JP Saxe and Julia Michaels’ hit “If the World Was Ending” captures the raw emotion of longing and unresolved feelings after a breakup. The song explores the idea that imminent doom would strip away all pretenses, leaving only the desire for connection and comfort in the face of fear. It’s not just about a person; it’s about our universal tendency to reach out for love when faced with our vulnerability. The message is clear: crises have a way of highlighting what truly matters to us. Saxe penned this song as a poignant reflection on love and loss, inspired by real-life events that make us contemplate our deepest connections.
Imagine the most intense “what if” question posed to an ex-lover. The kind that strips away the noise, leaving pure emotion. “If the World Was Ending” does just that. Want to see how? Keep reading.
“If the World Was Ending” Lyrics Meaning
“I was distracted and in traffic” — right away, we’re in the midst of a scene that feels so everyday, so mundane. But then an earthquake shatters that normality, a metaphor for life’s unexpected jolts that shake us to the core.
As we move through the song, the lyrics oscillate between past memories and the present’s what-ifs, showing us how a catastrophic event might change our priorities. “Were you out drinkin’? Were you in the living room chillin’ watchin’ television?” — there’s a yearning here, a wondering about someone else’s life now that they’re no longer intertwined with our own.
The chorus hits hard: “But if the world was ending, you’d come over, right?” It’s a question loaded with the weight of what we leave unsaid, the relationships we allow to fade, and the unspoken truth that, deep down, there are people we would always want by our side when everything else falls apart.
Saxe and Michaels weave a tale of near misses and heartbreak, highlighting our tendency to put up walls until something seismic happens. “You weren’t down for forever and it’s fine… But if the world was ending, you’d come over, right?” It’s about that one person who, despite the heartache, despite the logical reasons for staying apart, you can’t help but want when facing the end.
The Story Behind “If the World Was Ending”
JP Saxe wrote this song after a real earthquake hit Los Angeles in 2019. It wasn’t the shaking of the earth that inspired him but the introspection that followed. He contemplated the impermanence of life and the complex web of human connections in the silence after the tremor. Julia Michaels’ voice adds a layer of raw honesty as she joins Saxe in a duet that feels like a conversation between two hearts that once beat as one. It’s clear the song was born from a place of vulnerability — a moment where defenses drop and the only thing left is the truth of one’s feelings.
This song isn’t just about an individual. It’s a deeper exploration into the human psyche — how we process love, loss, and the fear of never getting to say the things we really want to say. It’s a reflection of how we often wait for a sign, a push, something as drastic as the end of the world, to hold tight to what matters most.
Saxe and Michaels have spoken about the song’s universal relatability, and that’s perhaps why it resonates with so many. It encapsulates a collective human truth: in our final moments, we’d all crave connection, resolution, and the chance to be with those who’ve shaped our lives, if only to say goodbye.