Behind the Music
The story behind Paper Lanterns
Paper Lanterns began as a voice memo recorded at 3 a.m. on a hotel balcony in Taipei, the city blinking below like a field of dying stars. It is a song about the people we carry with us long after the conversation has ended — warm, flickering, impossible to hold. Gaia sings it not to remember, but to finally let go.
Lyrics
I let a lantern go last night
and the sky went soft and red
you were a fingerprint of light
on the ceiling above my bed
some stories are easier to sing
than to tell, than to tell
so I will keep you in the humming
where the quiet kindles well