Lost Gem: "Paper Thin" - John Hiatt (1988)



"I was gonna get up off that bar stool...
Just as soon as I could figure it out."
-->John Hiatt<-- 


John Hiatt's ninth album..."Slow Turning" (1988)...is loaded with top to bottom diamonds. 

This warm-hearted troubadour is known for his clever songwriting...twisting phrases left of center...but always achingly dead-on.  Whether singing rockers of road-trip freedoms...or casting shadows on hard-lessons learned.

Sounds like a contradiction...but that's just John Hiatt.


Lost Gem:--> "Paper Thin"...oh man...but ain't this a solid  prime Hiatt rocker.  Exhilarating poundage with a raucous 'Stones' vibe.

Have you heard this one?


I was gonna get up off that bar stool
Just as soon as I could figure it out
Why I was sobering up at the car pool
Stood up at the dance with no twist and shout

 When you're burnin' with your last desire
And every memory haunts you
You write it down in alcohol fire
'cause that's the only flame that wants you

 When you're paper thin
Yeah, read all about it
When you were out of luck, well, luck was doin' alright
Now you're paper thin
Yeah, they can see right through ya
You just cut you're little finger on the edge of the night

 Now do I really have to be responsible
For what I did between those tavern walls
I was just mixing up some chemicals
You could've heard a pin drop, could have heard time crawl

 And every once in a while
You could hear you're own heart pound
Maybe some paper doll with a pasted on smile
Would let you write her number down

Good stuff!


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