Lyrics

High, high hopes

Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Shooting for the  
When I couldn't make a  
Didn't have a   but I always had a vision
Always had high, high hopes
(High, high hopes)

Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
I was gonna be that one in a million
Always had high, high hopes

Mama said
Fulfill the  
Be something  
Go make a  
Manifest  
Back in the  
We wanted everything
Wanted everything
(High, high hopes)

Mama said
Burn your  
Rewrite your  
Light up your wildest  
Museum   , every day
We wanted everything, wanted everything

Mama said, don't give   ,
I's a little  
All tied up, no more love
And I'd hate to see you waiting

Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Shooting for the stars
When I couldn't make a killing
Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision
Always had high, high hopes

Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
I was gonna be that one in a million
Always had high, high hopes
(High, high hopes)

Mama said
It's uphill for  
Stranger crusaders
Ain't ever  
The weird and the  
Don't ever  
We wanted everything, wanted everything
(High, high hopes)

Stay up on that rise
Stay up on that rise and never come down, oh
Stay up on that rise
Stay up on that rise and never come down

Mama said, don't give up, it's a little complicated
All tied up, no more love
And I'd hate to see you waiting
They say it's all been  
But they haven't seen the   of me
So I got one more  
And it's gonna be a   to see

Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Shooting for the stars
When I couldn't make a killing
Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision
Always had high, high hopes
(High, high hopes)

Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
I was gonna be that one in a million
Always had high, high hopes
(High, high hopes)

Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Shooting for the stars
When I couldn't make a killing
Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision
Always had high, high hopes

Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
I was gonna be that one in a million
Always had high, high hopes
(High, high hopes)
Legend

Meaning

“I spent too long not setting my expectations high enough, worried about how it felt to fail. I hit a point when I realized I had to aim high and fail, fail, fail in order to keep growing. This one is for all of you who helped me go for it all. I thank you.”

In an interview with Billboard, Urie talked about where he got the inspiration for this song:
“As a kid I thought I would never make it. I only had dreams and fantasies of being a rock star, making cardboard cut-outs of a guitar, standing in front of my mirror just dreaming of the day.”

Vocabulary

Make a Killing

To earn a lot of money in a short time and with little effort:

Shooting for the stars

To set one's goals or ambitions very high; to try to attain or achieve something particularly difficult.