I'd Rather Stay Awake - Owl City's Lyrics Analysis

Currently, students claim that they like poetry. Evidently, they are not able to go a day without listening to music. The world understands that music is poetry. Appreciating the language and meaning of a song is the same as understanding a poem. There is a connection between poetry and music. Owl City is an American electronica group created in 2007, in Owatonna, Minnesota Owl City (owl city) on Myspace. Adam Young is the lead singer and songwriter. He formed the group while testing out music in his parent's basement. Owl City established the social networking site, "Myspace," and had significant achievements before signing with Universal Republic Records. They wrote the song "Fireflies" and recorded it 2008. They later released it in 2009, and it has become a big hit since then. The song talks about insomnia in a figurative language that gives the listeners a clear mental picture.

The listener visualizes the lyrics and relates to the words. The song uses alteration, allusion and emphasizes their connotation leading to a new insight on the subject. According to the Quora website, the song describes "the dreams of Adam and what he sees. You would not believe your eyes if ten million fireflies lit up the world as I fell asleep.' Fireflies probably represent his dreams and how magical they are; that's why he catches them in a jar for us to see later." The phrase "fireflies lit up the world" creates a picture and the listener can see the beauty of the light from the fireflies.

One of my favorite songs was written by Owl City, "Fireflies." "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 of me rude, but I would just stand and stare" (Owl City lyric). The song describes the songwriter, Adam Young's dream, and what he sees when he is dreaming. According to his personal views on the Quora website, he wanted the old toys to come alive in his music video, just as all those impossible things happened in his dreams. Also, according to Song Facts, Adam Young told the story behind the song to AntiMusic: "It was 2 a.m., and I was sitting on the floor in my parents' basement with a MicroKorg on my lap. I built this synthy legato 'ping' sound routed through a lowpass filter and ran it through a bunch of guitar pedals. I come up with a little cascading part that wound up as the intro and verses of a song called 'Fireflies.' I have insomnia, and I've always had a tough time falling asleep for as long as I can remember. I wanted to sing about my inability to sleep in a whimsical way that portrayed the condition as lighthearted and almost more of a 'blessing' than a curse. It's ironic that how sleep and I cannot bring ourselves to meet. At this moment inspiration strikes hardest and insomnia is a great influencer of this inspiration. I'd just been on vacation to Iowa the week before I wrote the song and was amazed at how many fireflies came out at dusk. "I didn't really have to think about making a connection between insomnia and lighting bugs. It just happened, and the song basically wrote itself. It was a lot of fun. I believe it's very hard to deal with insomnia. I see many people nowadays having this disorder." But, on the other hand, at least Adam is writing about how he feels about it in a song!

"Fireflies" is the title of the song from American electronica project, Owl City album Ocean Eyes. Relient K vocalist, Matt Thiessen, is featured as a guest on the song. Adam Young described the song as "a little song about bugs and not being able to fall asleep at night." The song is built around a "bleepy" synth line and includes lyrics about insomnia, fireflies, and summer (Myspace). Based on the song, it was released on July 14, 2009. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two straight weeks along with topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Ireland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Furthermore, it was in the Top Forty hits in the U.S. until three years later when "Good Time," a duet that Owl City made with Carly Rae Jepsen.

The songwriter has employed figurative language in the song. "Cause I'd get a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning bugs as they tried to teach me how to dance." This is an example of personification, meaning the fireflies make him feel warm inside, and they are moving like they're dancing in the sky (Pop Music). When writers use representation, they describe human characteristics to objects or ideas. There are reasons behind the use of the figurative language such as personification. It can be utilised as a way to describe something so that the audience can understand and relate to it. Also, it can be used to highlight a point. It is a preferred literary tool. People use personification without even noticing it. As I read through the reviews of the song, I notice that it has five stars. People actually like this song and listen to it even today. Listeners find it appealing because of how cute the song is, and they call the singer a "one-man band." Evident in tone review where a teenager rated the song with "5 stars" and wrote, "Owl City is a cute, bubbly, one-man band. The songs are fun and catchy, but they are not deep. Firefly is an excellent song (Stephanie Bruzzese).

In conclusion, according to the Quora website, the song describes Adam's dreams and what he sees: "You would not believe your eyes if ten million fireflies lit up the world as I fell asleep." The fireflies probably represent his dreams and their magic. In his words, he says that he catches them in a jar for us to see. In light of this, the following words best describe the dream: "It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep, coz everything is never as it seems." Apparently, his dreams are so interesting that, sometimes, he'd rather sleep than be in our reality. If the "planet earth turned slowly," then his dreams would be longer, and he could sleep longer. Every other line describes his experiences in his dreams. I think the song "Fireflies" is about someone who chooses dreams over reality. Adam will always have his memories and his dreams, such as the fireflies he held inside a jar. We all sometimes dream about beautiful things and do not want to wake up. Sometimes, dreams are better than reality because dreams show us the world that we want to see, and truth can be unpleasant, which hurts us.

Annotated Bibliography

"Pop Music." Figurative Languages Used in Songs. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.

The website has lyrics about Fireflies, a song written by Owl City. It tells me that the song has personification (figurative language). I will be using this site in my essay because it has useful information, such as figurative language in songs.

"What Is the Meaning of the Song Fireflies by Owl City?" Quora. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.

The article has some personal views that we can read about, such as how people think of the Fireflies song and what it represents. Also, people can have related questions that are answered by individuals; this shows us what people think the song is about.

Bruzzese, Stephanie. "Fireflies" (CD Single)." Music Review. Common Sense Media, 20 Nov. 2009. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.

This website tells us what parents and kids think of the Fireflies CD single. It shows that parents need to know that though the lyrics in this song are somewhat nonsensical. Its a song that a parent can have their child listen to it since it does not have any bad language.

"Fireflies." Wiki for Owl City - Fireflies. Mikeyy21, 2017. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.

"Fireflies" peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart in 2009.Adam Young told the story behind the Fireflies song to AntiMusic: "It was 2 a.m. and I was sitting on the floor in my parent's basement", he tells the world about his song he wrote.

"Owl City (owl city) on Myspace." Myspace. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.

This website has information about the artist. You can see photos, music, videos, connections, events, and mixes. It's a great website if you want to learn more about the music artist. I use this site a lot to listen to music and get information about music.