Panic! At The Disco: The Meaning

26. She Had the World

  "She Had The World", originally titled "Snooze Me, Ms. Britches", is a story told by Ryan Ross of a naive dreamer who fell for him despite his lack of interest. 

Ryan Ross:  That was one of the songs that took the longest. It was kind of a work in progress over the whole writing process. That was one we did in the summer. No one was that excited about it. Then I changed it a few days before we were going to track it, and it ended up being a lot cooler than I thought it was going to turn out. We had some harpsichords and some really beautiful orchestrations. 

  She held the world upon a string
But she didn't ever hold me
Spun the stars on her fingernails
But it never made her happy
Cause she couldn't ever have me  

  This girl has everything she could ever want, but she still isn't happy because the only thing she can't have the narrator.
To "have the world" is another way of saying that she has everything, which is in a similar vein to "spun the stars on her fingernails". These lines also indicate a sense of control that she has over her life.
However the phrase "she didn't ever hold [him]" suggests that she is unable to have the narrator. It also states that although she has everything, she isn't happy because she can't have him  

  She said she won the world at a carnival
But she could never win me
Cause she couldn't ever catch me  

Ross is recalling a moment shared between him and the girl the song was written about. She attempts to draw him in with her previously stated "ownership of everything", however he still refuses.

The fact that she'd "won the world at a carnival" suggests that she had had all she has given to her, as she has "won it" opposed to actually having to earn it. Ross states that although she has "won the world", there was no way that she could win him.

  I, I know why
Because when I look in her eyes
I just see the sky
When I look in her eyes
Well I, just see the sky  

Seeing "the sky" in her eyes is probably an alternate way of saying she's got her head in the clouds or she's not very in touch with reality. She might be caught up in her daydreams about what it would be like to date Ryan, to the point where she forgets that he's not actually interested.

This could also be a play on the saying stars in their eyes  which means that someone sees something as better than it actually is or could be. In this case, she's idealizing what it would be like to be in a relationship with Ryan, and reality would probably fall short of her expectations and bore her.

  I don't love you I'm just passing the time
You could love me if I knew how to lie

The chorus is the first point in the song where Ryan speaks directly to the girl, saying "you" as opposed to "her".

It's also the first time in the song Ryan's being direct with her in terms of his emotions. He's being blatantly honest by coming right out and saying he doesn't love her, and he's not looking to have a serious relationship. Even though throughout the song, she's portrayed as being more more in love with him than he is with her, he's addressing the fact that there's no possible way she could love him because he's so against the idea of being in a relationship with her that he'd just make it miserable for both of them.

  Throwing a line out to sea
To see if I can catch a dream  

Ryan is metaphorically 'fishing' for his dreams, hoping that he can 'catch' one and make it come true. It's also possible that he doesn't have many aspirations, and is trying to find some to drive him to keep going. Regardless of what type of dreams he is trying to catch, it will take time. He has to wait to see whether they come true, much like someone who is fishing has to wait to see if any fish will bite.

These lines may be a play on the phrase 'plenty of fish in the sea', meaning that there are plenty of potential romantic partners in the world. Ryan is hoping to catch his dream girl. If this is the case, it makes sense that he wasn't truly in love with the girl mentioned in the song. When fishing, one must reel in whatever bites or else cut their line. In the same way, Ryan took a chance with this girl but later realized that they weren't compatible.

The sun was always in her eyesShe didn't even see meBut that girl had so much loveShe'd wanna kiss you all the timeYeah, she'd wanna kiss you all the time

  When someone says that the sun is in their eyes, it means that they can't see due to brightness of the sun. In this case, the girl wasn't looking at the sun, but focusing on the bright future that she imagined for herself with the narrator. Just as looking at the sun can cause temporary vision loss and even permanent eye damage , focusing too much on her dreams for the future caused the girl to lose sight of the present and stop paying attention to her lover, eventually leading her to lose him forever  despite all of the love that she had to give.  

  She said she won the world at a carnival
But I'm sure I didn't ruin her
Just made her more interesting
I'm sure I didn't ruin her
Just made her more interesting  

Ross knows this girl was just trying to get with him for superficial reasons, so when he ends it he knows that she will go on and complain about it to others around her. He will become a story that she tells, therefore making her "more interesting" to those around her. More so, she isn't too affected by the two of them ending, she isn't actually "ruined", or heartbroken.

Alternatively, this could be Ross' way of telling himself that he didn't cause heartbreak to the girl he broke up with, but instead made her a more interesting person through his influence.