what if you could wish me away
what if you spoke those words today
i wonder if you'd miss me when i'm gone
(?) its come, please(?) release me
i'll leave before the dawn
but for tonight, i'll stay here with you
yes, for tonight, i'll lay here with you
but when the sun hits your eyes through your window
there'll be nothing you can do

what if you could hear this song
what if i felt like i belong
i might not be leaving (oh) so soon
began the night believing
i loved you in the moonlight
so for tonight, i'll stay here with you
yes for tonight, i'll lay here with you
but when the sun hits your eyes
through your window
there'll be nothing you can do

i could have treated you better, better than this
well i'm gone, this song's your letter:
i can't stay in one place
so for tonight, i'll stay here with you
yes, for tonight, i'll lay here with you
but when the sun hits your eyes through your window
there'll be nothing you can do.



Lyrics submitted by sandshine

Track duration: 04:34


What If You song meanings
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42 Comments

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  • 0
    My Interpretation:Hmm these lyrics are pretty ambiguous but I suppose that's good as they can mean something different to each listener :)


    To me, this song is about a couple who no longer appreciate each other. Like most couples, they have begun to tire of one another without truly appreciating just what it is they shared. This is demonstrated through the opening lyrics of the song... there have probably been several occasions in which the couple have wished each other away but confusion, broken love and fear has prevented this from happening or breaking up. Hence the lead voice saying "release me"


    I believe the couple were intensely emotionally involved at some point but the lead voice in this song believes that there is no resolving their situation, there is no return to the happier days of their relationship. They have had problems between them, shown by the lead voice saying "I could have treated you better". Also, the lyrics "Can't stay in one place", may be symbolic of being stuck in a position within their relationship in which they can neither move forwards or backwards, and so the best thing he can do is leave.

    The lyrics are in some parts quite intense however... maybe the couple are prevented from being together due to one dominant problem which they cannot overcome... as is the case with many relationships I guess!
    Flag the559329on July 20, 2012   Link
  • -1
    My Interpretation:THIS SONG IS ABOUT A GUY WHO'S ADVENTUROUS "Well, I'm gone, this song's your letter
    Can't stay in one place" HE LIKES TO LIVE HIS LIFE ON HIS OWN TERMS AND DOESN'T GET ATTACHED TO ANYONE OR ANYTHING, AND EVERYONE WHO KNOWS HIM IS AWARE OF THAT...INCLUING THE ONE WHO LOVES HIM, SO HE TELLS HER HE'LL STAY ONE MORE NIGHT WITH HER BUT THE NEXT DAY HE WONT BE THERE ANYMORE.

    :(
    Flagged Joanna54on April 28, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i think the amazing thing about this song is that it can mean so many different things to so many different people :]
    Flag candyfarmer24on June 20, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i think song is about a boy that has a girl friend but does not love her anymore and the girl in the song is the girl he is cheeting on his girl friend with. if you look at the lyrcis: 'could wish me away' because the girl cant deal with the fact tat he has a girl friend anymore, 'ill leave before the dawn' so his girldfriend doesnt susect that hes been out all night, 'i love you in the moonlight' when his girl friend isnt there and only the other girl is 'i could have treated you better, better than this' the guy is saying that the girl he is cheeting with could have been treated better than just treating her as the the other woman 'so or tonight, ill stay here with you yes for tonight ill lay here with yoy; the words 'for' imply that this one night, or this one night whihc may have been many but not every night because of his girl friend he will lay with her for that night because he cant every other night.

    i realte to this song and i hate it because of what i interpret it as. i appreciaite it as being an amazing song a song with lyrics that touch people but i hate it becaus of it connotations about my lfe and the shit situation i have been dealt.
    Flag elsie1005on April 23, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:Very simply, the ambiguity of love.
    Flag TishAdameon April 09, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:First, I am not a religious freak, fundamentalist, cult organizer, or tyrant.
    I have seen this song 'danced' as an interpretation of the night before Jesus dies. Much rumor and speculation abounds about Jesus' very human love affair with Mary Magdalene. It touches my heart reflecting on what a powerful and painful good-bye this might express.
    What an incredible picture is created: a very human good-bye. Both lovers grieving and both wondering what memories/feelings might remain once the two are separate. And much remains unsaid. "What if you could hear this song?" What if we could really know and understand the full extent of our feelings for one another?
    Thank God (no pun intended!) that we can discover humanity (sometimes) in faith.
    Flag irevaton January 09, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this song is about falling in love with someone and then it coming to an end, and you having the courage to break up with that other person (who is still in love with you). You feeling bad for leaving them but it's what you have to do.
    Flag ewaldockon November 22, 2010   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I think PPbarker could be right. Though, the way I understand it is that the song is about a person who isn't anymore in love with the person who is still in love with them.

    what if you could wish me away
    what if you spoke those words today
    i wonder if you'd miss me when i'm gone
    (?) its come, please(?) release me
    i'll leave before the dawn
    but for tonight, i'll stay here with you
    yes, for tonight, i'll lay here with you
    but when the sun hits your eyes through your window
    there'll be nothing you can do

    (How I see it is that he's saying if you could wish me away, would you do it? Would you miss me if I was gone? It's time and I'm leaving before the morning. I'll stay with you just for tonight but when it's the morning, I'm leaving and you can't stop it.)

    what if you could hear this song
    what if i felt like i belong
    i might not be leaving (oh) so soon
    began the night believing
    i loved you in the moonlight
    so for tonight, i'll stay here with you
    yes for tonight, i'll lay here with you
    but when the sun hits your eyes
    through your window
    there'll be nothing you can do

    (What if you knew how I felt? What if I felt like I belonged here and I wanted to stay? I'm not gonna be leaving too soon and I'll stay through the night. I used to love you. I'll stay with you just for tonight but when it's the morning, I'm leaving and you can't stop it.)


    i could have treated you better, better than this
    well i'm gone, this song's your letter:
    i can't stay in one place
    so for tonight, i'll stay here with you
    yes, for tonight, i'll lay here with you
    but when the sun hits your eyes through your window
    there'll be nothing you can do.

    (I could've treated you better when I loved you and when I'm about to leave. I'm leaving this song for you because I can't stay. I'll stay with you just for tonight but when it's the morning, I'm leaving and you can't stop it.)


    That's how I understand it and sorry this is so long. I just wanted people to see how I'm seeing it at each part. :P
    Flag hannahjaneeeon July 18, 2010   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:It's about a one-night stand.

    Josh said so, himself.
    Flag PL24on May 26, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song really reminds me of my break up with my ex boyfriend. I had gone on a trip and when I came back, he kind of surprised me with a break up. I was absolutely devastated. We had been living together for about 7 months and had been talking about marriage just a week earlier. We had one last night together that was absolutely perfect... well, as perfect as a break up could have been. He kept telling me that he still loved me very much, but it just wasn't our time yet.

    I wish that we had left it at that... a few days later I learned that he had cheated on me while I had been on my trip. I was completely heartbroken! This song reminds me of our last perfect night together though and has really helped me let go. It's such a beautiful, heart wrenching song.

    For me, I think he has made a huge mistake and he is scared to tell her. "What if you wished me away, what if you spoke those words today". He has cheated on her and he's scared that if he tells her, she'll leave him, so he decides to leave first. He's being a coward. He still loves her but he knows that he isn't good enough for her. He breaks her heart by leaving because he knows that it's what's best for her... she deserves better. "I could have treated you better, better than this" <- that line specifically makes me think that he cheated on her or did something terrible. This song is all about guilt... he can't take it, he can't handle that he did this to her... so he leaves her, but spends one last night with her.
    Flag Maia90on March 19, 2010   Link

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