The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
If I died tomorrow would this song live on forever?
Here is my...unopened letter to a world
that never shall reply
If I died tomorrow would this song live on forever??
Here is my… unopened letter to a world
that never shall reply, never shall reply
From this second story window I can hear the church bells
calling out my name. This table is set for one.
Even angels would be homesick in this forsaken town.
On random notes of parchment I'm scrawling my existence,
Dressed in white. This candle radiates throughout the night
And it's never burning out, Never burning out
From this second story window I can hear the children
down on Main Street. They're singing their songs tonight.
In the shadows, I will listen to their every movement.
Mr. Higginson, Am I not good enough for the world?
Am I destined only to die the same way that I lived...
In seclusion.
From high up on this mountain I can almost see
your lonely windowsill. They'll carry you off tonight.
There's a ghost in your old bedroom
And a candle burning bright.
If I died tomorrow
Would this song live on forever?
Here is my...unopened letter to a world
that never shall reply
If I died tomorrow would this song live on forever??
Here is my… unopened letter to a world
that never shall reply, never shall reply
From this second story window I can hear the church bells
calling out my name. This table is set for one.
Even angels would be homesick in this forsaken town.
On random notes of parchment I'm scrawling my existence,
Dressed in white. This candle radiates throughout the night
And it's never burning out, Never burning out
From this second story window I can hear the children
down on Main Street. They're singing their songs tonight.
In the shadows, I will listen to their every movement.
Mr. Higginson, Am I not good enough for the world?
Am I destined only to die the same way that I lived...
In seclusion.
From high up on this mountain I can almost see
your lonely windowsill. They'll carry you off tonight.
There's a ghost in your old bedroom
And a candle burning bright.
If I died tomorrow
Would this song live on forever?
Lyrics submitted by ADimeADexter
Unopened Letter To The World Lyrics as written by Kris Roe
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
this song is indeed about Emily Dickinson, and like helenrips said, its only obvious by those words in there, aslo acoording to kris roe himself he says "so this song unopened letter to the world, i wrote based on the life and death of the poet emily dickinson, but i was just kind of comparing it to how some artist today dont really get known or noticed until after they die, kurt cobain or elliot smith or authors or poets or whatever, so that song i was kind of playing it to that as well as telling the story of Emily Dickinson."
by the way you can see where he said this at youtube.com just look up unopened letter to the world and you will see it right away.
but yea, so emily dickinson lived her life in suclusion never stepping out of her home, in that line "mr.higginson, am i not good enough for the world" is also a good line because in one of emily's letters she wrote to thomas w. higginson - HIGGINSON,--Are you too deeply occupied to say if my verse is alive?....
but yea it also relates to her poem- This is my letter to the world, That never wrote to me,-- The simple news that Nature told, With tender majesty. Her message is committed To hands I cannot see; For love of her, sweet countrymen, Judge tenderly of me!
well i pretty much wrote a novel here but i just felt like i needed to say all this...
tis all I have to say.
A Very, Very good song, It grows on ya
This song is about a guy who's looking at his life and worried that he is wasting his time. He wonders if anything that he has done will give him some measure of immortality. His songs are his only way to pur himself out to the world, thus the "on random notes of parchment i'm scrawling my existance". His heart and soul is in his music and all he wants is to be remembered for it.
"church balls", eh? ;)
Anyway... this song is great and I love the CD. Ataris rock my world.
Actually this song is about Emily Dickinson, Mr. Higginson(a preacher) was her mentor and was the one that convinced her not to publish her poems, so she would live only to die in seclusion, sad but true...
oh wow b8...i would have NEVER of realized that. but now that i think of it, you must be right. thats so weird
B8448 is right...kris was at the Dickinson house(homestead?) and he was so impressed that he had to write the song... i'm amazed by how much work kris put into this album (So Long Astoria)...it totally shows
we are studying emily dickinson in english class and when i listened to the song more carefully, i started to suspect that it was about her. thank you for confirming it. its a good song, but their older stuff is much better
I just started listening to The Ataris, I normally don't listen to the really poppy stuff but considering where they came from I decided to give them a listen and I must say that I am throughly impressed. I like this song a bunch and I must say that I too, agree with B8448's idea on the song meaning. This Kris fellow is a smart kid and I must say (my friends are gonna shit their pants) that I really like his music a lot.
Maybe you should check out their OLDER work too. They didn't just pop out of no where, you know.