Fireworks

I think the under message in this song is that nothing lasts forever. Gord uses a lot of metaphores in this song to illustrate the, mainly with references to the Cold War. I think this was used because no one ever expected the USSR to collapse the way it did. I had a history professor who said if you had asked any reknown political analyist in 1988 or 1989 if they thought the USSR would be gone in a year or two they would have laughed at you. Even the most concrete of things can crumble.

But back to the cold war references. The Summit series of '72 was about as close as Canada ever came to actually fighting the USSR, and I'm happy to say we won :) "Comrades in the National Fitness Program" Also, the marriage in this song is compared to the "crisis in the Kremlin" with how fast thing went south.

The last verse just reiterates the theme of this song. There's so many fireworks in the sky, so breif, yet so bright that we can't see the long real stars anymore. As Wonderdog said, Gord Sinclair says this is in refernce to pop-culture, but you could probably use it to describe most things in life these days- love, hockey and Communist Unions.

I believe this song to be about teenage love. Not necessarily about it not lasting forever, as BamSplat put it, but focusing on the very 'in the moment' joy and pleasure, much like the song's instrumentals suggest.

Fireworks has some of the best metaphors I've ever heard. The first verse describes how having a girlfriend is changing this person's life, and the first chorus portrays the rush of excitement and happiness he experiences at the thought of actually dating someone.

The second verse is where things get interesting. It shows using the lines 'we hung out together every single moment, 'cuz that's what we thought married people do', that they are both naive when it comes to a serious relationship. The lines 'crisis of faith and crisis in the Kremlin' implies that, yes, they fight occasionally, and sometimes it even threatens their relationship. It then promptly states 'but yeah we've heard all that before', saying that they got over it, and were able to accept that no two people will never have disagreements. It shows that it's a healthy relationship.

And then, the hidden ka-pow line. "It's wintertime, the house is solitude with options, and loosening the grip on a fake cold war".

What on earth is a fake cold war?

I've discussed this with nearly every person I know, and I ultimately came to a somewhat unexpected conclusion. The cold war, at its most basic, was the Soviet Union and United States not liking one another. However, each country also had its allies, so really it was two groups not getting along. In many societies, including Canada, where the Tragically Hip are from, children grow up with a sort of doctrine that boys can only spend time with boys and that girls can only spend time with girls. They come to believe the two groups can never get along. As they mature, of course, they realize how much of a falsehood this is, but the idea of them believing that boys and girls cannot get along can be seen as a cold war, and a fake one, at that. To summarize, these lines are saying that they're alone at home with options, and so they're 'proving boys and girls can get along'. You can add up the numbers.

And then comes the second chorus: "Isn't it amazing what you can accomplish, when you don't let the nation get in your way. Not one ambition whispering over your shoulder, isn't it amazing, you can do anything." It now has a VERY different meaning with the two lines that were just sang.

I would also like to call attention to the last two lines of the 'National Fitness Program' section. "Droppin' to the mat in a fit of laughter, showing no patience, tolerance or restraint." Has a similar hidden meaning, wouldn't you agree?

At this stage, the 'fireworks exploding in the distance' section is quite self-explanatory. I would just like to point out that 'temporary towers' refers to tumescence, for those of you who missed it. That's a lot of what led me to this theory.

And the last few lines, if my belief is correct, are coming back to the present, when he's talking to this girl many years later, probably after they've gotten married. These lines are saying that while things have changed, they also haven't. They've changed as people quite a bit, and are also much more mature at this point, but they still have that teenager-like, naive passion for one another. As it says directly: 'I think this one thing is always supposed to stay'. It's an oddly beautiful message for the adult themes hidden within it.

Regardless, I have a LOT of respect for this song. Hearing a song explicitly shriek adult lyrics is disgusting. Having to read between the lines to find cleverly hidden themes of a similar nature is mind-boggling, in a good way. And despite having these, it still manages to have a nice message about the longevity of true love. Not many artists can pull that off.

Im posting here to draw attention to this song.

Its REALLY good (imo).

And GO LEAFS! (The song is loosly based on hockey...) :)

yes! i agree ninja! anyone who has a soft spot for hockey and damn good canadian music will love the tragically hip. all of their songs rock. i love them, especially this song.

Sorry, not really about Hockey, any more than American Pie was about Chevies.

the '72 summit series was a great moment for Canada, and one ofthose moments of youth you will never forget (if you were alive!). The reference to Participaction the "National Fitness Program" is another one of those unique Canadian memories growing up in the 70's.

But I think the song is about how stars have been replaced with fireworks. Great people, great moments are lost in the modern rush of moments and people. When everyone gets 15 minutes, no-one gets 16. The bright stars of yesterday are replaced with the brief fireworks of today.

Cool tune, though.

"you said you didn't give a fuck about hockey and I never saw someone say that before you held my hand and we walked home the long way you were loosening my grip on Bobby Orr"

I love that verse! Has personal meaning for me too (had to stop refereeing so much hockey cause i had to make time for a girlfriend, she was a hip fan, so i told her that she was "loosening my grip on bobby orr").

Although Spacemoose is right, the song has little do with hockey.

I think this may be my favourite hip song, absolutely love the lyrics.

Although Gord Sinclair made some comment on how this song is about pop culture, and the temporary nature of fame, fireworks replacing songs, it also works on a whole other level as a song about teenaged love, losing your virginity, or both.

He's a kid, and he's all wrapped up in Bobby Orr and childhood heroes. She's more sophisticated (as girls usually are at that age -- see also Ahead by a Century), and she loosens his grip on Bobby Orr. They hang out together all the time because they naively think that's what married people do (remember feeling that way?). The external world, the cold war, etc., doesn't mean a thing to them. He drops out of the flexed arm hang, shows no respect for it, etc.

Isn't it amazing that anything's accomplished when this little sensation gets in your way, when all ambition is replaced by the big crush? Alternatively, don't you feel that you can do anything?

But of course, it's all as temporary as fireworks.

And it has f-all to do with hockey; hockey, nationalism, and the other things associated with the Hip get rejected as childish things when he falls for her. Now, on another level, the love story here can just be a metaphor for his relationship with music, art, or success in the U.S., so we are back to the pop culture idea.

Henderson Has Scored For Canada.

From reading the lyrics and reading the comments here, I have concluded that the 1972 Summit Series was like the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid down here. Most people who were either young or old remember where they were when that moment happened.

Besides that, I love this song for it's simple sound and actually accesible lyricism. From every song I've heard by the Hip, there rhymes and rhythm make them far superior than other bands on Earth.

I think this song is about young love and how it progresses into reality of life. At first it's this fairy tale romance and it ends when the pressures of life become more and more unbearable. In my mind, this song makes a subtle statement about the nature of love. While it may have nothing to do with hockey or popular culture, some marriages only last as long as a fireworks display. When the times are tenuous, that's when the fireworks occur and when the display ends, so does the relationship.

That might be reading way too deep into it, but that's how I see it.

Great great great song by the way.

ParticipACTION -- Don't just think about it. DO IT! God I'm glad they're bringing that back. I'm not even 30 yet and I'm sure the average 60 year old Swede is more fit than me.