Alec Benjamin - Paper Crown Lyrics Meaning

anonymous

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Apr 15th 2023 !⃝

I personally interpreted the song as a boy (king) who is saving a girl that is shattered with trauma and heartbreak but he is also is tired- allow me to explain.

I first saw "a paper crown and a heart made of glass" as the boy and the girl- king and queen- both fragile and is also kiddish (fits in with the songs theme of fairytales). But a double interpretation may focus on the girl as a fragile mind and heart.

"Tattered gown and a kingdom of ash" also works like this with traumatic past and loss of self for the girl.
"but you hold your ground when your kingdom's in flames, 'cause it's the story of a queen whose castles fallen to the sea" suggests the guy has also gone through a rough/traumatic past as well but puts it aside because he cares about her and/or the girl's problems are much worse.

"cause there's no one to love her when you build your walls to high, and there's no one to love you when you build your walls to high" this may suggest guards up for both but primarily the girl and I interpret it as the boy telling the girl this and feeling sorry and loving towards her.

"she's looking out from the war that's inside and screaming out cause no one survived, but when you're all alone, you wait and hide, cause it's the..." i feel that this could work for a juxtaposition of the boy and girl and how they work through their problems- and the boy discarding his to aid the girl or it could be the battle and hopelessness that the boy notices in the girl with the switching pronouns from 'she' to 'you' (so viewing the girl and her issues to telling/consoling her about them).

"there's no one who is strong enough to save your love, there's no fairytale, there's no fairytale" goes with the fairytale/childish theme and may insinuate that the boy is not strong enough to save her or her is on the outside knowing no one can save her unless he does it himself- but he may not be able to- seen in 'no fairytale'.

"and there is no one to love you when you trap yourself inside" it suggests that the boy wasn't able to help her as he was to frail himself or it may also mean that he is directing the sentence at her with the pronoun switch of 'you'- meaning he is asking her to drop her guard down and warning her of what will happen if she doesn't. there is also a third meaning that is unlikely but still notable that because the boy is ignoring his issues and trapping himself and focusing on her issues (which she got to comfortable with) there is no one left to love or care for him as the girl is very clearly not strong enough to do so herself.

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