The World I Know

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“The World I Know”
Song by Collective Soul
Album	Collective Soul
Released	November 14, 1995
Recorded	1994
Genre	Alternative Rock
Length	4m 16s
Label	Atlantic Records
Writer	Ed Roland, Ross Childress
Producer	Ed Roland, Matt Serletic
Collective Soul track listing
"Untitled" (2) “The World I Know” (3) "Smashing Young Man" (4)

"The World I Know" is a song by the American alternative rock band Collective Soul, originally released on their 1995 eponymous album. Written by singer/guitarist Ed Roland and guitarist Ross Childress, "The World I Know" peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts when released as a single,^[1] and spent four weeks at the #1 spot on the Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart.

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 jump (Lyrics in song: 'As I walk up on high / And I step to the edge' as he climbs the building, takes off his shoes, and looks at the ground), crying ('While the tears roll down'). He stretches out his arms, and just before he falls, a pigeon lands on his arm. He feeds it with the donut in his pocket, and the sweet 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.

On May 20, 2008, David Cook, eventual winner of American Idol's seventh season, sang The World I Know as his final song before winning the competition by 12 million votes [1].