The Inspiration Behind These Famous Songs Show That A Great Idea Can Come From Anywhere

Jump

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Most Americans have heard Van Halen’s 1983 hit “Jump” at one point in their lives. As upbeat as it is, you’re unlikely to guess where they actually found inspiration for the song.

Lead singer David Lee Roth came up with the lyrics for the song after remembering a television news report he watched about a man that was threatening to take his own life by jumping off a building. Roth wondered if someone in the crowd might actually egg on the man by saying “go ahead and jump.” With that idea, Van Halen apparently wrote the song as an invitation to love as opposed to an encouragement for suicide.