In his own words (from his myspace page):
“For me it’s all about the SONG. I remember watching my father sitting at our dining room table for hours and hours with his pencil and pad crafting his songs; spending the time to find the perfect word, the perfect chord, the perfect melody. That really made an impression on me. When I write a song it really is a kind of science, an operation; but it isn’t mathematical or calculated, it is alive and breathing and moving. At the risk of sounding like a hippie on a soapbox, music is still powerful and holy and sacred to me. You can turn it into a product and a business, but you can’t start it that way. To me the genesis of a song has to be honest and unassuming. I truly believe that God hands me these gifts and it is my job to translate them as honestly as I can. You have to let a song be what it is. We can’t lose that. When I write songs, I like to focus on the fact that we are all the same and we are all just searching for answers and trying to make sense of everything. It's about exploring life and celebrating truth when you find it.”
If These Walls Could Speak
Sean McConnell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I walked up to the front porch and I opened the screen door and it hit me like it never did before.
Took the stairs up to my bedroom where I spent most of my years, making faces at my brother, holding him through common fears.
And I walked over to the window and my heart almost died, I could hear the neighbors screamin', "Come outside, come outside."
And our young voices make me see the kind of children that we used to be.
And if these streets could whisper, if these walls could speak, they would scream out love they would cry themselves to sleep,
They would pray to Jesus, they would sing rock and roll, they would laugh with each other, they would live soul to soul.
Took the hallway to the bedroom where my parents used to sleep, where I'd sneak in during quiet and my nightmares grew too deep.
And I walked over to the closet where my father hung his ties,
I still smell the scent of cigarettes and years gone by.
That closet used to look so tall and now everything around here seems so small.
But if these streets could whisper, if these walls could speak, they would scream out love, they would cry themselves to sleep,
They would pray to Jesus, they would sing rock and roll, they would laugh with each other, they would live soul to soul.
But I guess that don't matter anyway, cuz if these walls could speak I know what they'd say... I know what they'd say.
In this dream of childhood memories some I never will forget, some I might as well.
Well most of them have happy endings, some of them still burn like hell... They burn like hell... They burn like hell, yeah.
So to the living room I went, to where my sisters used to sing,
Used to get on my last nerve now I'd give anything just to see them there again, dancing like they used to do, spinning circles holding hands until I'd break on through.
Well I woke up when I heard a shout, "Ain't it beautiful how life turned out?"
But if these streets could whisper, if these walls could speak, they would scream out love, they would cry themselves to sleep.
They would pray to Jesus, they would sing rock and roll, they would laugh with each other, they would live soul to soul.
But I guess that don't matter anyway, cuz if these walls could speak I know what they'd say, I know what they'd say, I know what they'd say, I know what'd they say
If These Walls Could Speak by Sean McConnell is a nostalgic piece about revisiting one's childhood home and imagining the every day happenings within the walls of old memories. The song opens with a dream where the singer visits his old home at 200 Orange Street where he spent most of his childhood. As he walks up to the front porch and opens the screen door, he is hit with a sudden realization of how much the home has changed. The stairs up to his bedroom where he spent most of his time growing up trigger memories of his childhood and the bond he shared with his brother. Looking out the window, the singer recollects the noise from their neighbor's house and how he and his siblings used to play and make a lot of noise. The voices of children remind him of the innocence and carefree nature of childhood.
The narrative then shifts to the singer's parent's bedroom where he would sneak in when he was scared or couldn't sleep, and he recalls his memories of his father's closet with its scent of cigarettes and the passage of time. He concludes by visiting the living room, where he shared memories with his sisters, where they would sing, dance and hold hands. The song notes that some memories were happy, others were bittersweet, and some still caused emotional pain.
The song paints a vivid picture of nostalgia and the reflection of the memories that often flood our minds as we visit places we once called home. It reminds us of the moments that we shared with friends and family. If These Walls Could Speak becomes an embodiment of the beauty and pain of memories, of times gone by, and of the precious moments that make up our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Last night I had a dream I went back to my old home down at 200 orange street a long time ago,
In a dream, the singer returns to his childhood home on Orange Street and reminisces about his past.
And I walked up to the front porch and I opened the screen door and it hit me like it never did before.
The singer is overcome with emotion as he enters his childhood home.
Took the stairs up to my bedroom where I spent most of my years, making faces at my brother, holding him through common fears.
The singer reflects on the time he spent in his childhood bedroom with his brother, sharing moments of play and support.
And I walked over to the window and my heart almost died, I could hear the neighbors screamin', "Come outside, come outside."
The singer remembers the sounds of the neighborhood and how they contributed to his childhood experience.
And our young voices make me see the kind of children that we used to be.
The singer recalls the innocence and playfulness of his childhood self and peers.
But if these streets could whisper, if these walls could speak, they would scream out love they would cry themselves to sleep,
They would pray to Jesus, they would sing rock and roll, they would laugh with each other, they would live soul to soul.
But I guess that don't matter anyway, cuz if these walls could speak I know what they'd say... I know what they'd say.
The singer imagines what the walls of his childhood home would say if they could speak, acknowledging the love, joy, and shared experiences that took place within them.
Took the hallway to the bedroom where my parents used to sleep, where I'd sneak in during quiet and my nightmares grew too deep.
The singer fondly remembers his parents' bedroom where he sought comfort during his childhood fears and bad dreams.
And I walked over to the closet where my father hung his ties,
I still smell the scent of cigarettes and years gone by.
That closet used to look so tall and now everything around here seems so small.
The singer recalls his father's closet and the smell of cigarettes that reminds him of his childhood home, while reflecting on how much smaller everything seems in the present.
In this dream of childhood memories some I never will forget, some I might as well.
Well most of them have happy endings, some of them still burn like hell... They burn like hell... They burn like hell, yeah.
The singer acknowledges that while some of his childhood memories are happy ones he will always cherish, others are painful and continue to cause him emotional distress.
So to the living room I went, to where my sisters used to sing,
Used to get on my last nerve now I'd give anything just to see them there again, dancing like they used to do, spinning circles holding hands until I'd break on through.
The singer recalls the joy his sisters brought to the family home through their singing and dancing, and expresses his longing to see them again.
Well I woke up when I heard a shout, "Ain't it beautiful how life turned out?"
The singer is jolted out of his dream by someone shouting about the beauty of life, causing him to reflect on his own past and present.
But if these streets could whisper, if these walls could speak, they would scream out love, they would cry themselves to sleep.
They would pray to Jesus, they would sing rock and roll, they would laugh with each other, they would live soul to soul.
But I guess that don't matter anyway, cuz if these walls could speak I know what they'd say, I know what they'd say, I know what they'd say, I know what'd they say
The singer reiterates his belief that the walls of his childhood home would speak of the love, joy, and shared experiences that took place within them if they could, emphasizing their significance in his life.
Contributed by Peyton T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.