Bishop Allen is an American indie rock band which formed in Brooklyn, New Y… Read Full Bio ↴Bishop Allen is an American indie rock band which formed in Brooklyn, New York, United States in 2003. The band's core members are Justin Rice and Christian Rudder, who are supported both on stage and in the studio by a rotating cast of musicial collaborators. Currently the band consists of Justin Rice (vocals, guitar), Christian Rudder (guitar), Darbie Nowatka-Rice (keyboards, violin), Keith Poulson (bass) and Michael Tapper (drums). Tapper is a former member of the indie rock band We Are Scientists.

The band takes its name from Bishop Allen Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the two lived together after college and has released three albums, "Charm School" (2003), "The Broken String" (2007) and "Grrr..." (2009).

Charm School (2003)

Charm School was Bishop Allen's first record. Recorded in fits and starts over two years, it grew song-by-song as Rice and Rudder wrote and played in their spare time. They recorded all the instruments on the album's 13 songs themselves, using drum loops to hide the fact that neither is a drummer, and almost everything on the record was recorded one track at a time in an ordinary bedroom. Backing vocals by Bonnie Schiff-Glenn and Kate Dollenmayer and supplementary drums by Coll Anderson, all added in the album's final stages, completed the songs.

The EP Project (2006)

In 2006, Bishop Allen recorded and released an EP every month of the year. Each record was titled for the month of its release (January, February, and so on), and, with the exception of August, which was a 14-song live disc, each contained four new studio songs.

The Broken String (2007)

In November 2006, Bishop Allen signed to Dead Oceans, a new sister label to Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar, for a modest advance. They began recording a new record that January, at Blackwatch Studios in Norman, Oklahoma, and delivered it two months later. This is Bishop Allen's first true studio recording and was released by Dead Oceans on July 24, 2007.

Grrr.... (2009)

Released in March 2009, this doesn't stray from Bishop Allen's specific brand of lovely indie pop.

Fireflies
Bishop Allen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Your shine how it makes me shiver
The line you trace
It says you can still forgive her
And she will forgive you back

Oh, hey, firefly
Oh, why, firefly

And I'd given up already
And I'd let my eyes adjust
When blinking and unsteady
You say come in

Oh, why, firefly
Oh, why, firefly

So I will take
This new shape
But tell me, darlin'
What difference will it make?

And, oh, how it drifts through evening
And into the darkening night

And when I shine, she sees me
Oh, so brief and bright

Brief and bright, firefly
Oh, why, firefly

So I will take to this new shape
And will she know
Will I show how I can glow?

Oh, why, firefly
Brief and bright, firefly
Oh, so brief and bright
Oh, so brief and bright
Oh, so brief and bright
Oh, so brief and bright
Oh, so brief and bright
Oh, so brief and bright
Oh, so brief and bright

Oh, so brief and bright
Oh, so brief and bright

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Bishop Allen's "Fireflies" describe the impact that another person can have on one's life. The singer is in awe of the other person's ability to forgive and forget, even after being wronged. The "shine" of this person's forgiving nature is so powerful that it "makes me shiver" and draws the singer in. The singer has given up on the possibility of forgiveness and moving forward, but the other person's invitation to "come in" gives him hope.

The metaphor of fireflies is central to the song's meaning. Fireflies have a brief and bright existence, illuminating the darkness before disappearing just as quickly. The singer is comparing himself to a firefly, hoping that the other person will see him in his brief moment of illumination and forgive him. The lyrics are filled with questions and uncertainty, as the singer wonders whether he can truly change and whether his efforts will be noticed. The final line, "Oh, so brief and bright," reinforces the idea that life is fleeting and it's up to us to make the most of our moments in the spotlight.

Line by Line Meaning

Your shine how it makes me shiver
Your light is so powerful that it gives me chills

The line you trace
The path you've drawn

It says you can still forgive her
You're willing to forgive her

And she will forgive you back
And she'll forgive you in return

Oh, hey, firefly
Hello, little bug that shines in the dark

Oh, why, firefly
Why do you shine?

And I'd given up already
I had lost all hope

And I'd let my eyes adjust
I had adapted to the darkness

When blinking and unsteady
But then, flickering and unstable

You say come in
You invite me to approach you

So I will take
So I'll become