I regarded the world as such a sad sight
Until I viewed it in black and white
Then I reviewed every frame and basic shape
And sealed the exits with caution tape
Don?t refocus your eyes in the darkness
And don?t remember this place unless
I describe all the things that you cannot see
And we?ll unravel the mystery

Farewell all my friends in textbooks, ?cuz I?m going home
?Cuz my blood cells cannot depend on the weather in photographs
There?s a light show out my window, somewhere way up there
Dear Vienna, are you singing?
Dear Vienna, are you swinging?
Dear Vienna, we were happy like the shades of May when we got carried away

I regarded the world as such a sad sight
Until I viewed it in black and white
Then I reviewed every frame and basic shape
And sealed the exits with caution tape
Don?t refocus your eyes in the darkness
And don?t remember this place unless
I describe all the things that you cannot see
And we?ll unravel the mystery


I was so far out of place
Watching those stars in outer space
'cause I am so far from where you are

There?s a light show out my window, somewhere way up there
Dear Vienna, are you singing?
Dear Vienna, are you swinging?
Dear Vienna, we were happy like the shades of May when we got carried away


Lyrics submitted by JonnyTheMohawk, edited by infinitypool, FallenArch3809

Dear Vienna Lyrics as written by Adam R. Young

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Dear Vienna song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

29 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    This is such an amazing song.

    "There's a light show out my window."

    That reminds me of 4th of July. I could be COMPLETELY wrong.

    Owl City makes me think of so many different things and places. Each relating to something SO happy.

    Adam Young is amazing, incredible, inspirational.

    Alysennon June 08, 2008   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    I think the 'Dear Vienna' refers to this being a letter he's writing to a girl named Vienna. He's tells of how he was extremely depressed when he focused on the evil and death in the world, rather than the good and the life. He instead focuses on the details of life, and that helps him feel better about this fleeting existence.

    Knave283on February 21, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I notice Adam doesn't use names of people very much, but names of places. I wonder if this song is about a time when he lived in or visited Vienna and really liked it there. But now that he's home he can only visit it in his memories, and he wonders if it is still the singing and dancing place he loved.

    sablechatraton March 07, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song is about a girl named Vienna with cancer dying. "My blood cells cannot depend on the weather in photographs." She was actually a girl Adam Young knew I believe. She died in May,"Farewell all my friends." "We were happy like the shades of may." I also watched an interview! lol

    Blackotheon April 03, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i think this song is written about the holocaust.

    "i regarded the world in such a sad sight till i reviewed it in black and white then i reviewed every frame in basic shape and sealed the exits with caution tape" ---he went to the museum and never wants it to happen again

    "dont refocus your eyes in the darkness and dont remember this place unless i describe all the things that you cannot see and we'll unravel the mystery" ---talking to the survivors, dont think about it and think about how happy you are that its over

    "farewell all my friends in textbooks im going home" ---goodbye to loved ones whose names will be written in textbooks

    "cuz my blood cells cannot depend on the weather in photographs" ---you cant determine what will happen to me from what you read

    "theres a light show out my window somewhere way up there" ---he is seeing hoorrible things happen

    "dear vienna we were happy like the shades of may when we got carried away" -vienna is actually a town in like germany or someplace i saw on a map of the holocaust. and they were happy when they were carried away

    if i were to right a song about the holocaust i would word it just like this cuz me and adam have like the same writing style

    lampshades120on July 29, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I believe it's about two depressed people.

    "I regarded the world as such a sad sight Until I viewed it in black and white Then I reviewed every frame and basic shape And sealed the exits with caution tape"

    At first Adam is depressed, he wants to die. But then he examines life as a whole, and realized that suicide is not an answer to your problems ("And sealed the exits with caution tape").

    "Don't refocus your eyes in the darkness And don't remember this place unless I describe all the things that you cannot see And we'll unravel the mystery"

    Now he's talking to someone else (Vienna). He doesn't want her to focus on all the negatives. The things she can't see are the "positives."

    "Farewell, all my friends in textbooks I'm going home 'Cause my blood cells cannot depend On the weather in photographs"

    Adam is saying he isn't going to join "his friends in textbooks" by dying. His bloods cells = emotions (or body in general). His emotions shouldn't be affected by something physical (the weather).

    "There's a light show out my window Somewhere way up there"

    Behind all the evil in world there is still an underlying joy.

    "Dear Vienna, are you singing? Dear Vienna, are you swinging?"

    He's asking Vienna something... either if she's still happy, or still alive.

    "Dear Vienna, we were happy Like the shades of May When we got carried away

    I was so far out of place Watching those stars in outer space 'Cause I am so far from where you are"

    These lines hint how they got their depression. Perhaps they broke up or Vienna died.

    Overall, it's about something happening to this "couple." Both of them then spiral into depression because they are not with each other, but then one overcomes it and then sends a message to the other telling her how to overcome it also.

    Blitzkidon April 07, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    in the first paragraph, when he is talking about the world, i think he is saying if you take a step back and look at everything, life is beautiful. Its when you get caught up into the darkness and can't see the bigger picture that you get down. So he tells her not to look at it too closely or "Don’t refocus your eyes in the darkness And don’t remember this place" unless he shows her the big picture.

    In the second paragraph, he is saying he is going to stop living in the past, hence the photos and text books. Because his blood cells can't depend on them, or what makes his life isn't the past, but what he makes of each moment.

    thats all i got lol, the Dear Vienna part doesn't quite make sense to me yet.

    hcorbridgeon January 23, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    love this song. the chorus is absolutely beautiful.

    [Music]Junkie09on February 28, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song is beautiful and the first lines have a good point. I regarded the world as such a sad sight Until I viewed it in black and white. its almost what i live by now:)

    2shy2dance111on May 13, 2009   Link
  • 0
    Memory

    Is it really "shades of May?"

    When I listen to it he's quite clearly pronouncing a K. Then again, shake of May doesn't sound right, but still...

    Clurichaunon June 18, 2009   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.