'Bleed On Paper' by Eric Church – Lyrics & Meaning

With his newest project, Evangeline vs. The Machine, Eric Church is holding true to the fine art of making an album.

An endeavor he describes as “a snapshot in time that lasts for all time,” crafting a succinct collection is no easy feat and has become rarer and rarer release after country release. “I believe in that time-tested tradition of making records that live and breathe as one piece of art – I think it’s important,” he shared in a statement upon the album's announcement.

Throughout the eight-track release, Church let creativity lead; and, eventually, it landed him exactly where he was meant to be: squarely in the middle of his most adventurous and evolved effort to date.

“The people that I look up to in my career and the kind of musicians I gravitate to never did what I thought they were going to do next – and I love them for it," he explained. "I never want our fans to get an album and go, ‘Oh, that’s like Chief or that’s like this.’ Painstakingly, I lose sleep at night to try to make sure that whatever we do creatively, they go, ‘Wow, that's not what I thought.’ I think that's my job as an artist.”

Over the course of the album's second track, 'Bleed On Paper', Church dissects that painstaking role of the artist, sharing the moments of sheer frustration and those of sweet breakthrough that make what he does so worthwhile.

The pull of tense strings and the peppering of a persistent beat lay the foundation for the slow, smoldering arrangement that carries much of 'Bleed On Paper'. While boisterous horns and bright choral flourishes soon join in, adding a touch of heat and passion to the soulful track, it's that baseline of darkened rhythm and taut steel that gives the song its legs.

"May never be what you call rockstar
It’s cool if I don’t get there
I’d die just a sinner with a guitar
Johnny Cash middle finger in the air
Make a living on what’s in a tip jar
Burn out like a neon buzz
I might be nothing but my old man’s son
Or the best damn thing there ever was"

'Bleed On Paper' is all about the craft of songwriting, the act of being vulnerable and transparent enough to allow your thoughts and feelings to flow out onto the paper and into a song.

From the very beginning, Church recognizes that he may never be rockstar or anyone other than his father's son, but that's alright with him. He finds solace in being exactly who he is – "just a sinner with a guitar / Johnny Cash middle finger in the air / Make a living on what’s in a tip jar / Burn out like a neon buzz" – and doing what he does best: making music.

"But I keep on singing what I know between a minor and a major
I keep pulling at the bittersweet and if it ain’t the latest flavor
A little bit devil, a little bit savior
Whole lotta life cutting like a razor
And with some blue ink, a blank page and an ole six-string
I bleed on paper"

According to the chorus, music seems to be where he exists most comfortably. It's a place where he can deftly navigate the minors and the majors of life, grapple with the devil and commune with the savior. When life begins to "cut like a razor," he can simply turn to pen and paper, allowing him to work out his problems and make sense of the world through his craft.

"Yeah, I met a man at the crossroads suit and tie with a smile like gold
He tried making me a deal like I had me a for sale sign hanging on my soul
Said, all I had to do was change my tune, I could cash that check
But I don’t like the feel of a rattlesnake boot heel on my neck"

With the next verse, Church makes mention of a devilish figure looking to barter, asking the artist to sell-out and trade his musical truth for a fat check. Nothing, however, could make him change his tune or water down the way he creates his songs.

He finds the ultimate comfort in writing – he sings: "Pouring out my heart showing these scars / Yeah, that’s the part that heals me / Chasing one more song that cuts to the bone / Even if it kills me" – and, at the end of the day, that's all he knows.

"I bleed on paper, I bleed on paper"

“I love the sentiment of it," the artist has said of 'Bleed On Paper', adding that it's more the arrangement, though, that packs the punch. "I love the tension. There are some string parts on there that – and what I love about strings is they can create, you know a lot of people think when you think strings you think ‘oh it's a wedding,’ or whatever, but it can create such tension in the song and it really creates an amazing amount of tension.”

May never be what you call rockstar
It’s cool if I don’t get there
I’d die just a sinner with a guitar
Johnny Cash middle finger in the air
Make a living on what’s in a tip jar
Burn out like a neon buzz
I might be nothing but my old man’s son
Or the best damn thing they ever was

But I keep on singing what I know between a minor and a major
I keep pulling at the bittersweet and if it ain’t the latest flavor
A little bit devil, a little bit savior
Whole lotta life cutting like a razor
And with some blue ink, a blank page and an ole six-string
I bleed on paper

Yeah, I met a man at the crossroads suit and tie with a smile like gold
He tried making me a deal like I had me a for sale sign hanging on my soul
Said, all I had to do was change my tune, I could cash that check
But I don’t like the feel of a rattlesnake boot heel on my neck

So, I keep on singing what I know between a minor and a major
Keep pulling at the bittersweet and if it ain’t the latest flavor
Little bit of devil, little bit of savior
Whole lotta life cutting like a razor
With some blue ink, a blank page and an ole six-string
I bleed on paper

Pouring out my heart showing these scars
Yeah, that’s the part that heals me
Chasing one more song that cuts to the bone
Even if it kills me

But I keep on singing what I know between a minor and a major
I keep pulling at the bittersweet and if it ain’t the latest flavor
Running with the devil, riding with the savior
Whole lotta life cutting like a razor
Yeah, with some blue ink, a blank page and an ole six-string
I bleed on paper, I bleed on paper
I bleed on paper, I bleed on paper

––

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