An Owl City "Fireflies" Lyrical Analysis

The musical project entitled Owl City consists of one man, Adam Young. Adam wrote music for his album "Ocean Eyes" while dealing with an unsatisfying job, unsatisfying insomnia, and living in his parents basement. Unsatisfying. The astounding hit off of "Ocean Eyes" was the chart-topper, Fireflies.

If some person were to look at every indie rock "feelings" type of band, take out all the horrible parts, the bubbly synth, the tinkly melodies, and the middle-schooler lyrics, say to themselves: "You know... I think we got something here," combine it all in a big musical blender and listen to the result, the song Fireflies would be born.

And so it was. (Probably.) While the song hit #1 in its tenth week on the US charts in October 2009, the song had debuted on the Billboard top 100 at number 97. As in, the song Fireflies still was able to crack a Billboard chart. Fireflies achieved a goal that talented musicians that spend their whole lives living and breathing music don't even get a nod at. And have you heard the song?

However, I like to keep an open mind. The real clincher of most good songs is their lyrics. So let's go:

Intro:
You would not believe your eyes
If ten million fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep

You're right Adam, I would not believe my eyes if ten million fireflies lit up the world. Because the bible had a passage about that, and you know what they called it? A PLAGUE. A plague of that proportion is most definitely a sign of the apocalypse. How on earth can you fall asleep during the apocalypse? (Unless you're a fainting goat, but that's a genetic disease. What's your excuse?) However, as 2012 is nearing and the Mayan's day of doom slowly approaches, perhaps Adam may just be trying to be prophetic. Is that considered indie now, too?

More Intro:
'Cause they'd fill the open air
And leave teardrops everywhere
You'd think me rude
But I would just stand and stare

Do fireflies have the ability to cry? Or even have feelings? I'm calling your bluff, kid.

But the image of such cute little innocent bugs crying is rather... sweet. Unrealistic, but sweet. How could you not feel moved by such a grandiose expression of emotion? There are ten million of them! That's a lot of little sadnesses. And yet Adam states that he feels nothing. Assuming that there would ever be a situation where ten million fireflies were communally crying, Adam clearly demonstrates that he has an ice box for a heart. So I'm gonna have to go and dock more points.

Chorus:
I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems

Actually, our blue planet turns rather fast. If you compare it with the other eight (nine? I love you, Pluto!) planets in our solar system, Earth has the fifth slowest rotation behind Neptune, Saturn, Uranus, and Jupiter. Ergo- we have the fourth fastest (if you include Pluto, which I do.) We are mediocre-ly fast comparatively. I don't care that he wrote that part as a metaphor for wanting to slow time down, his thinking is factually inaccurate and as a listener I'm just not able to get past that.

The second part of this little excerpt is just so... predictably convoluted. He took nearly twenty six seconds to state the cliché that 'things are often different from what we think they are'. But because he preceded it with "but it's hard to say" it's really like he's not saying anything at all.

Verse (-like thing):
'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs
From ten thousand lightning bugs
As they tried to teach me how to dance

A foxtrot above my head
A sock hop beneath my bed
A disco ball is just hanging by a thread

Why does every insect you interact with come in groupings of ten? I'm not even mad, just amazed.

In the second part the lyrics consist of him just naming random dances the fireflies could be doing. Ok. But a disco ball hanging by a thread? Because it's so small because it's made for fireflies? Aw that image is kind of cute I guess ...Oh, I'm sorry, he said lightning bugs here instead of fireflies? It's just so hard to keep these incredibly talented bugs straight. Stupid me.

Another Verse-like Thing:
Leave my door open just a crack
(Please take me away from here)
'Cause I feel like such an insomniac
(Please take me away from here)
Why do I tire of counting sheep
(Please take me away from here)
When I'm far too tired to fall asleep

This part was redeeming for me. The lyrics didn't rely on throw-away metaphors, the lyricist didn't seem to be trying to be lofty or deep. Lyrically, I could get behind this. Let's see what comes next...

Outro-Part:
To ten million fireflies
I'm weird 'cause I hate goodbyes
I got misty eyes as they said farewell

But I'll know where several are
If my dreams get real bizarre
'Cause I saved a few and I keep them in a jar

Back to the weird fireflies metaphor! Darn, I thought we got some real good forward motion going there. But maybe we did get a little bit of change, as Adam here states that he "hates goodbyes" and got "misty eyes" when the fireflies/lightning bugs left. This is the same guy who stood there staring at them crying in the beginning, but asked that you not think him rude. So, progress, even if it's toward non-conscious beings. This part shows Adam has developed (maybe) some semblance of affection. Aw. But I seriously doubt his ability to use this newfound emotion to woo a lover because the other songs he wrote on "Ocean Eyes" are called Vanilla Twilight (wasn't Tom Cruise in this movie?), Meteor Shower (Lame.), and interestingly enough, Dental Care. Boy, curve balls just abound, don't they? But it's hard to say, as Adam says, because everything is never as it seems. Deep words.

Lastly, if PETA hears about Adam's locking up fireflies in a jar and then publicly parading that fact, they are likely to be upset. And after they just taught him to dance! Also, I'd like to point out that he will only take out the fireflies if his dreams "get real bizarre." Let's sum that up: Adam is going to take out the fireflies that he has captured from the plague because he believes that they can teach him to dance underneath their tiny discoballs.

Seek help, Adam.

The rest of the song is more Chorus. And then instead of ending the last line of the chorus with "because everything is never as it seems" he ends with the unusual twist, "because my dreams are bursting at the seams," which is actually rather sweet and nice. But I still will never purchase it because, as a vegetarian, I do not support firefly cruelty.