Sunburn

When I listen to this song, I get the impression that he has always been a recluse too afraid to get out and experience the world. Then he met her and she was full of joy and energy and brought him out of his shell. He had all of these insecurities about himself, but she loved him and he realized his fears didn't matter any more.

I've read a lot of comments on here that portray this sad interpretation of the lyrics that are all about regret and missing the past and loss, but I really think this is a happy song rather than a sad or regretful one. I think it's about learning to love and finding out who he really is and what that means--That his mistakes don't define him because love doesn't see him the way he was. When you are loved, your story is retold through grace.

So I think this song expresses what that feels like when he realizes that he is more than the sum of his faults. That his past does not define him and that love does not hold anything against him.

I Think I totally get it. Okay,In the beginning the girl confesses her love for him.

"She took my hand in hers and whispered her love for me The lantern died that night but we didn't need to see Implying that she's the bees knees and I am the cat's meow It's funny how she recalls what I can't remember now"

She tells him how she feels,and he is trying to remember how he felt when he loved her.

Then later on, he breaks up with her.

"But when her smile came back, and I didn't feel half as horrible She gave me a heart attack just because she looked so adorable We both put our sunblock on, laid on the beach and vowed that we'd live and we'd learn Yeah but she got a tan and I got a sunburn..."

He feels bad then she comes back to him and he doesn't.

He has now fallen back in love with her.

"So there we were out there, unaware of where we've been We kicked off our flipflops and swum from the rooftops again It's awkward, but I'll confess she's all I can think about And it's funny how I recall, but she can't remember now"

He's saying he can recall how it feels to be in love,but she is no longer in love with him anymore. And she can't remember how that feels to be in love with him.

Later on she leaves him.

And he is alone. And She's alright right and has learned about how life is. She has a Tan. And he is brokenhearted,and lonely he has a sun burn.

That's just what I think. Tell me if I'm wrong.

I think it's about just how life changes us. He talks about falling in love. how they 'start' life together and go through each day, but it was like time just flew by for them and they've been together for so long but it seems like they don't know where the time went (most days feel the same while you work.. so they all mesh together and seem like you've been doing nothing). Later on, all the little things she used to love and admire she forgets (probably because she focuses on her career and the realities of life), but he still remembers the dreams/fantasy/innocence. But the last bit is so sad... "But, she got a tan and I got a sunburn... She got a tan, and I got a sunburn" The sun being all the negative things in life. He got hurt (heartbreak, grief, loss and all that) and she became 'tainted' by everything and "got a tan" (she became accepting of the harshness of life... making her a darker, realistic and more accepting of all the evil in life). BUT that's just my opinion. I love this song nonetheless, it's just such a great beat and all the lyrics just flow. I can't believe so few people comment here T.T OWL CITY ROCKS >:DD

"She got a tan but I got a sun burn" has something with the line "we vowed that we'd live and we'd learn"

I think that they both had got something out of their sweet-turned-bitter relationship.
While she got a tan which is more possitive, he otherwise got bitter and hard to forget scare like sunburn. Ultimately It is just like every social interaction. We did/engaged/learned the same thing but everyone has their own opinion about it and took things out differently.

This has a different and bittersweet meaning for me, based on my personal experiences. The guy I like and I are about three hours apart, though we spent a few months together earlier this year when it all started. My older brother also held a long distance relationship. Here's how I view this song because of this:

So there we were, back home From somewhere inside my head

When the long distance couple meets again, it's like coming home and the other half is no longer just a thought, but someone they can see.

Well bravely I fought off the monsters beneath her bed Pillars of post-war books supported my frame of mind While she memorized the pages that I tried to not hide behind

They're so excited to be back together that they'll do anything to help each other and are trying to get to know each other even better.

She took my hand in hers and whispered her love for me The lantern died that night but we didn't need to see Implying that she's the bee's knees and I am the cat's meow

They confess their love and don't even need to see each other to believe it, giving them hope for when they're apart and making them feel really good about themselves.

It's funny how she recalls when I can't remember now

When they're apart, they share different memories of time together.

But when her smile came back And I didn't feel half as horrible She gave me a heart attack Just because she looked so adorable

They meet each other again (her smile returning to the boy) and they both feel a lot better. She makes his heart go crazy because he realizes again just how beautiful or adorable she is.

We both put our sunblock on Laid on the beach and vowed that we'd live and we'd learn Yeah, but she got a tan and I got a sunburn

They try to protect themselves from the distance but she handles it better than he does.

So there we were out there Unaware of where we'd been We kicked off our flip-flops And swung from the rooftops again

When they're together, they forget the time apart and enjoy each other's company doing some fun stuff together.

It's awkward but I'll confess she's all I can think about And it's funny how I recall when she can't remember now

When they're apart (sorry for flipping back and forth so much!) she's all the guy can think about and, again, the sharing memories.

Oh afterglow, look out below! We'd left a trail of dust behind

This talks about all the memories of the time they get to be together and how they cherish it, but all of it is fading and they want to see each other again.

As we parted ways, she held my gaze, And left an imprint on my mind I tried not to cry as we said goodbye And hung the clouds above my town

This one's more from my personal experience. When I said goodbye to him, we couldn't stop looking at each other and it was hard to ignore the emotion.

But I shed a tear when she disappeared 'Cause now I'm a stranger on the ground

This means that he really misses her and feels alone without her.

That's just my interpretation. Not entirely bad. The meanings of different things tend to be subjective, dictated by the experience of the person thinking about it.

I adoreee this song.

I think it's about a man who helps a woman get through a rough patch in her life, but afterwards she ends up leaving him.

Wow... =] I ell ooh vee ee it!!! Maybe the reason no one has commented is because very few know about this song as in the true fans of Owl City ;D I feel soo special =]

awww owl city! very cute songs. his songs always make me happy :) i love this one and i think its about a relationship that didnt last something so sweet and innocent that you want to hold on to but people change as time ggoes by and take different paths. he was still holding on hoping so he got the sunburn, he was hurt more. She got the tan cause she accepted it and realized that its the reality of life just moving on. kinda sad but sweet :) <3 owl city

I love this song so much. Too bad it's so quiet on my iPod so I have trouble hearing it >.<

Hmm . . .this is a long shot but:

First it's the normal story of falling in love. He's kind of a shy, forgetful boy, and she's just a sweet, sweet girl. Eventually they get married and in their old age, she gets alzhiemers, forgetting almost everything. And and the end she dies. And he's a stranger on the ground.

Meh. ::\