The music video for "Fireflies" premiered on July 21, 2009 and was directed by Steve Hoover. It features Adam Young playing the song on a Lowrey spinet organ in a toy-filled bedroom, where most of the toys (including Robie Sr.; a Tyrannosaurus rex; a Speak & Spell; toy cars, including one based on the UK children's TV character Brum; and a blimp) come to life. Most of the toys are older model toys, with most of them from the 1970s and 1980s (the exceptions being a RoboSapien and a Roboraptor). There are also vintage household devices such as a black-and-white television and a record player. As the song begins, Young presses a "magic" button on the organ's control panel, turning on various lamps and lanterns throughout the room, some shaped uniquely (e.g., one shaped like a lemon, and one like a hot-air balloon). The toys become sentient during the second verse, moving faster and more erratically as the song progresses towards the end. Once Young presses the "magic" button again, the toys deactivate and the room goes dark. The video ends with Young turning off his organ as the camera fades to black. The music video gained rotation on VH1 and MTV and as of 2024, the music video has over 500m+ views and 4 million likes on YouTube.
"Fireflies" was generally well received by music critics and was an inescapable hit; Spin columnist Rob Arcand wrote that the tune "cascaded throughout the world, inescapable in public spaces in the years that followed. Something about its mawkish, saccharine lyrics were so flawlessly inoffensive as to make it the perfect song for light-rock radio, and the track rippled through airwaves in malls, airports, commercials, and public transit until even the most earnest fans grew a little tired."
American electronic producer James Ferraro, commonly credited with pioneering the electronic genre vaporwave, called "Fireflies" the best song of the 21st century, interpreting it on Twitter as having themes of mass surveillance and "circadian rhythm disorder from ever present [sic] devices".
In May 2017, the song was repurposed as an Internet meme, usually involving the song being played at an extremely loud volume or being remixed to fit a certain theme. Another variant of the meme involved writing a pun for the line "You would not believe your eyes, if ten million fireflies". The song received further notability in June when Owl City was asked to interpret the lyric "I get a thousand hugs from 10,000 lightning bugs." Following its virality as an internet meme, the song re-entered the Billboard charts at number eight on the US Rock Streaming Songs chart.
The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two non-consecutive weeks. Internationally, the song also topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. "Fireflies" was Owl City's only top forty hit in the United States until three years later when "Good Time", a duet with Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen, charted at No. 8. It has been covered by Christina Grimmie, Cheryl Cole and others.
"Fireflies" is featured in the video game Disney Sing It: Party Hits, and was used in the promotional video for EyePet. It is available as downloadable content for Guitar Hero 5, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and Rock Band 3. The song was released as a free download on the game Tap Tap Revenge 3 by Tapulous.
'Fireflies
Owl City Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If ten million fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep
'Cause they fill the open air
And leave teardrops everywhere
You'd think me rude but I would just stand and stare
I'd like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly
'Cause everything is never as it seems
'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 (thread, thread)
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 (when I fall asleep)
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
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)
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 (when I fall asleep)
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 (when I fall asleep)
(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)
The main theme of Owl City's song "Fireflies" is about the feeling of loneliness and the desire for escapism through dreams. The lyrics evoke vivid imagery of ten million fireflies lighting up the world, leaving teardrops everywhere, while the singer falls asleep. The singer expresses how everything is never as it seems when he falls asleep, preferring to stay in his dream world rather than facing the reality of the open air outside. He describes the light dances of the fireflies, the foxtrot above his head, the sock hop beneath his bed, and the disco ball hanging by a thread.
The chorus of the song repeats the notion of the singer preferring to make himself believe that planet earth turns slowly as it's hard to say that he’d rather stay awake when he's asleep. At the end of the song, the singer wants to be taken away from his insomnia and tire of counting sheep. He loves the fireflies, and although misty-eyed from their farewell, he has saved some in a jar that he can keep. The lyrics suggest that the singer finds comfort and companionship in his own dream world and takes solace in the fact that he can always return to it.
Line by Line Meaning
You would not believe your eyes
The sight I'm witnessing is so unbelievable
If ten million fireflies
I see countless fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep
The fireflies illuminating the world make me feel sleepy
'Cause they fill the open air
The fireflies are everywhere in the surrounding space
And leave teardrops everywhere
The tiny drops of dew left by the fireflies look like tears
You'd think me rude but I would just stand and stare
I know it might look rude, but I can't help but stare at this mesmerizing sight
I'd like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly
I wish I could trick myself into thinking that the earth is moving slower
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
It's difficult to admit that sometimes I prefer my dreams to reality
'Cause everything is never as it seems
Things are never what they appear to be, even in my dreams
'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs
I feel like the fireflies are hugging me
From ten thousand lightning bugs
There are innumerable lightning bugs surrounding me
As they tried to teach me how to dance
It's as though the fireflies are trying to teach me how to dance
A foxtrot above my head
They're dancing the Foxtrot over my head
A sock hop beneath my bed
And there's a Sock Hop happening beneath my bed
A disco ball is just hanging by a thread (thread, thread)
The disco ball seems like it's hanging by a thread, swaying precariously
Leave my door open just a crack
I have left my door slightly open
Please take me away from here
Please help me escape this place
'Cause I feel like such an insomniac
I feel like I can't sleep, despite being tired
Why do I tire of counting sheep?
Why does counting sheep no longer help me fall asleep?
When I'm far too tired to fall asleep
Even though I'm exhausted, I cannot seem to sleep
To ten million fireflies
I'm saying farewell to the fireflies
I'm weird 'cause I hate goodbyes
I know it's weird, but I don't like goodbyes
I got misty eyes as they said farewell (they said farewell)
I have tears in my eyes as they said goodbye
But I'll know where several are
I'll remember where some of the fireflies are
If my dreams get real bizarre
If my dreams become extremely strange
'Cause I saved a few and I keep them in a jar (jar, jar, jar)
I have captured some of the fireflies in a jar to keep them with me
(Because my dreams are bursting at the seams)
I'm trying to control my dreams, which are becoming overwhelming
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Adam R. Young
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@YoutuberGamer1212
Welp, here’s the lyrics anyways:
You would not believe your eyes
If ten million fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep
'Cause they fill the open air
And leave teardrops everywhere
You'd think me rude but I would just stand and stare
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
'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 (thread, thread)
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 (when I fall asleep)
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
To ten million fireflies
I'm weird cause I hate goodbyes
I got misty eyes as they said farewell (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)
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 (when I fall asleep)
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 (when I fall asleep)
@YikesJK
“We didn’t know we were making memories, we were just having fun”
-Winnie the Pooh
@xNikitaValconix
aaaawwwww
@yourhentai1179
Judson McKenzie No it’s not, I never saw this kind of comment
@fordgalaxie3695
@@yourhentai1179 You aren't on the internet that much then.
@fordgalaxie3695
@@yourhentai1179 Doesn't mean it's uncommon lol
@Charlie-hv3dh
YikesJK I always listen to this song when I can’t sleep, my god I love fireflys
@okas425
“Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes but when we look back everything is different”
-CS Lewis
@b0il3ra90
Your comment hit me with realization
@BerserkRain
That hit me so hard that my eyes widened and starting looking out the window and than thought about the past and how it was flying by while I was looking at the things I saw
@bouncybird2331
I'm having an existential crisis now, thanks