I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand
I would understand

The angry boy a bit too insane
Icing over a secret pain
You know you don't belong
You're the first to fight, you're way too loud
You're the flash of light on a burial shroud
I know something's wrong

Well everyone I know has got a reason
To say, "Put the past away"

I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand
I would understand

Well, he's on the table and he's gone to code
And I do not think anyone knows
What they're doing here
And your friends have left you, you've been dismissed
I never thought it would come to this
And I, I want you to know

Everyone's got to face down the demons
Maybe today, you could put the past away

I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand
I would understand
I would understand

(I would understand)

(I would understand)

Can you put the past away?
I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
I would understand
(I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend)
I would understand
(I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend)
And I would understand
(I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend)
I would understand
(I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend)
I would understand


Lyrics submitted by oofus, edited by XXX729

Jumper [Radio Edit] Lyrics as written by Stephan Jenkins

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

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Jumper song meanings
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147 Comments

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  • +11
    General Comment

    this is a great song because...well, i dunno. it's like an anti-suicide anthem. and i think everyone needs to hear those once in awhile, just to remember that it's gonna be alright.

    Girl in Greenon April 26, 2002   Link
  • +8
    General Comment

    there are these to kids. One of them is trying to get his friend to stop thinking about suicid and is trying to convince him that "everyone has a reason to put the past away" and start over. he says that he knows it might be hard for him and that he would understand if after he helped him he didn't want to see him again. Its a beautiful song.

    emo_annieon April 26, 2002   Link
  • +7
    General Comment

    Good morning or evening or day or night or afternoon ladies and gentlemen and whassup. This song is about a story the band's manager told them about a gay friend of his from San Diego. Being homosexual in that almost military environment was unacceptable and the young man took the bridge home, so to speak...

    This is coming from an interview, in which he simply states: "It's about a friend who's gay jumping off a bridge and killing themselves."

    In addition to that, I think, personally, this song highlights the role friends and other people in general, play in preventing suicide. All it takes is one good moment and someone's life is saved. It shows the committment of the protagonist. I don't care if I never see you again, but just don't do this. "I would understand".

    He addresses the song very personally and emotionally and that is fairly rare in today's musical society. Emotion, committment, a realisation that music changes lives.

    This is a song which chnages lives. Dedicated to the men and women who took their lives...

    Hamed Khatiz, Sydney Australia...

    HamedKhatizon December 12, 2011   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    I've always loved this song, and like some of the people on here, it took on a deeper meaning after i lost a family member to suicide. I think this song is as much an anthem for suicide victims as it is to those of us who have survived a suicide. My heart goes out to u2elevation. One thing i have come to understand about suicide, is that often times a person has suffured so much that we have absolutely no power whatsoever to help them, there are some things that as much as we wish we could, we can't give back to the person that has lost them. I'm sure that you being his friend gave him a great deal of hope, and you probably gave him more life than you are aware of. I'm not sure if many people know this or not, but Third Eye Blind was on an episode of Road Rules Northern Trail (from about 1997 i beleive). They were sponsering a suicide hotline and had the Road Rulers make a PSA in accordance to the song "Jumper". It was really amazing, and goes to show how actice TEB is.
    I hope that all of you that have been touched by, or have considered suicide find peace and hope in your lives.

    TusseyTheTerribleon June 14, 2003   Link
  • +3
    Memory

    This song has so much meaning to me. besides the fact that every time it plays everyone sings along to it, i can't think of a single person who doesn't enjoy this song.

    my friend was suicidal a few years back, attempet 3 times and went to the emergency room where he was close to gone. he got help then, but then this year his father died, and he went into a state of depression that put him back to where he used to be. he was thinking about it again, and we got him help. He's doing okay now, and enjoying life, but this is a sour reminder of everything he went through, and the things i had to do to keep him from doing it. he tells me i saved his life. its hard knowing your the only person keeping someone from "jumping of that ledge."

    very touching, and i always tear when i hear it.

    MVhannahon December 11, 2008   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I really love this song. Even though he's talking about something as deep and serious as suicide, he makes it sound happy and uplifting. My boyfriend is suicidal and everything he says in this song is just what i want to say to my boyfriend. I tell him all the time that "everything's going to be okay". Even though it's probably the most used saying for defense in suicide, it really is true. Things always get better, you just have to be strong and stick it out.

    chelsbels105on October 21, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Stephan Jenkins said in an interview that this song is, in fact, about a guy who commits suicide because he is GAY. Having watched the interview then looking back at the lyrics, it became very clear. The suicide part is obvious throughout the whole song, but the lines: "You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in", and "The angry boy, a bit too insane, Icing over a secret pain, You know you don't belong", suggests that this person has been suffering from a either a secret gay-life, or has been outcasted for his homosexuality.

    Great song! One his greatest works!

    3EB for life!!!!

    tshoe15on August 25, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Just felt the urge to point out that "gone to code" refers to police codes. As in what they say into the radio when calling for backup or an ambulance or something.

    atemu1234on December 20, 2014   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    The first time I heard this song I was in the car with my mom, and I had to bite my lip to keep from crying. I had been suicidal for a while and I could totally relate to the "jumper" in this song.

    prozakruinon May 23, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This is a really awesome song, one of 3eb's best. It's a cool song to play on guitar and the lyrics are really powerful.

    u2elevationon May 29, 2002   Link

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