paper cup is about sinking to the lowest rung of society, having been abandoned by a faithless woman. you know when depressed people sometimes have a flash of an idea that they desperately believe will give them a reason to exist? paper cup's like that - the narrator won't have to worry about the things you need for a normal life "cos i don't really want 'em anymore". combine this notion with the 5th dimensions' upbeat, beautiful harmonies and you have a masterwork of melancholic tension.