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


Lyrics submitted by atl1007

Hot Air Balloon Lyrics as written by Adam R. Young

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Hot Air Balloon song meanings
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40 Comments

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  • +4
    My Interpretation

    wow i don't understand the users of this forum...about 7/8 of the comments say, "OMG YAYAY I LOVE THIS SONG I HAVE A BAD LIFE BLAH BLAH BLAH YAYAY (INSERT ARTIST)" that said, I'm actually going to analyze the the song.

    If you read the lyrics, only the very first memory the singer talks about is an activity that an adult would partake in (parachuting), the rest are things that are very childish such as "fighting shadows back" at the speaker's friend's mom's house (that was a mouthful). This can be interpreted to mean that during parachuting with an obviously broken parachute, the speaker got hurt and fell unconscious. As the speaker is unconscious, he begins having memories of him and his friend in their youth. The last line of the first verse is a memory that triggers his yearning as a child to go in the hot air balloon, because when they found it they weren't allowed to use it, as they were children.

    I also believe that the speaker's friend is a doctor. The chorus reflects that the speaker is unconscious "I'll be out of my mind," and that his doctor friend who is trying to resuscitate him is failing "you'll be out of ideas [to revive him] pretty soon." Also it expresses the speaker's desire for him (the speaker's friend) to stop wasting time trying to revive him and just be his friend for his last moments alive. note the cold in "the afternoon in a COLD hot air balloon" represents death (people are cold when they die) and that the hot air balloon will take his spirit away.

    "leave your jacket behind" again, the speaker wants his friend to leave his doctors jacket behind and just be his friend while he is still alive. the last line of the chorus "to kiss the ground where ever we touch back down" shows the speaker's acceptance of death and the afterlife (where ever he ends up)

    I'm sure the second verse adds to what i have in some way but that's all i got for now. I know it is a bit of an over analysis but who cares. Great song tho!

    Mintyxon August 11, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i pretty much cannot stop listening to his new song. i started listening to owl city during a rough time in my life, and his lyrics are so well written, it seems to make all my problems go away, even if it's only for 3:35. Adam Young is a lyrical genius, hands down. did anyone else notice that when you put the songs in iTunes, it is listed as track 2? is there an april single that i missed out on?

    lylegrad2007on May 05, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    this song is amazing. nothing else to be said. definitely about just forgetting your problems and enjoying your time with people who are important to you. (you made my frown turn upside down and now my worries are gone). i love that line. it reminds me of summer and the time you spend just sitting around.

    maxxaon May 08, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I cant explain how much I love this song. His music makes me so happy and optomistic and honestly the first time I heard this song i was on the verge of tears haha. Its so happy:)

    2shy2dance111on May 13, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    this song just cheers me up no matter what mood im in

    tolentinojosh32on May 26, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    this song puts a huge smile on my face. i wish i could just take off and have an adventure every time i hear it. =]

    sowrongitsmorganon June 06, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    this song is absolutly amazing. i am going to see OC and reliant K in a few weeks. i am so excited!!!!!!!

    But i think that this song is about being a kid a pretending things. Pretending that one day you and your friend were souring high above the trees in a hot air balloon. and not having any cares in the world. Adam Young is absolutly fantasic. His lyrics are so well written. 3 cheers for OWL CITY!!!!!!!!

    dukemt41on June 08, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i love owl city so much. their songs are so innocent and dream-like. i love them!!<3

    doglover217on December 15, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I love how Adam made me curious about the lyrics.

    PeculiarKidon November 30, 2016   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    just downloaded this song.

    i love the beat, definitely a sweet happy song.

    pppaigeon May 04, 2009   Link

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