Man On Wire
Jose Vanders Lyrics


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If I wrote down a hundred things,
That I thought that I could do,
By the time that I was 67.

Would there be another list,
Of 99 things that I missed,
Just because I had a fear of failing.
Would I have walked between two towers,
Just like the man on wire,
Even though he had a chance of falling.

Would I have opened up my soul,
And let inside that deep dark hole,
Another human being capable of calling me back out.

And we can watch movies,
And we can watch movies,
Where all ends well.

And we can do coffee,
Yes we can do coffee,
Where all starts hell.

I wrote down a hundred things,
That I thought that I could do,
By the age of 19 years old.

There's another list,
Of just one thing that I missed,
All because I had a fear of failing.

One thing that I left,
Highly unadressed,
Without a line dividing up the letters.

If I ignored those little words,
I could never become hurt,
I could move on and do so much better.

And we can watch movies,
And we can watch movies,
Where all ends well.

And we can do coffee,




Yes we can do coffee,
Where all starts hell.

Overall Meaning

In Jose Vander's song "Man on Wire," the singer questions if they would have the bravery to take risks and pursue their dreams even if it means facing the possibility of failure. The song presents a theme of overcoming one's fears and doubts to accomplish great things. The first stanza poses the hypothetical scenario of writing down a hundred things they want to achieve by the age of 67, but then asks if they would miss out on anything because of their fear of failing. The second stanza recounts the real experience of writing down a hundred things they wanted to achieve by the age of 19, but realizing they didn't pursue one of them because of that same fear.


The imagery of the man on wire performing the impossible feat of walking between two towering buildings despite the chance of falling, parallels with the idea of achieving one's goals. The singer acknowledges that true connection and success comes from opening up to others without fear, and embracing the possibility of failure. The final lines of the song repeat the contrast of endings and beginnings, depicted by watching movies and drinking coffee. The song shows that while sometimes things don't go as planned, it's important to keep going and stay hopeful.


Line by Line Meaning

If I wrote down a hundred things,
If I made a list of everything I wanted to achieve


That I thought that I could do,
That I believed I was capable of doing


By the time that I was 67.
By the time I am old and grey


Would there be another list,
Would there be another set


Of 99 things that I missed,
Of almost everything that I could have done


Just because I had a fear of failing.
Simply due to a fear of failure


Would I have walked between two towers,
Would I have taken a great risk like the man who walked between two towers


Just like the man on wire,
Just like he did, defying all odds


Even though he had a chance of falling.
Even though he could have easily failed and fallen to his death


Would I have opened up my soul,
Would I have been vulnerable and shared my innermost feelings


And let inside that deep dark hole,
And allowed someone else to understand my struggles


Another human being capable of calling me back out.
Someone who could have helped me overcome my fears


And we can watch movies,
We can escape reality by watching fictional stories


And we can do coffee,
We can come together to share our experiences


Where all ends well.
Where everything neatly resolves itself in the end


I wrote down a hundred things,
I had a long list of everything I wanted to do


That I thought that I could do,
That I believed I was capable of doing


By the age of 19 years old.
When I was very young


There's another list,
There's another set


Of just one thing that I missed,
Of almost everything that I could have done


All because I had a fear of failing.
Simply due to a fear of failure


One thing that I left,
One thing that I neglected


Highly unaddressed,
That I didn't give enough attention to


Without a line dividing up the letters.
Without clear boundaries to my goals


If I ignored those little words,
If I ignored my doubts and insecurities


I could never become hurt,
I could avoid any emotional pain and disappointment


I could move on and do so much better.
I could push forward and achieve even more


And we can watch movies,
We can use entertainment to distract ourselves


And we can do coffee,
We have the opportunity to connect with others


Where all starts hell.
Where everything begins in chaos and pain




Contributed by Kylie P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

jeni howes

beautiful! lovee contemporary dance you did it justice cant stop watching it! :) well done

Autumn Andersen

hello. jose is amazing. you are amazing. this is beautiful. gosh, i loved it. you're great. keeeeeep it up.

Nicholas Ranauro

@adriangogan420 the song is called man on wire by jose vanders! :]

Nicholas Ranauro

@tumnusLOVE thank you!! <3

jobey torres

This is a twin towers video right?

jobey torres

Nvm yes it os

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