This is the 4th song off of Rilo Kiley’s EP, which was released in 1999.
The song shares a title with an allegedly autobiographical book written by Henri Charriere. Papillon detailed Charriere’s incarceration and subsequent escape from jail after being falsely accused of murdering a man.
This song...
[Verse 1]
Papillon busted free
Though it took him till he was 63
And nobody cared about the goddamn inquiry
And Daga stayed on the farm
Though he found no cause for alarm
It was a hell of a swim, but he still had two good arms
[Chorus]
Gorillas are for eating
Don't you know it's true?
I fell in love with you
And don't you think it's sad?
'Cause here we both stand
Amidst the wreckage of our past
[Verse 2]
And I'll spend the day with you
We'll meet at your house after two
You're the most exhausting girl I ever knew
And when you let me leave, I'll go
I'll let you get back to your phone
You mean well, Mel, but you're all talk and no show
[Chorus]
Pick your lips till they're bleeding
Don't you know I fell?
The lair of the queer devil
Is deeper than you thought
The computer's still on
And the webpage is alt dot com
[Bridge]
And I hope you'll come back soon
And I feel like a million bucks today, million bucks today
'Cause I know it can only go up from here
'Cause she says it's so much better after all
[Verse 3]
And after all we've been through
I can't get my mind off of you
It's a hell of a way to spend the whole day through
And you left your name on the bar
You hopped in your little brown car
You moved in with Gramps and you got yourself a job
[Chorus]
And the room is slowly sinking
But I can play guitar
And Morgan, you're so far
Away from me tonight
And I'll try to make it right
By putting you in this here song
[Post-Chorus]
Oh, yeah
Okay
Okay, wait
"Oh, my God, Blake"
That's what she said
In bed
[Outro]
Papillon busted free
We watched him at 4:53
And I'm glad you chose to spend the night with me
Papillon was written by Blake Sennett & Jenny Lewis.
Papillon was produced by Rilo Kiley.