“Chariots” by Paper Route, Saturday, August 7, 2021

J.T. Daly, lead singer of Paper Route, has stayed busy in the music business during Paper Route and after the band ended. In addition to releasing solo records and several side projects, he has composed for an ESPN film, produced several alternative musicians including K.Flay and Pvris, remixed Anberlin, Judah the Lion, MuteMath, and Switchfoot, and works in visual arts, making band merchandise and phone cases. The first single from Paper Route's third and final album, "Chariots" deals with Paper Route's most common theme--break ups. While lead singer J.T. Daly maintains his privacy in his personal life, cryptic statements from stage, such as "This has been the hardest year ever" on two separate years, the lyrics alluding to break ups, divorce, and using "chemicals" to forget, have fans speculating about the singer's love life and mental state. The song "Chariots" depicts the speaker and his love, who is "giving up the fight" which is causing the crash of the "chariots" and ending the relationship. 

YOU PROMISED ME THAT EVERYTHING IS FAIR IF IT'S LOVE AND WAR, BUT YOU'RE GIVING UP THE FIGHT. IS IT NOT WORTH FIGHTING FOR? "I love you, but what's the future for us?"  Josh spit out the words similar to the siring piece of flesh that had burned his mouth at dinner earlier that evening. The words came to him suddenly, like a fit of nausea, not prompted by an immediate condition, but of undercooked chicken served at lunch waiting to unleash its force late in the night. The two lay in a hotel bed after coming back for the evening on a Saturday night. Josh couldn't look into Song Jae's soft brown eyes, so instead he looked out at the reflections of the hotels and skyscrapers as they they danced on the Han River. "You're an office worker in a Korean company. I'm a teacher in another city. We hardly spend any time together these days. If we have a future together, what does that mean? Moving to another country? Me living here?" The room was dark and silent for a few minutes. "I know that I haven't been a very good boyfriend," Song Jae's voice cracked. "Our age difference was always the biggest concern of mine. I'm a forty-six year old man who given everything to his job. You're a young man and you should be with another young man. I have nothing to offer." "That's not true," Josh interjected. "You're kind and very handsome. I just hope you find who makes you happy and you can have a future with him." 

I'M LOSING MY FAITH. I'M LOSING IT ALL. Josh continued to meet Andy every chance he could in the fall of 2014. Crossing the first threshold in a park restroom, left Josh wanting more. He couldn't stop thinking about the experience as he went back to work that afternoon. The next weekend Andy found a self-check in motel between Seoul and C. He texted Josh, "Meet me at 1:30. Don't shave." When Josh knocked on the second floor door, he was greeted with a kiss by Andy in a brown leather jacked and tight jeans. The afternoon was not exactly like the videos Josh had seen depicted. There was much more awkward slobbering and despite the A he got in geometry in high school, he couldn't quite master the angles. Still, some emotion came over him, and he blurted out, "I love you." This caused a fast-breathing Andy to slow his breath. "Wow,  you really are new to this. Let's get a shower and get lunch."  "Of course I don't love you," Josh said over chicken barbecue about half an hour later. The restaurant overlooked a lake outside of C. "I mean, I just met you. I don't know if I love you--" "Relax," Andy chuckled. "What we did there, it was fun. But I'm not looking anything more than fun. You too, I'd imagine. You're a Christian school teacher. You have to keep up your reputation. You can't be seen falling in love with some Korean guy from Seoul." Josh was struggled to find the words. "But, don't you ever want to fall in love with someone?" "I'm a Christian school teacher. I have to keep my reputation clean. Love isn't a luxury people like us can have. But we can have friends. We can have hobbies. Just think of what we did back there as a sweaty game of volleyball. In volleyball, you can sweat; you can focus; you can laugh; you can shower and get changed and have a bite to eat and get back to the rest of your life." Josh sat silently for a minute, wrinkling his forehead slightly for a few seconds. "I think it's pretty hot analogy. Rematch next weekend?"



Live album release performance:


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