Dig For Fire

Pixies

There is this old woman
She lives down the road
You can often find her
Kneeling inside of her hole
And I often ask her
"Are you looking for the mother lode?"
Huh?
No.
No my child, this is not my desire
And then she said

I'm digging for fire
I'm digging for fire
I'm digging for fire
I'm digging for fire

There is this old man
Who spent so much of his life sleeping
That he is able to keep awake for the rest of his years
He resides
On a beach
In a town
Where I am going to live
And I often ask him
"Are you looking for the mother lode?"
Huh?
No.
No my child, this is not my desire
And then he said
I'm digging for fire
I'm digging for fire
I'm digging for fire
I'm digging for fire


Lyrics submitted by riffic

Dig For Fire Lyrics as written by Charles Thompson

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Dig For Fire song meanings
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49 Comments

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  • +11
    General CommentI think this song is fairly easy to interpret. It is about purpose. Fire is usually associated with desire and passion. The old people in this song are realizing their end may be near and they want to have lived for something because material possesions don't mean anything in the end. Thus they are not looking for the "mother lode" as the naive singer assumes, but fire.
    WantedManon May 06, 2004   Link
  • +6
    General CommentWell, you are only 1/2 right. If you look at the whole song, he goes and talks to a toiling woman, and he talks to a lonely, tired man. Both are lonely and alone, and "digging for fire". The implication, perhaps, is that they are both seeking the same passion, seperately, and alone, when perhaps, they could find it in each other. We are all "digging for fire", or sleeping our lives away (telling ourselves we have no interest or time), or toiling at digging a hole (tending to our commitments/job/family).

    Beautiful metaphore.
    arfarfon January 30, 2005   Link
  • +3
    General CommentNo idea what it means. But I like to think that it means to stop worrying and when you’re broken, cold and alone on the freezing floor, you remember your worth, and start digging for fire.

    I persist in this existence because I choose to. I choose to keep digging for fire.

    I’ll keep digging for fire
    samhall555on October 23, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Commentwhat a great song. very hard to interpret, as are most pixies song(which is one of their traits that makes them so great to begin with). personally, i think it's just about senility, and how the characters depicted in the song have grown old but still find enjoyment in their own delusions. who knows...
    paranoidandroid83on April 14, 2003   Link
  • +2
    General CommentMy father smelled my baby daughter's head and said, "Smell that youth!"

    He's digging for fire too.
    s7rugg1eon March 12, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General CommentOk, pretty much both verses are the same, so I'll just quote the second verse.

    "there is this old man
    who spent so much of his life sleeping
    that he is able to keep awake for the rest of his years"

    So the old man wasted a good portion of his life not taking action and doing the things he wanted to do. So now he's making up for it.

    "and i often ask him
    "are you looking for the mother lode?"
    huh?
    no.
    no my child, this is not my desire
    and then he said

    i'm digging for fire [4x]"

    So the young man asks him if he's digging for money and gold and riches. And the old man tells him that he's looking for passion in his life that he's never had.
    Audaciousmooseon April 15, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Commentanother perfect example of how francis black leaves it to the listener to decide what they want the lyrics to mean... one of the best Pixies songs
    zim182on April 17, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Commenti believe that this song is more or less about how most people believe that if a person is doing something the reason they are doing it is to prosper themselves, when actually they're doing it just for the hell of it or to do something people aren't expecting, something origional. Basically why do the same old thing?
    onafridayon May 01, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General CommentI think it's like
    "Are you looking for treasures?"
    "No, I'm looking for destruction."
    Digging for fire...fire has always been something we've depended on, yet so dangerous. Isn't digging for it a way of saying that you desire your own destruction? And enjoy it.

    I love this song.
    Dreamlandscapeon June 12, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General CommentThis song is a tribute to Talking Heads...
    Look them up. Good stuff.
    IhavegoodTasteon February 27, 2006   Link

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