“Somebody died today, I saw his picture in the funny papers” – these opening lines from Mac Miller’s Funny Papers feel like reading tomorrow’s obituary today.
The track, part of his posthumous album Balloonerism, reads like a newspaper where comic strips and tragedy share the same page.
It’s miles away from his early Pittsburgh mixtapes – less about parties, more about parsing through life’s daily absurdities.
What Are the Mac Miller ‘Funny Papers’ Lyrics About?
Funny Papers joins other recently released tracks from Balloonerism like 5 Dollar Pony Rides, each offering glimpses into Miller’s creative peak.
While 5 Dollar Pony Rides explored relationships through jazzy introspection, Funny Papers unfolds like a surreal newspaper column where birth announcements sit next to death notices.
Who Produced ‘Funny Papers’? The Story Behind the Music
The track’s DNA contains three distinct strands: Miller’s own production work (under his Larry Fisherman alias), Thundercat’s characteristically nimble bass playing, and Taylor Graves’ keyboard work.
Together, they create something that feels both intimate and vast – like reading someone’s private diary in a public square.
The piano melody drifts like morning coffee steam while Thundercat’s bass weaves through like a thought you can’t quite catch.
Originally leaked around 2020, the song found its first audience through bootlegs, creating an almost mythical status among fans before this official release.
Funny Papers Lyrics Meaning Explained
The song’s narrative unfolds through newspaper snippets: a banker’s fatal bridge dive, a newborn named Gabriel, and scattered moments of life’s peculiar circus.
Miller plays both observer and participant, his verses dancing between journalism and personal confession.
“Didn’t think anybody died on a Friday” – Miller’s observation lands with quiet devastation.
He paints vivid characters: an angry banker driving off a bridge to his wedding song, speakers still echoing the treble after the bass blows out.
These aren’t just newspaper clippings; they’re snapshots of lives caught between the headlines.
The chorus feels like a deep exhale: “Everything was quiet but the music Recently, I only meet peace when in deep sleep Been the same dream, world safe, smile on her face Waitin’ on the other side”
Beatles fans might catch echoes of A Day in the Life here – both songs transform newspaper stories into existential meditation.
But where Lennon counted holes in Blackburn, Lancashire, Miller counts the spaces between birth and death notices.
Between the Lines
Miller flips the funny papers concept on its head. What started as slang for comic strips becomes his lens for viewing life’s biggest moments.
When he describes a newborn Gabriel brought into “this dark place,” it’s both a birth announcement and a question about innocence in a complicated world.
His wordplay shows up in unexpected places: “If I could just pay my rent by Tuesday / I bet I’d be rich by April Fools’ day” manages to make poverty sound like a punchline.
The song’s closing thoughts about “reptilians” and being “the world’s problem” feel like conspiracy theories scribbled in a newspaper’s margins.
Underneath the newsprint, something deeper emerges. Miller isn’t just reading the paper – he’s questioning what makes a story newsworthy, what makes a life notable, and why we try to make sense of it all through daily columns and obituaries.
Our Verdict
Funny Papers proves Miller had evolved into something remarkable – a writer who could find poetry in the daily news and humour in life’s heaviest moments.
The music floats like paper in the wind, but the words land with the weight of headlines.
The Balloonerism is out in multiple formats including CD, cassette, and two exclusive vinyl variants through balloonerism.com.
Based on tracks like this and 5 Dollar Pony Rides, it promises to be worth every column inch of coverage it receives.
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Mac Miller Funny Papers Lyrics
Intro
Did no one ever teach you how to dance?
Nobody ever taught you how to dance?
Well—well, everyone knows how to dance
There’s only so much time
Verse 1
Yeah, somebody died today, I
I saw his picture in the funny papers
Didn’t think anybody died on a Friday
Some angry banker, some kind of money trader
Recently divorced, was drunk drivin’ down the highway
And drove off the bridge to his wedding song
Blew out the bass in his speakers, you can still hear the treble goin’ (Treble goin’)
The hospital was useless, and everything was quiet but the music
Recently, I only meet peace when in deep sleep
Been the same dream, world safe, smile on her face
Waitin’ on the other side (The other side)
I wonder if He’ll take me to the other side (The other side), yeah
What your eyes see, too naive for war, and that’ll screw ya
Still bet it all on the glory, hallelujah
I heard the answer in the gibberish of an old drunk
All he said was he’s in no rush
Chorus
If I could just pay my rent by Tuesday
I bet I’d be rich by April Fools’ day
The moon’s wide awake, with a smile on his face
As he smuggle constellations in his suitcase
Don’t you love silence? (Silence)
Post-Chorus
Everything quiet but the music (Music)
Everything quiet but the music
Do you love silence? (Ooh)
Everything quiet but the music
(Hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo-hoo, hoo)
Verse 2
Somebody gave birth to a baby boy
I saw his picture in the funny papers
Eleven pounds, named after his uncle Gabriel
His mother cried with her lips against his soft face (Soft face)
Why’d she bring these bright eyes into this dark place?
Oh, sweet, sweet oblivion
Way before the information gets settled in
I swear to God I never wanna sin again
But I fear that trouble’s on its way (Yeah)
The mind go with age, don’t surrender
My mistake, I misplaced all of my remembers
Baby, there’s a little vacation in the dresser
Take one for depression, and two for your temper
Chorus
If I could just pay my rent by Tuesday
I bet I’d be rich by April Fools’ day
The moon’s wide awake, with a smile on his face
As he smuggle constellations in his suitcase
Don’t you love silence?
Verse 3
Oh shit, here come the icebreaker
It’s danger when he’s bringin’ out the lightsaber
The words awesome but he’s talkin’ outta turn often
I blew the fuck up, then became the world’s problem
Bad hygiene, all about that gross life
Hate to see somebody fuckin’ up their own life (Their own life)
Just roll the dice, put a twenty on midnight
Have a feelin’ we gon’ win tonight (Win tonight)
‘Cause when the snakes start slitherin’, you spot the chameleons
You realize you surrounded by reptilians (‘Tilians)
Shit, I ain’t an innovator, just a motherfuckin’ illustrator (Illustrator)
Outro
Why does it matter
At all? Oh, woah, woah