From the Levitate (album) .. 2009.
Paperboy features: Bruce Hornsby (piano, dulcimer, vocals, keyboards); Bobby Read (reeds); J.V. Collier (bass); Sonny Emory (drums); J.T. Thomas (organ, keyboards); Doug Derryberry (guitar).
Paperboy meaning
“Paperboy” is a dark and eerie song where Bruce Hornsby adopts the voice of a young paperboy who spins wild and grotesque fantasies about a mysterious figure in his neighbourhood. The song plays on themes of paranoia, urban legends, and the way fear can escalate into increasingly horrifying scenarios in people’s minds. Bruce captures how rumours and a vivid imagination can blend to create terrifying stories, especially in small communities where speculation runs rampant.
The perspective of the paperboy
The narrator is a young boy, the local paperboy, whose imagination runs wild as he fantasises about gruesome and creepy events. Being a paperboy, he would have a unique perspective, seeing the neighbourhood in the early hours, delivering papers, and perhaps observing things that others might not notice. This makes him an ideal character to imagine these sinister scenarios. He warns others to “keep our voices low” as if there is danger lurking, creating an atmosphere of secrecy and fear.
Fear and paranoia in small towns
The song taps into a classic trope of small-town paranoia, where people create dark stories about mysterious strangers. The figure in the paperboy’s mind is painted as a villain, someone who has “something hiding in his trunk” and is “looking for me, he’s looking for you.” This evokes the fear of being hunted or targeted by an unknown force. The reference to the trunk could symbolise hidden dangers, suggesting that what lies beneath the surface of this mysterious man is something sinister and deadly.
The gruesome fantasies of the paperboy
The lyrics reveal a series of disturbing fantasies. The most unsettling is the story of “that little girl, pink ribbon, auburn curls,” a sweet, innocent image that is immediately contrasted with her violent fate as “cargo” in the mysterious man’s car trunk. The “pre-teen surprise attack” suggests sudden violence, and the image of her ending up “between the guy’s spare tire and his jack” is both grim and surreal, a clear product of the boy’s overactive imagination.
Other gruesome imagery includes the man making “a meal of his divorce” and eating different body parts for “every different course.” The mention of the “crypt” in his basement, described as “well equipped,” suggests a morbid fascination with death and the macabre, adding to the narrative that this figure is a dangerous killer with a hidden life. The line “he’s seen so many ghoulish things they now seem nondescript” suggests desensitisation to violence and horror, reflecting how in the paperboy’s imagination, the man has become immune to the fearsome deeds he commits.
The role of urban legends
“Paperboy” captures the way urban legends and rumours grow in small communities, especially when there is a lack of real information. The paperboy’s wild stories reflect the tendency for people to fill gaps in knowledge with dark fantasies, often making the mysterious figure in town into a monster. The phrase “believe you me, every word is true” plays on how easily people can accept such stories as fact, even when they are clearly the product of overactive imaginations.
Dark humour and irony
The song contains a layer of dark humour, especially in the repetitive chorus of “he’ll cut off your feet just to take your shoes.” This line exaggerates the imagined villain’s brutality, suggesting that he commits extreme violence for seemingly trivial reasons. It also hints at the absurdity of the boy’s fears, revealing the ridiculousness that often underlies exaggerated rumours. There is an ironic tone in how seriously the paperboy presents these fantasies, reflecting the way gossip and fear can inflate otherwise mundane situations into something horrific.
A commentary on fear and imagination
“Paperboy” is a reflection on how fear and imagination can distort reality, particularly through the lens of a child who may not fully understand the world around him. Bruce captures the way paranoia spreads through communities, turning innocent or unknown figures into objects of terror. The paperboy’s gruesome fantasies symbolise the darker side of human imagination, where fear fuels exaggerated stories that feel all too real. The song is both a humorous and unsettling commentary on the power of rumour, and how easily paranoia can spiral into something grotesque.