Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart

Album: Tiny Music... Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop (1996)
Charted: 36
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Scott Weiland said that this song "reflects my hunger for redemption." A key line is, "I'm not dead and not for sale," which he later used as the title of his autobiography.

    Weiland took pride in his individuality, holding true to his ideals not matter the critical or financial cost. The scattershot lyrics reflect the turmoil in his life, but he's willing to own it. "Just let me be," he sings.
  • Stone Temple Pilots drummer Eric Kretz wrote most of the music for this track. The inspiration for his drum line was the Tower of Power song "What Is Hip?"
  • This has the longest title of any Stone Temple Pilots song. The full title never appears in the lyrics, but we do hear about a paper heart in the first line ("Don't cut out my paper heart), and "trip" shows up twice: "Keep on trippin' anyway," "One more trip and I'll be gone."

    "Trip" has a dual meaning, as it can be a stumble or a drug trip.
  • Stone Temple Pilots had been shaken and stirred by the time they set out to Westerly Ranch in Santa Ynez, California to record the Tiny Music... Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop album. Weiland was arrested for drug possession a few months earlier and started a new band called Magnificent Bastards. Meanwhile, his bandmates started their own side band called Talk Show. But with the help of their longtime producer, Brendan O'Brien, they made an album that stood the test of time, with "Big Bang Baby" released as the first single, followed by "Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart."

    "What came out of that was an interesting record and a great time of hanging out at a cool house on a cool property and having a good time doing that," bass player Robert DeLeo told Songfacts. "You don't get many opportunities to do that. It's one of those things I look back on and really appreciate my job."

    The tour following the album wasn't as amicable: Weiland ended up in rehab and they had to pause it for months, leading to further internecine tensions.

Comments: 1

  • Greg from MiHe says sick of being on top of death pool lotteries? From storytellers VH1
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot

Jon Foreman of SwitchfootSongwriter Interviews

Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo Lyric

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo LyricMusic Quiz

In this quiz, spot the artist who put Romeo into a song lyric.

Colin Hay

Colin HaySongwriter Interviews

Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.

Lecrae

LecraeSongwriter Interviews

The Christian rapper talks about where his trip to Haiti and his history of addiction fit into his songs.

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Emmylou Harris

Emmylou HarrisSongwriter Interviews

She thinks of herself as a "song interpreter," but back in the '80s another country star convinced Emmylou to take a crack at songwriting.