Owl City is an American electronic music project made by Adam Young in 2007. Owl City is most well-known for their hit song “Fireflies” made in 2009. Adam Young has made multiple other projects similar to Owl City, which is his most popular project. In this project, one of his more recent releases was “The Tornado” on May 23rd, 2023, for the album “Coco Moon”. With 507k views, there’s no denying that the song is a hit. When I first heard the song, more so a sample of the song, it was of the sample of the first pre-chorus. Sang with such a strong build up, reaching a point where he was belting part of the lyrics; “And this was my prayer, ‘save me from this terrible nightmare’”.
This part of the song shocked most Owl City fans, including myself. It was such a different tone from how he usually sang in his songs which was a light, flowy pace and tone. The strong vocals and the buildup to that point of the song managed to have a chokehold on the fanbase. Even catching the attention of people outside of the Owl City fanbase. Animators were using that part of the song as inspiration for animations due to how powerful it was and how his voice carried. But also, how the lyrics themself could be interpreted. Within the song the lyrics are a desperate plead and prayer of survival from a tornado, but when taken out of context they can be interpreted in many ways.
“And then the nightmare started, it got deafeningly loud. Every fiber in me screamed out but I couldn’t make a sound. The whirling of a vortex, a violent carousel. It sounded like a freight train was dragging me to hell.” The lyrics build up on themself, making a strong base for the next set of lyrics. Between the two sets of lyrics is a melody, making the listener anticipate what the next lyrics might be. Almost like a story ending on a cliffhanger, making you crave more.
“And this was my prayer, ‘Save me from this terrible nightmare!’” These lyrics hold out so well, caring desperation and plea within them, making the listener feel like they are almost there in the moment, like this is the listener themselves pleading for the storm to be over.
The song itself is almost structured like how a bad storm is. A slow, steady build up from a peaceful melody, reaching a strong powerful point, only to regress back down into a peaceful melody like a calm after a storm. It’s no wonder why this song managed to have a chokehold on so many people, the structure and accompaniment is made to fit the theme of the song which is about someone going through a tornado. But the lyrics can be interpreted as being from the point of view of a person who survived any bad or traumatic event. Which is one of the things that makes Owl City unique. Like another song “Silhouette” made by Owl City, it has that hidden layer in the lyrics. Both songs hold a heartfelt underlayer about something that someone could go through, and how it can affect a person’s mental state. “Silhouette” has a more emotional, inner turmoil feel to the lyrics whereas “The Tornado” is more about an outside event someone was put through by someone else of an outside force.
Overall, Owl City has amazing emotional, heartfelt and powerful songs. It’s probably one of my favorite music projects of the 2000s, and “The Tornado” is another great installment to an already amazing project. Adam Young always manages to give us something new with his constant experimenting with new singing styles and music styles in his songs.
