The one common theme about Third Eye Blind songs is that they all weave a story, which is the main reason songwriter and singer Stephan Jenkins decided to get involved in music. As Jenkins explains, the song “Jumper” is based on an actual event:

“The song is about a man jumping off a bridge, killing himself because he’s gay,” he says. “Basically, we all have demons. Not one of us grew up without being scared in some way.”

Jenkins was compelled to use that story in a song because he feels that what the jumper was feeling is an emotion that is universal to men and women everywhere in many different situations.

“Although this is a story about a man who is repressed because he’s homosexual in a society that hates gay people, people come up and say, ‘Jumper’ means something to them. It’s a song about giving people a break,” he said.

Third Eye Blind’s song of sympathy was their third straight hit off of their debut album, jumping all the way to #5 in the winter of 1998.

Source: Interview by Charlize Theron in Interview Magazine, September 1998

98.5 KRZ Jumpin’ Jeff Walker, shown with producer Shila, is the drive-time DJ on 98.5 KRZ-FM from 3-7 p.m. He also researchs and collects the orgins and inspirations for well-known pop songs.