 Hoppus said the song 's inspiration came from " reading a magazine where some teenage kid had killed himself and left a letter for his family . " Untrue online rumors purported that the song was inspired by a friend from Hoppus ' high school years who committed suicide , or a play titled Adam 's Letter that has the same focus . A fictional suicide note was a part of the script for Adam 's Letter , a play that wasn 't written until two years after " Adam 's Song " came out . John Cosper , the writer behind Adam 's Letter , said : 
