Lyrics Exercises Submission Bob Zhao

Fireflies Owl City Lyrics

[Verse 1]

You would not believe your eyes if ten million fireflies

Lit up the world as I fell asleep

'Cause they'd fill the open air and leave teardrops everywhere

You'd think me rude but I would just stand and stare

[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

[Verse 2]

'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning bugs

As they tried to teach me how to dance

'Cause they'd fill the open air and leave teardrops everywhere

A disco ball is just hanging by a thread

[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

[Bridge]

                    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?

[Verse 3]

To ten million fireflies, I'm weird 'cause I hate goodbyes

I got misty eyes as they said farewell (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 (Jar, jar, jar)

[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
                
                    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

[Outro]

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

Because my dreams are bursting at the seams...

About "Fireflies" 2 contributors

“Fireflies”, Owl City’s debut single, topped the pop charts in 24 countries around the world, effectively launching the genre Twee into the mainstream. The song was inspired by watching shooting stars during a camping trip with lyrics also influenced by insomnia.

Adam Young a.k.a. read more »

What have artists said about the song?

OWL CITY

Via Twitter

I was the recipient of 1,000 hugs from 10,000 lightning bugs for a grand total of 10,000,000 hugs. As the lyrics of the song clearly state, the average layperson would not believe their eyes if 10,000,000 fireflies were to illuminate planet Earth, nor would the average person conclude by natural instinct that 10,000 lightning bugs acting as a collective group, are capable of embracing a human being 1,000 times without difficulty. By the same token, a gathering of lightning bugs in such vast numbers form a sort of “swarm,” and a swarm can collectively surround a human and deliver a “hug” that a single firefly, acting according to the dictates of his own conscience, simply cannot. Consequently, I was embraced 1,000 times by 10,000 luminescent insects. This may seem inconceivable due to the firefly’s soft-shelled body, which is common among all winged beetles within the Lampyridae insect family. Members of the scientific community may be tempted to cast doubt upon the possibility of this exchange due to the immobility of the prothorax and pterothorax, in addition to the elytra protruding outward while a firefly is engaged in mid-flight. However, I can testify to the accuracy of this exchange. I can furthermore add that while each individual hug took place, each firefly participated in the chemical reaction commonly known as bioluminescence in which the enzymes within the firefly, in the presence of oxygen, magnesium ions and ATP, emitted a chemically produced light or “glow” because they were happy to be hugging me.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any further questions! Stream “Fireflies” on Apple Music and Spotify!

What inspired the song?

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Adam Young (a.k.a. Owl City) stated:

“Fireflies” was inspired by a camping trip I took up to a totally rustic and kind of remote lake in northern Minnesota, where there isn’t really much of anything. I can remember sleeping out on a dock on the edge of this lake and looking up at the sky. There was a meteor shower that night. I remember thinking, what a cool idea of shooting stars being fireflies, and trying to translate that into music. That’s what spurred it on. I was also influenced by the lack of sleep that tends to happen."

How well did the song do on the Billboard Top 100?

The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two non-consecutive weeks in 2009. The song became Owl City’s only song to top the Hot 100.

GENIUS

Fireflies Owl City Lyrics

About "Fireflies" 2 contributors

What have artists said about the song?

OWL CITY

What inspired the song?

How well did the song do on the Billboard Top 100?