Cavetown: Paul Meaning

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Paul Lyrics

Oh, the last time I saw Paul
I was horrible and almost let him in
But I stopped and caught the wall
And my mouth got dry
So all I did was take him for a spin

Yeah, we hopped inside my car
And I drove in circles 'round the freight train...

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   #1 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Mar 23rd 2021 report

   This is a cover of “Paul” by Big Thief. I don’t think this is about Paul being toxic. This is about Paul letting his lover in his life despite the loved having some trust issues and personal trauma. Paul said he’d be there for his lover, but he didn’t know what he was getting into. His lover had a lot to work out, and as much as this lover tried to be there for Paul, in the end, the trauma and personal anxiety took over the lover’s perspective of the relationship. The lover knew that they had to leave Paul in order for Paul to have a happy and healthy life. Could be wrong, but from this perspective, Paul is gentle, kind, and wants to be good .
2. anonymous

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   Nov 10th report

   I think this song is about Robbie being toxic due to his deteriorating mental state, and taking it out on "Paul". Paul could have been a close friend or his boyfriend, but Robbie cared for him either way.
   In this song, Robbie's expressing that he still cares for Paul,but he had to leave him because he knew it would be better for Paul. In the song, Robbie says
   "Well Paul, I know you said
   That you'd take me any way I came or went
   But I'll push you from my brain
   See, you're gentle baby
   I couldn't stay, I'd only bring you pain"
   
   This shows that although Robbie knows Paul wants to stay and he wants Paul to stay, he feels like he needs to push him away to keep him happy.
3. anonymous

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   Nov 7th report

   Well, reading all these it does seem that Paul is alcohol. They even rhyme.
   
   In the first verse the writer almost lets in Paul. Then they catch the wall, but notice their mouth is dry so they take Paul(alcohol) for a spin.
4. anonymous

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   Oct 18th report

   To me this song sounds like Robbie has some sort of weakness towards what he calls Paul in the song, whether literally paul is an old ex he never moved on from or from what my guess is whiskey since he says "I'll be your real tough cookie with the whiskey breath", whatever it is, he lets it take control of him until he pushes it out of his life and tries to move on.
5. anonymous

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   Aug 22nd report

   Paul is alcohol, and Robbie shouldn't let him in because he's recovering
   But Paul can show you a lot of love and fun times. The memories are so sweet and Robbie still loves Paul but life with him is out of control. Robbie will never forget him.
6. anonymous

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   Jul 21st report

   the way i interpreted it, it could be robbie was in a relationship with Paul before transitioning, and Paul was willing to stay with him no matter what but they broke up because Robbie had a lot of personal issues to deal with surrounding his transition and mental health.
   
   I'm using Robbie's name here because that's who's singing it but i feel it relates more to my personal live than Robbie's :)
   
   
7. anonymous

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   Jul 10th report

   Paul is a boyfriend who is driving drunk that could have crashed while a close friend of cavetown was in the car.
8. anonymous

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   Jun 7th report

   I think it was Paul saying he was willing to stay with Robin no matter what Robin did because Pual still loved Robin event though he could be toxic.
9. anonymous

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   Mar 16th 2021 report

   Maybe Paul was someone he was close to (BOYFRIEND) and Paul became toxic and Robbie was stuck with paul he could not leave him. He could not leave because he still loved paul even if he could have been toxic. Then Robbie finally left paul and know he's telling us about it.
10. anonymous

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    Mar 8th 2021 report

    My boyfriends name is Paul so i hold this song really close cause he fixed me and I'd be all thoae things for him. And i think cavetown meant that he was the toxic one and he wasn't good for paul and paul just kept coming back because he loved him regardless of everything he was x
11. anonymous

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    Mar 6th 2021 report

    I think Paul could’ve been a person in Cavetown’s life that he held close and one day finally let him go. “Paul” could’ve been a toxic person or Cavetown pushed him away. It sounds almost like a tragic breakup that happened in the past. The breakup could’ve been from toxic relationship issues or something like that but I’m not sure if I’m right

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