Owl City is the solo electronica musical project by American singer-songwri… Read Full Bio ↴Owl City is the solo electronica musical project by American singer-songwriter Adam Young.

Young also records under the names Sky Sailing, Port Blue, Color Therapy, Insect Airport, Seagull Orchestra and his own name, Adam Young.

Young started out making music in 2007 in his basement in his hometown of Owatonna, Minnesota, United States, later developing a following through his MySpace profile before being signed to Universal Republic. Young has released seven albums under the Owl City moniker: "Maybe I'm Dreaming" (2008), "Ocean Eyes" (2009), "All Things Bright and Beautiful" (2011), "The Midsummer Station" (2012), "Mobile Orchestra" (2015), "Cinematic" (2018), and "Coco Moon" (2023). Young's 2009 single "Fireflies" reached #1 in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and The Netherlands. His second major hit, 2012's "Good Time" featuring Carly Rae Jepsen reached #8 in the US and #1 in New Zealand.

He was also once a member of Windsor Airlift and Swimming with Dolphins, both of which he is no longer involved with.

Hot Air Ballon
Owl City Lyrics

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We wrote a prelude
To our own fairy tale
And bought a parachute
At a church rummage sale

And with a mean sewing machine
And miles of thread
We sewed the day above L.A.

In navy and red

We wound a race track
Through your mom's kitchen chairs
And fought the shadows back
Down your dark basement stairs

I lit a match, then let it catch
To light up the room
And then you yelled as we beheld
An old maroon hot air balloon

I'll be out of my mind
And you'll be out of ideas
Pretty soon
So let's spend
The afternoon in a cold hot air balloon
Leave your jacket behind
Lean out and touch the treetops over town
I can't wait
To kiss the ground
Wherever we touch back down

We drank the Great Lakes
Like cold lemonade
And both got stomach aches
Sprawled out in the shade

So bored to death you held your breath
And I tried not to yawn
You made my frown turn upside down
And now my worries are gone

I'll be out of my mind
And you'll be out of ideas
Pretty soon
So let's spend
The afternoon in a cold hot air balloon
Leave your jacket behind
Lean out and touch the treetops over town
I can't wait
To kiss the ground
Wherever we touch back down

I'll be out of my mind
And you'll be out of ideas
Pretty soon
So let's spend
The afternoon in a cold hot air balloon
Leave your jacket behind
Lean out and touch the treetops over town
I can't wait

To kiss the ground
Wherever we touch back down

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Owl City's "Hot Air Balloon" depicts a whimsical adventure taken by the singer and their companion. The first verse sets up the scene of how they prepared for the journey, creating their own "fairy tale" by sewing a parachute and making use of a church rummage sale. They then proceed to wind a racetrack through the mom's kitchen chairs and down "your dark basement stairs." The following section describes the moment of adventure; the singer lit a match to light up the room, revealing an "old maroon hot air balloon." The duo then spends their afternoon in the hot air balloon, drinking Great Lakes, leaning out and touching the treetops, and looking forward to kiss the ground wherever the balloon touches back down.

The song touches on themes of spontaneity, adventure, and living in the moment. The opening lyrics, "We wrote a prelude to our own fairy tale," suggests the singer and the companion are the authors of their destiny, creating their magical moments. They made their adventure exciting, even though it was a seemingly ordinary hot air balloon ride. The lyrics are packed with imagery that paints a vivid picture of the adventure. The intricacies of winding a racetrack through a basement and the experience of drinking Great Lakes and getting stomach aches are some examples.

Line by Line Meaning

We wrote a prelude
We started our own love story

To our own fairy tale
Our love story feels like a fairytale

And bought a parachute
We got ready for an adventure

At a church rummage sale
We found the parachute at a garage sale

And with a mean sewing machine
We used a fierce sewing machine

And miles of thread
And lots of thread

We sewed the day above L.A.
We flew over Los Angeles in our homemade hot air balloon

In navy and red
The balloon was navy and red

We wound a race track
We created a race track

Through your mom's kitchen chairs
With the chairs in your mom's kitchen

And fought the shadows back
We overcame our fears