What is “Paper Snake” about?
"Paper Snake" treats a stack of love letters as a disguised serpent: every line was a lie, every stamp poisoned, and the words bit the narrator right through the envelope. Her answer is to burn them, reasoning that "ashes can't bite me twice," and to leave behind the scars she once kept polished in a shoebox. The shortest song on Gasoline Hymn, at track ten, it makes a pointed pair with "Burnt Letter" later on the record.
Paper Snake lyrics
Paper snake, paper snake
Folded up in the words you wrote
Paper snake, paper snake
Bit me through the envelope
Every letter was a lie
Every stamp was a cyanide kiss
Every promise was a pocket knife
Every I love you was this
Burn it down, burn it down
Paper snake into paper flame
Burn it down, burn it down
I don't even know your name
Burn it down, burn it down
Ashes can't bite me twice
Burn it down, burn it down
Paper snake, paper snake
I kept the scars in a shoebox
I kept the scars like they were mine
I kept them polished, I kept them sharp
Now I'm leaving them all behind
Burn it down, burn it down
Paper snake into paper flame
Burn it down, burn it down
I don't even know your name
Burn it down, burn it down
Ashes can't bite me twice
Burn it down, burn it down
Paper snake, paper snake
Paper snake, paper snake
Nothing left but the smoke you make