Paper Bag
3:39
Added: 5 years ago
From: thelimoboy
Views: 462,152
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  • so much soul its beautiful and inspiring

  • whenever i listen to this song, it makes me feel im taking a walk at twilight in winter.

    Thank you fiona for making such a beautiful song.

  • You know, I think this is the only video I've ever seen where the dancers made sense to me. It's awesome-- a bunch of little boys dressed like men, shaking hands and skipping around.

  • LOVE her voice!!! XO

  • I love her.

  • Great song.

  • hmm, i think i'm the only guy that listens to this song...ha

  • No, I do too.

  • "he said its all in ur head and i said sos everything but he didnt get it"

    isnt that always the case?

  • i dont get it :(

  • Me too.

  • She is so lovely..I love this song!<3

  • damn i lost my paper bag

  • the first time i heard this song i started crying because of how amazingly it did and stil does apply to my life. i still cant listen to this song without my eyes watering a litle

    hunger hurts but starving works when love costs to much

    <3

  • hunger hurts but starving works when it costs too much to love..... thats sublimely deep... this song is so well put together..love it

  • I can't believe this woman, who has written so many beautiful songs that are so wonderfully human, and served as a positive role model for so any people, can also dance and look great in a musical-style music video. I'm so impressed! I looooove this video.

  • honey I DON'T FEEL SO GOD , DON'T feel justified, come on put a little love here in my void!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    he said " it's all in your head"and i said, so's everything, but he didn't get it....

    you A____ never NEVER GET IT! ¬¬

  • Actually, I've never got that line. It always confuses me. If someone could explain it I'd love you forever ... Okay not really but I'd think of you when I heard the line.:)

  • In love with this song. Wonderful amazing video for it.

  • i love how shes wearing red

  • i love the concept of her leaving the hotel as a part of leaving a certain chapter of your life behind and with that sad smile... still being ok with it.

  • i love fiona, and her music rocks! I especially love this song, and most of her videos... but this video... great song, but this music video is just terrible and i'm sorry but she is devoid of any feeling throughout the whole thing...

  • i love her

  • this is so good it is ridiculous.

  • Fiona was raped outside her apartment when she was just 12. Fiona continues to have nightmares about her rape and for years afterwards, would frequently check closets to see if her rapist was hiding behide it. She later developed an ED

  • She said

    "I definitely had an eating disorder. What was really frustrating for me was that everyone though I was anorexic, and I wasn't. I was really depressed and self-loathing. For me, it wasn't about being thin, it was about getting rid of the bait attached to my body. A lot of it came from the self-loathing that came from being raped at the point of developing my voluptuousness..

  • know just how she feels

  • this looks like the hotel from The Shining

  • I agree with ya, i imagined the hotel like that

  • I love this so much I had my prom dress tailored after the one she's wearing here :D

  • Vice president Taggart Transcontinental

  • no way! They used to play music on MTV??

  • Lol I know right, seems like ancient times when they did that.

  • lol

  • LOL.

    Love this song.

  • I love this song...but can someone tell me exactly what the meaning to the song is?

  • from what i gather......it's about unrequited love for someone who doesnt take her seriously and is just playing with her mind......is not man enough to take on her craziness she has to try to restrain herself from loving him......i love this song too

  • Thanks! I appreciate you replying to me :)

  • "I was having a sweet fix of a daydream of a boy, whose reality I knew was a hopeless to be had."

    That's the key lyrics here, I think. The guy's married, taken, gay, something... and it's kind of clear between them that nothing will happen, BUT... hunger hurts :)

  • Thanks...you made it make a lot more sense =)

  • No. Its not that he's taken or gay or anything like that. He just doesn't get her. The boy will never be a right fit for her and she knows this but she still loves him and that's why she must try to forget him, even though it hurts so much.

  • you're a genius

  • hunger hurts!! :)

  • I think it is about eating disorders... thats how i relate to it.

  • haha! nothing like literal readings!

  • Go paper bags, plastic sux.

  • sharp :)

  • i love her face at 2:27, just a little smile. thanks for being brave enough to write this song, miss fiona. :D

  • I'm always surprised that she did this video! But also always glad that she did!

    Angst on, Fiona. ♥

  • Comment removed

  • wow my names fiona haha thats cool :)

  • your name is fiona, awesome! are you as talented as she is?

  • girllikeboys27 makes a happy comment about her name being the same as fionna. vonfandango immediately feels compelled to squash her like a bug. what a vicious human being you are. A lot of hostility you are carrying inside there fandango. Oh, by the way, don't bother spitting some venom my way, i was raised by nuns and catholic priests.

  • I was giving her a compliment. I have no ill will towards anyone. Why would I make fun of her when I like this song, please use your brain. and you seem a little angry even though raised by nuns and catholics, shame on you :(

  • You do realize I was giving you praise right?

  • This is a great song and I love the video, so original! Glad to see fiona isn't too crazy anymore, good job!

  • he said it's all in your head. and i said, so is everything, but he didn't get it.

  • that's deep...

  • this song always makes me feel better when I'm having one of those down days.

  • "i know im a mess you don't wanna clean up..."

  • If they don't care enough to help you at your worst, then they don't deserve you at your best, hun. <3

  • thank you! that me feel a whole hell of a lot better right now

    : ))

  • I'm so glad I said the right thing for someone out there. You made me feel SO good just now, too. It cheered me up to hear that I helped someone, so thank YOU for that. :)

    Smile. And then, don't stop. Okay?

  • thats the most over used quote ive heard.. right out of a fortune cookie..."f they don't care enough to help you at your worst, then they don't deserve you at your best"..OVERUSED

  • I never read that anywhere, just came up with it off of the top of my head. Good quotes get spread around because they make sense and cheer you up. :)

    If you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all!

  • ANY WAYS... iver heard it before so that doesnt make it original.. there is no way you can come up with that on your own. but yeah... it does kind of cher you up

  • Well, smart minds think alike. It does cheer you up, which is why it's been said in the past. No reason to go raining on someone else's parade. I'm sorry you were in a bad mood or felt the need to bring someone down. Keep smiling! :D

  • your right.. i was in a bad mood come to think about it.. thanx

  • It came off the top of Marilyn Monroe's head actually.

  • wel im never really into this type of music but this is such a great song, and makes me feel better about stuff some how

  • god this is a good song i can't believe i've not heard it before

  • this is a really great song no matter what its about and it has a really good message that can be interpreted in different ways

  • So true...

  • not to be (too) rude, but please, can't you people just appreciate how cool this video is and not bitch about eating crap!

    really now, if you are pro ana, more power to ya, but damn, i just like the song, maybe it's related but really now, there's a time and a place for all the ravings,

    so, how talented is this director no? i love it

  • ahahaha thank goodness someone here is sane.

  • sane? me? lol! thank you!

  • And if you notice at the end of the video a little boy gives her the suitcase, which is probably her "emotional baggage"/ the mess he doesnt wanna clean up.

  • That was really perceptive of you. Nicely observed, I didn't even think anything of that! :)

  • pro ana!!

  • pro anal!

  • PRO ANA

  • LOL... pro anal!!

  • hmm.. i wonder what's so funny about it..

    or did i understand this comment the wrong way?

  • Ohh, I was just replying to someone else´s comment...

  • @mabeliita

    ok- i'm sorry.

    best wishes

  • I don't think it's pro ana, I think that it's just showing her feelings and what she was going through at the time it was written.

    Starving yourself is no way to lead your life.

  • does she still make music?

  • No she retired sometime this year and is putting her efforts to some free range animal farm in LA

  • :[ What? Where did you get this info...

  • i love how she compares one-way love to anorexia. i've struggled with an eating disorder all my 24 years it seems...

    nobody knows how you view the world through your distorted emotions unless they've been there. and she's been there! she articulates it so well it makes me envious of her elequant giftedness.

  • how can you say struggled with an eating dissordeR? i love mine... my anorexia is my best friend

  • when i say i "struggled" i meant that once my kidneys failed and i broke a rib when i sneezed not to mention my hair falling out, it wasn't so GLAMOUROUS anymore.

  • uhm, cool?

  • "hunger hurts,but starving works" .....to true

  • It's about love *and* anorexia - and this reinforces the fact that people often literally starve themselves when starved for love. Someone of Fiona's abilities isn't going to completely disregard the literal sense of her lyrics.

    Almost the entire song is structured to be meaningful from either interpretation:

    Shaking hands (physical effects of malnutrition, psychological effect of unrequited love)

    Void (in the stomach, in the heart)

    Lastly, they're in a diner without food!

  • I agree with your analysis, very impressive :D

  • i thought this song is about disappointment. which is why she says "a dove of hope began it's downward slope. i thought it was a bird but it was just a paper bag". she thought she found her dream man but he was "just a little boy"

  • maybe it's bulima...like she's throwing up in a paper bag...

  • I love this song! The little boys are so cute, and such good dancers!

  • Wow,

    this delivers a brilliant

    enthusiastic message.

  • this song makes me feel strong in my weak times *keep at it and go for the goal*

  • i luv this song...

    be strong

  • Starving works no matter how much it hurts!!

  • Great Song

    :]

  • Music is your own experience. ;)

  • I agree with rjshort2004.

    Just listen and enjoy the song.

  • i heart.. this song. Aw it REALLY captures my mood..ya know? Dunno, I think the lyrics are really good.

  • and sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. don't over analyize it.

  • i think it has a duel meaning, hunger from love but it can also represent those with eating disorders

    i get that the actuall meaning is probably the love thing but i dont think that any one should be criticized for taking the song and taking from it what they want.

    what i mean to say is everyone interprets art, songs ect in their own way, wether or not that was the way the artists originally intended so no one can be right or wrong here its about personal opinion.

    good song

  • Amen Sister

  • all art is self portraiture including the written(sung,is that a word,)word.

    but all art is filtered through our filters of our pyche - so is there true art? - how could you ever know.

    though there may be a message in the song that fiona wanted to convey there is enough abstract to allow us to attach personel meaning too it. very well produced song which envokes emotion in me both positive and negative but both i enjoy its good to feel

  • Hey, you guys, that 2009jakali is a crazy, crazy person. They messaged me on youtube and said I was insulting them--and that I was an idiot or something for being so rude on the internet. So, for the love of God, if you want to keep your sanity, do NOT give him/her intelligible interpretations to a song. RTarg.

  • Is this a Pro-Ana song???

  • Nah. Not really. Read my interpretation down below.

  • I LOVE this song,

    it's AMAZING.=P

  • It's not about anorexia. Jeez. "Hunger hurts, but starving works"--she's referring to the man who won't give her love. She's 'hungry' for his love--but he won't give it to her--and under the illusion of love, if she keeps herself 'starved' for his love, she won't be disappointed by his love--she'll just want it more.

    rTarg.

  • Fiona Apple reminds me of the girl in Meet Joe Black... forgot her name.

  • Clair Forlani

  • Love this song

  • She is gorgeous. Amazing eyes. Love this song. :)

  • I would like to add one thing. What's with all the little boys? Couldn't they get grown ups to do it? I guess it's suposed to be sweet, but it's a little disconcerting, seeing all those boys dancing around her. LOL.

  • I thought he was a man but he was just a little boy.

  • plus they make her look taller lol

  • nope its just cos the boys are quite short makes her look huge lol.

  • in the song it sais, i thought it was a man but it was just a little boy, she means, he didnt understand her and he was imature. cous she also sais, i said honey i dont feel so good, dont feel justified, come on put a little love into my void, he said its all in your haid, i said so is everything but he didnt get it (and this is the part she sais) i thought he was a man but he was just a little boy. lol. so thats why thers a ton of kids around.

  • in the song it sais, i thought it was a man but it was just a little boy, she means, he didnt understand her and he was imature. cous she also sais, i said honey i dont feel so good, dont feel justified, come on put a little love into my void, he said its all in your haid, i said so is everything but he didnt get it (and this is the part she sais) i thought he was a man but he was just a little boy. lol. so thats why thers a ton of kids around.

  • I liked the video. It was a nice change from, "I'm so skinny, and pale, and angry, I just need to....grrrr....to take my clothes off...." LOL. I love this song, one of my favs to sing kareoke. And I love Miss. Apple in general. ^.^

  • Nice feel-good video. I admire Paul's works, and Apple has a great voice.

  • oh how beautiful miss apple is

  • i got it as hunger for him hurts so she starves herself to feel better about herself. it's an ED thing where you dont eat when your stressed

  • I understand that interpretation, but I think that, in this case, it's much more straightforward than that. I think she's simply stating that love is too hard, and it's earier to refuse love altogether. I think that "starving" in this case refers to the deprivation of love...not the deprivation of food.

  • anyone have any idea who this was directed by?

  • by Paul Thomas Anderson (director of Magnolia) who used to be his boyfriend

  • Don't you mean HER boyfriend, unless I'm missing something here? :D

  • ooops ^^

    (her BF of course !)

  • I am addicted to this song.

  • so do I...

    how its possible fiona's lyrics are so close to my life?!

  • It just fits so well with the song. :)

  • I love this music video so much.

    The little boys are so adorable. xD

    I love the choreography and I just love the theme of all these boys who seem like "men" at first.

  • Awesome song! She's talented and the rest is sheet!

  • my kind of apple! ^-^

  • Although Fiona Apple did struggle with an eating disorder, this song I believe is more about how she wants a relationship with a certain man, and thought she could. However, it turned out that 'she knew she was a mess he don't want to clean up' meaning whomever she was seeking couldn't handle her problems. It cost too much to love.

  • jes but she also said

    hunger hurts,starving works

    so it goes over both - the lover and the eating disorder

  • i got it as hunger for him hurts so she starves herself to feel better about herself. it's an ED thing where you dont eat when your stressed

  • U guys are idiots

    shes hungry to be a pokemon master

  • No, no, there is no evidence to support that theory!

  • Obviously.

  • the "mess he don't wanna clean up" and "hands are too shaky to hold" speak to me much louder than the hunger hurts parts for some reason... they illustrate a lack of confidence being the problem more than the will of "starvation"...

  • She's talking about starving herself from love...not food. The cost of love is not weight gain, it's heart break. Yes, she had experience with ED, but that's not the explanation for this song. If you've ever had heart break, it'd be perfectly understandable, starving yourself from love to avoid the pain.

  • Okay seriously guys. She's using her experience with and ED to explain a problem with a guy. So this song can be related to by people with EDs, or just people with love problems.

  • What's ED?

  • Eating Disorder.

    All this banter over what the song is about seems kind of irrelevant. I always thought music was meant to cross boundaries and have different meanings depending on the listener. Like NIN's first album, whether some of the songs were about sex or crack addiction. Or 'white rabbit' by Jefferson airplane - drugs or war. A lot of Queen's songs, whether they're about aids or struggles with fame.. etc.

    Take from the song what you feel it reflects in ..you..

  • missunderestimated

    "All this banter.......irrelevant. I always thought music was meant to cross boundaries and have different meanings depending on the listener..."

    Yes and no...crossing boundaries and having different meanings to different people, yes. Banter being kind of irrelevant?? Surely not!? Aren't individuals expressing their own points of view and exchanging ideas (whether evoked by music or not) a major reason/pastime (< th@'s for another discussion lol) for existence!?

    cont...

  • ..cont.

    "Take from the song what you feel it reflects in ..you.." Absolutely, then why not go further and share th@? Ah...maybe it's the 'my interpret@ion is the one and only right one' @titude of some th@ you're referring to?

  • Wow.  Just...wow. :)

  • Nom - I like it. It's wh@ I'd enjoy when in the mood for some Sheryl Crow. Thanks for the share.

  • i love the lyrics and meaning behind this song

    "hunger hurts and i want it so bad"

  • This is an awesome song but even better video!

  • wow

  • I love her smile...there's so much going on behind it. Ugh...love her so much!

  • shes short and those little boys a LITTLE disturbing

  • "he said it's all in your head and i said 'so's everything' but he didn't get it"

    amwesome lyric

  • fiona es una cantautora excelente!!

  • Damn! She is sexy!!

  • Love Fiona, love this song and love the Bugsy Malone feel to this video!

  • cool video!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • shut your mouths

  • MMMM... sandwich!

  • This is a ridiculous argument, so why don't we clear it up?

    This song is about a boy. She is saying "Hunger hurts but starving works" and such because she's using an eating disorder as a metaphor to emphasize how she feels about the situation. Just like in English class.

    Conclusion: she's smarter than all of you.

    Oh, an also, there are websites to meet and talk about your terrible eating disorder. Youtube isn't one of them. No one here cares about your struggles. Go eat a sandwich.

  • russianspoons

    "...No one here cares about your struggles..."

    You don't speak for me. Who do you think you are? Telling us what we can or can't talk about on YT.

    Wh@ you say is a metaphor is a fair comment. As for your conclusion and 2nd paragraph...lighten up and go to:

    /watch?v=p21nZmtq56M

    Oh yea... nice song this :D

  • You know what? I think if you scold me some more, I might care some more about the terrible struggles of people I don't know.

    Or maybe I'll remember that a lot of those are just pathetic cries for attention that no one should take seriously.

    But maybe you should try scolding me again, that was good. Put me in my place and all. ten points to you.