Paperclips, Pennies and Dust | This is what being broke, outta smokes and thinkin' life's a joke is like
Some songs are written from imagination. This one was written from reality setting in.
The year was 1996. Rent: overdue. Gas tank: empty. Wallet: dry. And the woman he loved had just walked out the door.
Noel Carol didn't sit down to write a song that day — he sat down because inspiration hit. No money, big plans, no darlin'. Just a galtar, a bad morning, and the kind of humour that only shows up when he shoulda been cryin' but all he could do was laugh.
That's where Paperclips, Pennies and Dust was born.
Went through every last pocket, then each single cup
To find paperclips, pennies and dust
It's a song about hitting bottom with a grin. About chasin' a dream when the back roads are the only roads available. About a man who's got nothing in his pockets but refuses to let that change his plans.
And somewhere in that stubbornness — that refusal to compromise his stand — is the whole story of Noel Carol.
Thirty years later, the song still holds. Because being broke, heartbroken, and out of smokes isn't just a 1996 story. It's a human one.