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.
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.