Papercut

“	I thought "Papercut" would probably be my least favorite song, actually, because it’s so long and it’s not very catchy. It’s unconventional and has this long dip in the middle, which to me is like the movie moment where you close your eyes and see Inception or Interstellar. I love that kind of stuff but I thought people wouldn't.	”
–Zedd about his original thoughts on "Papercut"^[1]

Papercut

General information

Artist(s)

Zedd (feat. Troye Sivan)

Written by

Anton Zaslavski
Julia Michaels
Sam Martin
Lindy Robbins
Jason Evigan
Austin Paul Flores

Produced by

Zedd

Background vocals by

Julia Michaels^[2]
Zedd^[2]

Length

7:24

Singles	Promotional singles
"I Want You to Know" "Beautiful Now" "True Colors"	"Addicted to a Memory" "Bumble Bee"

"Papercut" is the eighth track from Zedd's second studio album, True Colors. It features vocals from South African-born Australian actor, YouTuber, and singer-songwriter Troye Sivan.^[3]

Background[]

"Papercut"'s Zedd True Colors Experience occurred on 10 May 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The song was premiered at Fonthill Castle; Zedd said that he chose the castle because, like the middle of the song, the location was "cinematic".^[4]

Sivan revealed in a YouTube video on 29 June that he and Zedd didn't meet each other to do the song: "I just went into the studio one day and recorded the vocal and left...and that was it."^[5]

On 17 July, Zedd uploaded the song audio onto his VEVO account, featuring an updated cover.

Zedd True Colors - Event 7, Philadelphia PA - "Papercut"

Critical reception[]

The song has been positively received by most critics. Following a premature leak of True Colors, Project U gave a short review of the song, saying that at the beginning, "Papercut sounds like it could be a ballad. Then it sounds like it could be in Frozen. Then the beat kicks and Troye starts singing and it’s exceptionally amazing."^[6] In June 2015, Chris Haigh of Pop Insomniacs described the song as "an impressive slice of house-pop helmed by Sivan's promising vocals" and called it one of the highlights of True Colors.^[7] Newsday's Glenn Gamboa called the track "a fascinating suite of synth-pop".^[8]

Lyrics[]

Now we're staring at the ceiling
You're so pretty when you're mad
All that I can hear is breathing, oh, oh
And we're stuck inside the silence
In a cold, cold war
We're too proud to say we're sorry, oh, oh

Right now it feels like we're bleeding
So deep that we might not get back up
Our words they tear through the surface
Like a paper, like a paper cut
Right now don't know why I love you
But by the morning when we wake up
I'll reach for you and remember
It was just a paper, just a paper cut

I find refuge in the distance
Even when we're breaking down
Can we pause it just for one kiss? Oh, oh
Cause I never meant to hurt you
And I know you feel the same
Still the only one I run to, oh, oh

Right now it feels like we're bleeding
So deep that we might not get back up
Our words they tear through the surface
Like a paper, like a papercut
Right now don't know why I love you
But by the morning when we wake up
I'll reach for you and remember
It was just a paper, just a papercut

Right now it feels like we're bleeding
So deep that we might not get back up
Our words will tear through the surface
Like a paper, like a papercut
Right now, I don't know why I love you
But by the morning when we wake up
I'll reach for you and remember
It was just a paper, just a papercut

Videos[]

The audio for the song was released via ZEDDVEVO on 17 July 2015.

An official animated music video for the Grey Remix of the song was posted onto Vimeo on 3 February 2016. Golden Wolf, the animators of the video, said the following in the description:^[9]

“

When the guys at Interscope and Blood Company approached us about doing a music video for Zedd's Paper Cut, we knew it would be the perfect opportunity to try out an idea we had been toying with for a while: gathering a dream team of some of our favourite artists from around the world to create one cohesive film using a variety of styles. After coming up with the storyline we put together a script, storyboard and animatic and then divided the shots between ourselves and 10 of our favourite collaborators, with the only guideline being to work in black and white with a hand drawn feel.

”