inspired by the book (later a movie) Born On The Fourth Of July by Ron Kovic, a Vietnam veteran who protested the war when he returned home.

St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)John Parr

"St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" was not written for the movie, but for Rick Hanson, a wheelchair athlete whose 1985 "Man In Motion" tour logged 24,856 miles on his wheelchair in 34 countries while raising $26 million for spinal cord research.