Owl City – Fireflies lyrics

You know what, this really does mean everything is never as it seems and we all wish we could fall into our own little word sooner or later and when you fall asleep you just never wanna escape this song if you really listen to it carefully there is a meaning and its sooo true I mean I would just want to leave skool and just come to my own world where no one trash talks or is mean to each other but I know in real lifethat will never be true:(

When I was in third grade (I'm in fifth now), I was in a class of the most amazing teacher ever. She never failed to make us laugh and she was the most crazy person but wonderful woman you would ever meet. She got cancer and continued to teach us with life meant through the pain that she went through and she asked us the question that should have been heard only to her ears- "are you okay? " (I'm sobbing now) and that showed us she really care about us. She always said that we were her little fireflies and her little motto was, "shine bright fireflies, shine bright! " then she passed away in eric, her husband's arms. She was only 28. Now I listen to fireflies to think of how she's the brightest star in the sky shining like a firefly. God bless those who understand.
Naomi (age 10).

Ok first off this song is awsome it depects the way of how we don't see the little things in life and were move and wanting to grow up to fast and if we would just sop to look around us the beauty is all around us but we are all almost to caught up to look over and see the sunset or to see the beauty of the flowers or whatever else we take forgranted.

The first time I've heard it, it already strucked in my mind and I keep on waiting it to be played on the radio because I'm going to record it. Too bad I haven't heard it there. Anyway, for me it means life is beautiful and easy to deal with as the way you perceives it. This hit song is one of my fave. It's very pleasing to the ears because of the music and lyrics as well plus the soft voice of the singer.

I think this song merely means that at night he feels like he belongs there and with me I have that exact problem going to sleep because we have all these different things going on inside our head. He feels he needs to know that when hes asleep that he is safe and even when he is asleep there's still a party going on. When you're awake you feel as though time stands still and that it always will as long as you're awake. When you're asleep you can't really feel anything. Its as though you are only resting your eyes for about a minute when in reality its been about 9 or 10 hours. He thinks about this problem but he isn't sure whether he wants to change it or not. He has wonderful memories when hes awake at night. I think fireflies are a symbol of light and a sign of an escape from the dark. He has his firefllies who protect him at night and he is grateful for them. That is why he cries when they leave, but he remembers that they come every night. I feel its a great song for someone who feels lonely and depressed mostly at night. I could be wrong about this whole thing, but I don't care. I stick with my philosophy.

The real meaning to this song is to love everything you have. This song is really touching because I went to his concert and I had a backstage pass and I asked Adam why he made it he said because you should love everyone and everything in your life so when ever I hear it I think of everybody I had in my life who died and I loved them!

My kids and I really love this song. It makes me think of all the wonderful things that you had in childhood. When you are a kid you believe in the unbelievable. Where wishes will be granted on that wishing star. Imagination was a way of life then. When you grow up you have all these responsibilities so imagination makes room for real life. This will probably always be one of my top 5 favs 'till the day I die.

My friend said this song "Fireflies" were only for people who were high. I completely disagree, I think she failed to see what's between the lines, I loved how it has an up-beat tone to it but I tried reading the lyrics before actually hearing to song so I said. "Wow, deep" but then it dawned on me that it was more than a little deep coz' it tells a lot of what could really happen to a person in his/her life. I know you guys can't get it so sorry for wasting your time. Xd.

Adam suffers insomnia. That's when he writes most of his music. I think the song was probably written out of that experience, the frustration of being so tired but not being able to sleep. You lay there and there's a thousand things to distract you. You can't always look at a video to find the meaning behind the song. Usually it's not even relevant to the song. In this case I think the toys are more symbolising distractions to sleep, rather than his yearning for childhood, notice most of the toys are electronic and are moving of their own accord.

He knows that his fear of saying goodbye to people is unneccessary (to ten million fireflies, I'm weird cuz I hate goodbyes) and fireflies say goodbye every night cuz it turs to morning. He wishes he could believe that everything would be fine and he could allow hisself to get close to someone. He wishes he could just roll with the punches so to speak (id like to make myself beleive that planet earth turns slowly.

I love this song! It has tons of meanings to me! To me it means that Things are changing rapidly. Talking about the fireflies lighting up everything meaning, if we took all the technology. Because things are becoming so advanced now. If you close your eyes, you're missing a lot, because how fast things are changing. And with all that stuff, you could destroy everything if it gets out of control. It's hard to explain. But it is a very meaningful song, in my opinion. I love it.

I have found another meaning. It is also meaning that the fireflies all around that they mention must be some event. And who would catch fireflies? Children. The writer also says that he "likes to make himself believe the planet Earth turns slowly", which could mean that he would like to grasp childhood innocence, but the world is merely moving to fast in a hypothetic way. Just like as adults say, "you've grown up so fast!". That is also another meaning.

Those of you guys who write these horrible comments, I hope you realize that you're just making yourselves look bad. The people who read your hateful comments probably feel bad for you that you could have such anger and hatred and know that there is probably something horribly wrong with your life for you to have such anger towards a song. Just thought I'd let you know you're just making yourselves look pathetic when you leave such ugly notes about this song or any song for that matter. Your issues obviously go far beyond the quality of this or any song.

I believe this song is autobigraphical.
The fireflies are symbolism for illuminating and inspiring thoughts that fill his mind, lighting it up even as he remains awake whilst desirous of falling asleep.
The singer is at first torn between wanting to remain in the flow of inspiraton and revelation of His Creator and the wonders of the created world, and wanting to fall into a sound dreamless sleep.
This altered last repitition of the chorus is for me the key to all that goes before. The Singer/songwriter revels in his triumph over sleeplessness because he is using his insomnia creatively to tap into the well of inspiration that is rising up with in him as he spends the sleepless nights in the presence of the Creator, through which he himself becomes creative.
He's living his dreams even as he suffers from sleepless nights brought on by insomnia. And the song is a testimony to that triumph.

This song is very meaningful and deep. It is a guy talking of how he likes to make himself believe all the things that children do. "Planet Earth turns slowly" I love the section of lyric where it says "It's hard to say I'd rather be awake when I'm asleep" It reminds me of me. I don't like to go to sleep but I love to dream. Love this song.

I feel like this song is about leaving someone or something you love. They're like fireflies lighting up a dark night. "Stay awake when I'm asleep" could represent the feeling when you are too tired to stay awake, but you don't want to go to sleep, since you may never see the person again. It could also mean you've stayed up late enough that you're no longer tired. The line "I get a thousand hugs from a thousand lightning bugs" could represent hugging each other. "As they try to teach me how to dance" could represent them trying to teach you something special. "Please take me away from here" could represent wanting to leave the moment of uncertainty and sadness you're currently in. "I'm weird because I hate goodbyes" could be because everyone else can stay in contact and you can't, or you feel weird since you're the only one crying. The misty eyes line could also reference to that. "I saved a few and keep them in a jar" could represent a phone number or address to keep in contact, or even just a picture to remind you of them. "Because my dreams are bursting at the seams" could mean wishing and dreaming to get back together someday. I hope this helps you!

I love this song. It really opened my eyes to the world and everything around me. It pretty much states that there is a lot more in your dreams than you think. And that reality is only one world around you. So if you agree fallow the fireflies with me and we can go dancing into the night. With bizar and wild dreams that are practically bursting at the seams. Go Owl City.

I believe this song depends on a persons own understanding and interpretation, basically depending on what is happening on that persons life as we speak. For me, this song is intended to give a basis on what is happening in my life now and it is very helpful in a way that it explains the whole situation I am in right now or maybe a hundred days back. The message this song gave me was simple, that we're in this some kind of world, dream, reality or whatever you may call it, like she's there, I am here and must stand still and never let go. Get the picture? She can't do anything but watch and I can't do anything either but be wise and stand still. I suggest you guys also listen to the song "Imagine" by The Beatles and "We Are The World", and also "Where Is The Love" by The Black Eyed Peas. They all gave beautiful meanings. Thank you and no offensement to anybody.

I think what he is trying to say is that he needs someone to talk to and the fireflies are the ones who listen to him but he feels alone when they're gone because he thinks he'll never see them again. "i'd like to make myself belive that planet earth turns slowly" he says that because now that he is alone he wishes they stayed so he won't be alone.

I actually think that this is a song about friendship or the people you love. You can see hundreds and thousands of them, but even if you want them to stay forever they won't. We want to cling to the past but we have to 'sleep' because we need to prepare for the future and when we wake up they would be gone. But there are a few that we can keep forever and ever. So we keep them in a 'jar'. We want to make time move slower, but we can't.

What this song means to me is that it's the story of a person in where his life isn't all that great: the fireflies cry, probably for the person. He wants to believe that the earth turns slowly: to be awake and part of the real world, but for him sleeping and dreaming is better. That dreaming is better because it's more interesting due to how unpredictable it all is. Since the fireflies likely represent his dreams and imagination they are something he wishes to embrace, but when he has to wake up he has to leave them and that's distressing; so he keeps some with him throughout the day to daydream with.

This song has more than one meaning. The first meaning is about sleeping as the rest of the world is awake. The second is talking about why it is hard to fall asleep in the general sense, as they compare it to counting sheep. Another meaning could mean that every little firefly is a shimmering light in the night sky, and if you're not careful, it will disappear. Which leads to the fourth meaning of taking advantage of whats right in front of you, before it disappears. It's a rarity for one song to have different meanings and the fourth meaning is my favorite.

One more thing, I read other peoples replies. Some conclusions I came to are.
1. "Good" not gud, "This" not this, "what" not what, learn english before posting and embarrassing yourself.
2. This song has more of a meaning this to make you feel like your outside of reality.
@Highwaychile2121: Socks hopping under bed. You're a moron. Sock hop, it is something old, a more or less dirty laundry basket.
If no one has noticed, almost everything he tgalked about (Sock hop, fox trot, ect) and everything in the music video are old things. From his child hood.

I'm sorry Harkas, but you're just as dead wrong about the meaning as cucca. An insomniac is a person who can't sleep and he says he feels like one.
Anyways, the meaning is that he doesn't really want to go to sleep, but he knows he needs to. When he talks about wanting the Earth to turn slowly, he has decided he wants to sleep and the Earth slowly turning would mean that he would be lulled to sleep. The same thing applies when he says "Take me away from here." Finally, the meaning of the fireflies is either the light coming from the crack in the door, or just his eyes being open in general. Get a clue!

Who knows the exact meaning of this song?, I think it's as individual as it's listeners! But I do know I love it! How refreshing to turn on music and feel happy and driven to do good! It's like going back to the innocent days of childhood and wanting to dance. Just because! Thanks to Owl City. Keep writing great songs and don't ever change! (Also, it's a treat to have music the whole family can listen to!)

The first time I heard this song, particular the chorus, I stopped in my tracks. And here's what I did; I just stood and stared into space, picturing fireflies and a world of wonder and imagination. I've been hooked on it ever since. The song still gets me every time, whenever I play it, I just stop whatever I'm doing and stare and think and reflect and wonder. It's an amazing song with even more amazing lyrics.

This song describes his desire to be able to stay in his dreams. He wants for time to slow down, so he can savoir his time in the dreams.

It's bad to avoid reality. We all know that. But even so we can't help but wish for a better place. And for him, that place is in his dreams. If given a choice, he'd rather stay within his dreams.

Adam randal young has insomnia. I think this song represents the fact that he is awake at night and he starts to think, think about things such as dreams and music. I also think it represents how magical and how much the world can come alive at night and what we miss whilst we are sleeping. I only think this because I to, am an insomniac and that is what it means to me! I

I love this song! It shows that the earth has so many wonderful creatures and magical things. Sad to note that many people in the world don't value that. So don't hurt nature cause after some years we will loose these pretty creatures and only humans will be there everywhere and that will be so bad and boring too. Thank god there are still good songs alive like this one cause many songs nowadays don't have good meanings and wonderful stuffs like this. Its a nice thought of fireflies.

It is my favorite song I love it more than anything it makes me feel happy it is wonderful I sing it when I go on walks with my aunt and we both love it means something to me and I think it is a touching song and I love it. And you guys are the best I love every note every key it is just my fav thanks for reading.

I think that he is saying that he is finding day to day life and what's in store for him in the future to be unpleasant. These fireflies are a metaphor to an ideal place, a place in his dreams, where for once the world is the way he wants or wishes it to be. "its hard to say that i'd rather stay awake when i'm asleep"
again, he talks about the nasty tricks that life springs on you. You may think that solving a differential equation is easy until you actually do it. "cause everything is never as it seems"

I believe the meaning of the song is deeper than what people believe. The singer of this song has insomnia, a condition which makes it hard to fall asleep at night. He's constantly awake, and wishes he could fall asleep and dream. Since his insomnia is preventing him from dreaming, he used this song as an outlet to dream.
The fireflies represent the dreams he fails to have. When he "gets misty eyes as they [say] farewell," he is sad he no longer is dreaming. Keeping the fireflies in a jar represents a dream journal he may record his most memorable dreams in.
His dreams are "bursting at the seams" because, as stated before, he has no creative outlet, such as a dream. So, he decided to write this song!

At the heart of this song there seems to be a yearning or a desire to escape back to childhood innocence. Upon first hearing the song, I was intrigued by the melody and simple lyrics; it wasn't until I actually questioned the artists intent that I began seeing the deeper meaning of adam young's lyrics. The song starts by telling us we would "not believe" our eyes, a statement that suggests the song will cover some sort of fantastic occurrence. Then the song progresses into a dream like quality. The speaker actually speaks of fireflies as if they were surrounded by them, but I can't help believe the fireflies are supposed to stand for a specific event or situation. Hence the question: who would catch fireflies? The answer: innocent children. The song speaks about the innocence of youth and how quickly that innocence escapes us. The chorus says "i'd like to make myself believe" suggesting a desire of something that can not be completely accomplished. The speaker wants to believe earth moves slowly; if he can't believe that simple statement, it must mean the opposite is true--planet earth spins much too fast. In other words, time passes by much too quickly. The speaker then talks about the desire to remain to remain in that dream trance instead of waking up to reality, because within that dream trance is the innocence of youth. An innocence and naivety that allows a simple act--catching fireflies--to become a magical excursion into a wonderland of possibility and adventure. The point of the song seems to speak about the need to hold onto and embrace (maybe even slip back into) our child hood innocence so the reality of growing up does not completely take away the magic and joy the world has to offer. Simply put: we are all forced to give up our childhood too soon. We need more fireflies and rooms full of toys (video) to keep our lives simple and innocent.

You want to watch the fireflies as they light the sky, but you are sleeping. You want to wake up. Then, you just dream fireflies. You wke up and try to sleep again to see the fireflies, but you can't. They say goodbye to you. You will soon fall asleep, but you keep a few in a jar to wake up if you have weird dreams.
You can't say what is dream and what is real, but everything is beautiful, with the fireflies that light the world.

It means time is running and we can't turn it back saving the few iremembrance is the best way to remember it. Also it means life is to short nobody stay's forever everybody says goodbye. When I heard this song I feel weird cuz I and myself told me that what am I doing on the office I need to enjoy and give a time for my family this song is very memorable and meaningfull for me I wish and I hope planet earth turn slowly so that I will stay longer in this earth ^^ enjoy guys time is running. ^^

It means time is running and we can't to it back saving the few is remembrance is the best way to remember it. Also it means life is to short nobody stay's forever everybody says goodbye. When I heard this song I feel weird cuz I and myself told me that what am I doing on the office I need to enjoy and give a time for my family this song is very memorable and meaningfull for me I wish and I hope planet earth turn slowly so that I will stay longer in this earth ^^ enjoy guys time is running. ^^

This song brings back a thousand memories an can be related to by anyone. It reminds me of being a little kid and actually catching lightning bugs with my friends in the neighborhood and it most reminds me of my father that I lost a couple years ago after a battle with cancer. When I have amazing dreams about him as a child and as my best friend I want to cry when I wake up. I love my dreams for every moment that I get to spend with him again.

It is saying hold onto your memories and imagine the unthinkable in your dreams you can never tell whats real or not until you wake up he is describing a land where nothing makes sense and is all magical a land he doesn't want to leave but has to get back to reality because he can't stay there forever but will hold the memories in his head forever 'cause I saved a few I keep them in a jar' I love the meaning of the song and I love the song soo much even though its like 5 years or so old x

At the heart of this song there seems to be a yearning or a desire to escape back to childhood innocence. Upon first hearing the song, I was intrigued by the melody and simple lyrics; it wasn't until I actually questioned the artists intent that I began seeing the deeper meaning of adam young's lyrics. The song starts by telling us we would "not believe" our eyes, a statement that suggests the song will cover some sort of fantastic occurrence. Then the song progresses into a dream like quality. The speaker actually speaks of fireflies as if they were surrounded by them, but I can't help believe the fireflies are supposed to stand for a specific event or situation. Hence the question: who would catch fireflies? The answer: innocent children. The song speaks about the innocence of youth and how quickly that innocence escapes us. The chorus says "i'd like to make myself believe" suggesting a desire of something that can not be completely accomplished. The speaker wants to believe earth moves slowly; if he can't believe that simple statement, it must mean the opposite is true--planet earth spins much too fast. In other words, time passes by much too quickly. The speaker then talks about the desire to remain to remain in that dream trance instead of waking up to reality, because within that dream trance is the innocence of youth.

This song is so awesome and naomi I can relate to you kinda I was in fourth grade in fifth now but one of the teachers in fifth grade past away we gathered around our track and let go of a million balloons in memory of her. Her kids in her class kept on expecting her to come back. Now I think of her as a bright firefly flying around.

The fireflies are memories. That's why he saves them in a jar and that's why it hurts to let them go. But they stay in his dreams nevertheless. Although some of the memories are happy, some are sad and awful so it makes him tired throughout the day and he does not want to go back to sleep or he has trouble falling asleep anyway. This is my random meaning of this song. I could be totally wrong.

Fireflies light up my world. Adam young is one of the best artists that I know and I love watching his concerts and listening to his songs. Cuz when I do I feel so, alive. He inspires me with his songs and I believe that dreams don't turn to dust. I will never forget my first concert (owl city) here in manila. Everytime I pass the tent I remember where I first fell in love with him and his songs.

This song is awesome! I love how he's talking about going to sleep in such a busy place, here on earth. How there's so much to be seen here, but the real mystery in life is our dreams, and how they're bursting at the seams to say that what we believe is real and what is real are one in the same. You just have to look around at the fireflies :) lovely song. I love owl city. I have for about a year? Two maybe. Since april 2008 when his first ep came out on itunes. I have never doubted his writing skills. He is one artist where I can never truely make any sense of his lyrics. I think that's why I enjoy him so much. Because with him, it doesn't have to make sense. It's all about the imgaination. But, anyway I love this song with a burning passion. And i'll say it right now, owl city is the next big thing. 'fireflies' is currently number eleven on itunes. I am glad to say that I discovered him before most. Haha, oh and he's am"you would not believe your eyes, if skittles were in the sky. Lit up the world as I fell asleep. 'cause they fill the open air, with colors all everywhere. You'd think me rude but I would just stand and. Stare. I'd like to make myself believe, that skittles ha-a-a-d no gre-. N. It's hard to say that I'd rather eat a blue one than a green,
'cause everything is never as it se-e-e-ms when I'm drea-. Ming! I am so creative at times! Azing live. I saw him this past sunday(:

Oh I finally got what they mean by this song! They're trying to say there's so much going on when you're sleeping, so live every day as if it were your last. Live life to the fullest, you wouldn't want to miss out on a single second.
When they say "cause i feel like such an insomniac", I had no clue what they were saying before I read this, so I assumed they just said "cause I feel like.
Such on is on the act", because that's what it sounds like. Now I really feel like an insomniac! :) lol.

He can not fall asleep because he misses his girl. He is in another world with fireflies. He is happy there. As they leave him, he feels the same way he did when his girl left him. Empty inside. To keep a bit of his happiness with him, he catches a few fireflies. He loves his girl a lot, but is only happy in his fantasy world. Not reality. This song is beautiful and also sad in a way. It reminds us all that we can't always hold on, but it's enough just to have an experience of true happiness and even better to hold on to just a piece of that joy.

When I irst heard this song I was like wow, for some reason it made me feel like a kid again the lyrics the tune it was an awesome feeling. Wehen I looked up the meaning on various sites they all said it spoke of childhood innocence and purity something the world I would say lacks a great deal of, immeadiately I listened to it agai and I was like that's it! No wonder why it made me wanna eat choc chip ice cream and dance in the rain. I love this song!

Nostalgia. The world changed now and it seem moving much faster than it used to be. He wants to slow the world down by believing because he likes to stay young and have the time to dance & play etc. He even couldn't sleep to miss the fun! The music video expresses the song more than the lyrics because the lyrics is hard to read. It shows that he likes to have friends, toys and joyful time!

This song is awesome! I love how he's talking about going to sleep in such a busy place, here on earth. How there's so much to be seen here, but the real mystery in life is our dreams, and how they're bursting at the seams to say that what we believe is real and what is real are one in the same. You just have to look around at the fireflies :) Lovely song.

You no what ginger rogers whatever name that is shut the heck up and if you don't like this song why are you even leaving a coment for it and I bet you are 12 this song is great if you don't like this song than you have bad taste I love owl city oh and I forgot one thing to say get a life "ginger rogers" why search the song if you don't like it just stay away from it like whatever143 said your just think your so cool.

Gingerrogers don't you have anything better to do? To all of you loserz who think it sucks why'd you search it in the first place? : P duh. Theoneeyedowl you are just like me that is how I think of this song so all you guys that think ur so "cool" why don't you listen to a little song I like called complicated by avril lavigne (probably not how ur supposed to spell it) you could probably learn from it: P "lay back watcha yellin for... ur watchin ur back, like u cant relax...ur tryin to be cool, u look like a fool to me..."

The song should say you give me fireflies you make me feel alive that sounds really cool unlike whatever the song says but the song still roks and by the way that thing you all posted really does work I did that and I got kissed by the love of my life:) good luck to all of you guys who posted that (by the way I am not the one who started that).

This song is not about anything deep. The lyrics are meant to make you feel as if you're somewhere outside of reality. Fireflies giving hugs? Socks hopping under beds? Obviously no real meaning to that. Purely visual. They give the song its "dreamy" feel. Adam is all about creating soundscapes and inspiring visual thought through his music and lyrics. While some of his other songs seem to have a deeper meaning I think this song is really just to inspire people to believe and dream. That's what it does for me.

It has no meaning he probly made it so people would think of meanings for it like I think its about life a disco ball is just hanging by a thread that means he could die any second its hard to say that id rather be awake when I'm asleep so he wnats to be awake when he is asleep he wants to enjoy life to the fullest he wants to make himself believe that planet earth turns slowly because he doesn't want life to go fast.

Everyone seems to think this song has some secret deep meaning. Honestly I think it's just about fireflies and he is trying to make it catchy and rhyming. Not some girl or his childhood.
@Kingsize716 Well honestly don't you think your taking this song to seriously? It's a just a song. Just cause someone doesn't like a song doesn't mean they have something horrible in their life. That's an absurd assumption.

Hmmm. When I first heard this song, I didn't really know what to think. I just kinda ignored it. But now, I think I know what he is getting at:.
Life is short. Sure you might hear stories of people living to 109 but that isn't everyone. The average death age is 76. I think what he is saying is (i'll quote the song a lot here):
"I like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly"-He doesn't want life to pass him by. He wants to keep living.
"A disco ball is just hanging by a thread"-Pretty soon, that disco ball will fall and shatter. That is what some people think about the earth: that we will pretty soon die off and the world we know will be a barren waste land.
"It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep"- This can be taken two ways: 1- When you sleep, time seems to go quicker. We all know that. He might think that if he sleeps too much then he will miss everything and not live life as well. 2- He doesn't want to sleep because when he is awake, he is able to catch fireflies and play games and dance and have fun. He can't do that in his sleep.
That is as far as I will go on quotes, but in simple words, he is afraid to die!

Like omg everytime I listen to this song it makes me happy sometimes it makes me cry idk why but it does it reminds me of my boyfriend lol we didn't know we both knew this song so we were in the car and he was like do you know the song fireflies I was like omg babe yess then we just kissed because we were both in love in with that song then it came on and he told me he loved me today was the first time he told me he loved me so this is our song---ugh I love him!

Well it has been two weeks and three days exactly since I first heard this song and everytime I hear it nothing in my heart changes well I mean nothing as to there being a diffrent meaning if you know what I mean and owlcity is my fav band and I absloutlly love all there songs well I actually haven't listened to them all yet but I'm working on it I have like 5 more to go and then I'm done and gonna keep a close eye out 4 when they come out with any new songs but there will never be a greater song than fireflies and I think they made a clash in human history that the greatest song ever made was by them anyway g2g b back l8er.

This song really spoke to me the first time I heard it on the radio I was like what the heck then I turned it off but now I can't stop listing to it and the guy that sings this song is so hot! I really love this song and it is so fun to sing and dance to lol;)i listen to it at least 8 times a day.

Adam is one of my biggest idols. I love his music, because I can tell it apart from any other sound, the lyrics mean so much more to me than "cute" and "adorable" and it always brightens my mood. I have never followed a singer or band this long. And his albums are getting better and better - Ocean Eyes how the best sound so far. I really love this. Thank you, Adam, for making this song.

This song means well to me that we are so blinded by our own lives and "reality" that we can't se beyond and believe in our selves and our dreams as well as we should.
Another thing that I believe in this song don't try to prove me wrong but that nothing is really what you think or as it seams.

It means -
At the heart of this song there seems to be a yearning or a desire to escape back to childhood innocence. Upon first hearing the song, I was intrigued by the melody and simple lyrics; it wasn't until I actually questioned the artists intent that I began seeing the deeper meaning of adam young's lyrics. The song starts by telling us we would "not believe" our eyes, a statement that suggests the song will cover some sort of fantastic occurrence. Then the song progresses into a dream like quality. The speaker actually speaks of fireflies as if they were surrounded by them, but I can't help believe the fireflies are supposed to stand for a specific event or situation. Hence the question: who would catch fireflies? The answer: innocent children. The song speaks about the innocence of youth and how quickly that innocence escapes us. The chorus says "i'd like to make myself believe" suggesting a desire of something that can not be completely accomplished. The speaker wants to believe earth moves slowly; if he can't believe that simple statement, it must mean the opposite is true--planet earth spins much too fast. In other words, time passes by much too quickly. The speaker then talks about the desire to remain to remain in that dream trance instead of waking up to reality, because within that dream trance is the innocence of youth. An innocence and naivety that allows a simple act--catching fireflies--to become a magical excursion into a wonderland of possibility and adventure. The point of the song seems to speak about the need to hold onto and embrace (maybe even slip back into) our child hood innocence so the reality of growing up does not completely take away the magic and joy the world has to offer. Simply put: we are all forced to give up our childhood too soon. We need more fireflies and rooms full of toys (video) to keep our lives simple and innocent.

The fireflies that the author talks about in the beginning of the song represent the overwhelming amount of opportunities in his life that he is constantly analyzing. When he uses the metaphor of 'sleep' he is actually referring to the time that he could be taking advantage of the opportunities when, in fact, he is sitting back and relaxing as they all kind of pass him by. He talks about being too tired to fall asleep which takes the meaning of his stress thinking about all the things he is missing out on. By putting some of the lightening bugs away, which are the same as fireflies, he is simply taking note of how to accomplish these things later on if need be. Some of these dreams he has to let go of because in the future they will no longer be attainable. In case his life takes a weird turn ('gets real bizzare'), he will have this jar of opportunities, or "bugs", to return to. The moral of the song is take advantage of opportunities (fireflies) you have, but time goes fast, so you can't acheive everything, but you can make the most of knowing what's out there. So do what you can, but don't lose sleep over it.
What I have herd is that the author has a decease that he can't fall asleep and so he wrote about it. It my not be true so don't quote me on it but it makes sense. Basically altoghther the meaning of the song is just simply the adventures of little kids and how they live in their own little fantasy.

You would not believe ur eyes if ten million apple pies lit up my mouth while I was eating. Cause they filll the open air with there smell everywhere. You would think me rude but I would never share. I like to make myself believe that id rule the world as the pie queen. Its hard to say it but I'm accually still really dreaming but if I could id wake up imediatleyyy. Lol.

It's about someone who's afraid of growing up. The fireflies are the man's childhood, and as a child, he'd just stare at them, unafraid of what people think. He'd like the earth to turn slowly, so that he could slow time and stay a child for longer. He says that he'd rather sleep than be awake and face the cruel world, so that he can see the fireflies in his dreams. Eventually he's forced to say goodbye to his childhood, but keeps a few fireflies in a jar, so that he can remember the good old days. That's what I think.

Well this guy is depressed and bored by this busy world but then it is a slow and fun world when he is sleeping and that is a world he prefers, that world is the his desired unconscious being, that is, his dreams he gets when he sleeps. He wishes that he could get a piece of his dreaming world into reality by catching a few fireflies before he wakes up.

This song is awesome and I love 'the tip of the iceberg' too! This song is very contagious. Adam young is awesome too, and it seems that a lot of british people sound awesome when they sing like Jay Sean hes british but sonds great. Btw I don't want any1 to think tht I'm racesist I'm not just bringin out a point and I sorry if I offened any1 srry! Love the song though. And guys whats up with the little thing at the bottom that tells you to type in the letters it says?

I just love Owl City's Fireflies! Speaking of,I was just writing the song on some paper! Not trying to copywriter the song or anything I just real really like the song! In fact I tried singing myself to sleep with the song Fireflies and guess what?,it worked! Wow

This song is about him being an insomniac and he wished the world would just slow down so he could sleep and then comes the fireflies. The fireflies was bothering him to sleep but he couldn't resist the beauty of the fireflies so he always play around with them but when it's time they go away he just still couldn't sleep. So he kept thinking and thinking until be kept a few in a jar and always play with them: D nice meaning.

This is the only song I've heard of owl city but honestly its the best! I think. Haha. I love when he says "its hard to say id rather stay awake when im asleep" because hes talking about life is short and we waste most of our lives snoring when we could be doing something useful. So this song rocks. I just dk why he didn't use his real name. Adam is a nice name. And hes only one person not a city. He has strange names for songs but they are always good :) this song calms me and makes me happy :))

I think it's it's about troubles falling asleep and in the dark the light can be scarier than the dark and even though we try to not fear things we can't it's human nature and everyone has to fear something. I think the saying "there is nothing to fear but fear it's self" is mortally imposable and every mortal can't just fear but they must fear something else it's only human nature it's not our fault.

I feel like this song is about happiness and fun. It's how happy you get when you eat a boatload of mushrooms you found when you followed all these fake fireflies. Then, you fall asleep in the woods and a passerby rapes you. When you wake up, you're a different person, cuz of the shrooms and the rape, so eventually you lose contact with your family who disowns you and you die alone. 5 stars!

Hey first person Cuca who thinks the meaning is life is short and we don't need to waste it? He clearly says "it's hard to say I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep" because he's saying it's hard to say that-dreaming is better than being awake! The fireflies are in his dreams and he says it's hard to say goodbye to them when he has to wakeup. Get a clue!