Paper Bag

Fiona Apple's 'Paper Bag' is a poignant exploration of unrequited love and the emotional turmoil that accompanies it. The song begins with the narrator looking to the sky for a sign of hope, symbolized by a star, which she finds in the form of a daydream about a boy. However, this hope quickly dissipates when she realizes that her aspirations are as insubstantial as a paper bag, mistaken for a dove. The metaphor of the paper bag represents the fragility and emptiness of her desires, highlighting the disappointment of realizing that what she yearned for was never within reach.

The chorus of 'Paper Bag' delves into the theme of emotional hunger, a powerful desire for love and connection that remains unfulfilled. Apple uses the metaphor of hunger to describe the intense longing for someone who does not reciprocate her feelings. The line 'Hunger hurts, but starving works' suggests that the pain of wanting is so great that the narrator chooses to starve herself emotionally, finding it easier to cope with the absence of love than to endure the cost of pursuing it. This refrain captures the essence of the song: the struggle between the need for love and the self-preservation that comes from withholding that need.

The song also touches on the theme of maturity and the realization that the object of her affection is not the man she believed him to be, but rather 'just a little boy.' This revelation adds another layer to her disappointment, as she grapples with the disparity between her expectations and reality. Apple's lyrics are a candid reflection of the complexities of love, desire, and the pain of recognizing that sometimes the love we seek is not only unattainable but may not be worth the emotional cost.