This is a song about lack between two lovers. The speaker laments that he doesn't have the world to give, and we wonder what else is lacking, or what he wants to make up for by promising the world. The beloved is also lacking, or the speaker wouldn't feel compelled to make this gesture. But the speaker is unsure whether the beloved would receive what he has to give at all: 'Long as you live, would you let it fall, or hold it all in your arms?'. There is ambivalence on the part of the speaker, as well: 'Only if you let me be your world / Could I ever give this world to you'. If the beloved was receptive, would the speaker even be able to give as much as his heart wants to? I think this is the crux of the song. It is not about having or not having the world to give, but rather about the act of giving: whether the speaker can give enough to the beloved, and whether the beloved can receive it. The speaker recognizes his part and says he'll give what he has to give, whatever he can, maybe a tune or two. But then at the end, we are back to that line, the only repeating line in the song: "Only if you let me be your world, could I ever give this world to you / Could I ever give this world to you'. If you let me be your world, could I possibly give enough to remain there?
This is a song about lack between two lovers. The speaker laments that he doesn't have the world to give, and we wonder what else is lacking, or what he wants to make up for by promising the world. The beloved is also lacking, or the speaker wouldn't feel compelled to make this gesture. But the speaker is unsure whether the beloved would receive what he has to give at all: 'Long as you live, would you let it fall, or hold it all in your arms?'. There is ambivalence on the part of the speaker, as well: 'Only if you let me be your world / Could I ever give this world to you'. If the beloved was receptive, would the speaker even be able to give as much as his heart wants to? I think this is the crux of the song. It is not about having or not having the world to give, but rather about the act of giving: whether the speaker can give enough to the beloved, and whether the beloved can receive it. The speaker recognizes his part and says he'll give what he has to give, whatever he can, maybe a tune or two. But then at the end, we are back to that line, the only repeating line in the song: "Only if you let me be your world, could I ever give this world to you / Could I ever give this world to you'. If you let me be your world, could I possibly give enough to remain there?