Collective Soul – The World I Know

Song

"The World I Know" is a song by American band Collective Soul, originally released on their 1995 eponymous album.

Written by lead singer and guitarist Ed Roland and guitarist Ross Childress, "The World I Know" peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart when released as a single and spent four weeks at the number-one spot on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

In Canada, the song reached number one on the week of March 11, 1996, becoming the band's highest-charting single there.

Composition

In a December 2017 interview with Songfacts, lead singer Ed Roland explained the inspiration behind "The World I Know":

I wrote that when we had a day off in New York City. This was 25 years ago, when we were in Times Square, which is not what Times Square is now, which is like Disneyland. There was still some grit and dirt to New York City - especially around Times Square and Union Square back then. I literally walked out of the room, took a two-hour walk around New York, and just absorbed and observed from the highs and lows of what society was offering in the greatest city in the world.

Music video

The music video depicts a businessman who begins to go about his day, reading The New York Times on the way to his office. As he reads about death, and sees the homelessness and sadness on the street, he becomes disillusioned with his life and prepares to commit suicide.

As he climbs to the roof of a nearby building, he takes off his shoes and looks at the ground crying. He stretches out his arms and readies himself to fall.

However, just as he is about to fall, a pigeon lands on his arm. He feeds it with the bagel in his pocket, and the crumbs attract ants, which makes the man notice the similarities of them to the people walking below. He laughs throwing all his money at the people and pulls himself out of his state.

During the entire video, periodic cuts to singer Ed Roland looking on at the man while singing the song are shown.

The video also shows sadness and happiness in the form of color hues for the video. While the man is disillusioned with his life and is thinking about suicide, the video is in a blue and purple tint, giving a dark feeling to the video.

When the pigeon lands on the man's arm, the video's hue changes to show the normal colors of the city, also revealing the sun shining over the city, showing of the sudden change to happiness and relief.

Album

Collective Soul (conosciuto anche come Blue Album) è il secondo album dell'omonima band, pubblicato nel 1995.

Secondo il frontman Ed Roland è questo il primo album della band, in quanto considera Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid un album demo promozionale.

Artist

I Collective Soul sono un gruppo musicale statunitense formatosi nel 1992 a Stockbridge, in Georgia.

Sette dei loro singoli hanno raggiunto il primo posto della classifica di Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, e hanno ricevuto numerosi dischi di platino e d'oro nel Nord America per le vendite dei loro album.

La loro musica è contraddistinta da riff pesanti di chitarra e ritornelli accattivanti, mentre i testi in genere sono provocatori o inerenti alla spiritualità. Il 19 settembre 2009 sono stati introdotti nella Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

Has our conscience shown?
Has the sweet breeze
blown?
Has all the kindness gone?
Hope still lingers on
I drink myself of newfound pity
Sitting alone in New York City
And I don't know why

Are we listening
Hymns of offering?
Have we eyes to see
That love is gathering?
All the words that I've been reading
Have now started the act of bleeding
Into one, into one

(chorus)
So I walk up on high
And I step to the edge
To see my world below
And I laugh at myself
While the tears roll down
'Cause it's the world I know
Oh it's the world I know

I drink myself of newfound pity
Sitting alone in New York City
And I don't know why, don't know why

(chorus)

(chorus)

La nostra coscienza cosa ha mostrato?
Ha soffiato la dolce brezza?
Tutta la gentilezza è finita?
La speranza ancora indugia
Mi disseto di una pietà ritrovata
Seduto da solo a New York City
E non so perché

Stiamo ascoltando
Inni di offerta?
Abbiamo occhi per vedere
Che l'amore sta raccogliendo?
Tutte le parole che ho letto
Ora hanno iniziato l'atto di sanguinamento
Di uno, in uno

(coro)
Quindi salgo in alto
E vado al limite
Per vedere il mio mondo qui sotto
E rido di me stesso
Mentre le lacrime scendono
Perché è il mondo che conosco
Oh è il mondo che conosco

Mi disseto di una pietà ritrovata
Seduto da solo a New York City
E non so perché, non so perché

(coro)

(coro)