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by GinaGee on December 13th, 2006

GinaGee

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What is the meaning behind Snow Patrol's "Set the Fire to the Third Bar"? And what does 'set the fire to the third bar' mean in itself?

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Answers. 9 helpful answers below.

  • by Anonymous on December 14th, 2006

    Anonymous

    I'm assuming that it refers to old-fashioned style electric heaters you used to get which had a series of heat-emitting bars- the 1st bar would give you gentle heat, the second slightly higher, the third even warmer and so on.
    The song seems to be about the cold and lonely feeling of being a long way apart from someone you love and "we'd set the fire to the third bar" about the increased warmth you would feel if you were with them.

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  • by --paw43--is back for now on January 24th, 2009

    --paw43--is back for now

    The old fashioned electric heaters had 3 bars of which you could set on 1,2 or 3, 3 being the hottest!

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  • by davevdg10 on March 30th, 2009

    davevdg10

    the meaning of Set the fire to the third bar is both the setting on an old electric heater and a pub or bar, it is a pun or play on words, pretty clever too i might admit but it doesn't make sense for it only to be about pubs/ bars or only about electric heaters. pun, final answer

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  • by No_such_thing_as_J on January 24th, 2009

    No_such_thing_as_J

    I'm a huge Snow Patrol fan. I like the creativity of the answer, but I do have my own theory, as Snow Patrol has never answered this question. I think a bar refers to a pub, drinkery, or club. He goes to the first to drink away the pain. He skips the second in the song because he knows there are going to be more visits to other bars. He hopes, like most of us do, that he could be magically sent to the third bar. Where! You would be sitting and everything will pick up where left and the passion between you would set the third bar ablaze. And! By passing the second bar, he escapes the disappointment of that fantasy not being there.

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  • by Rose_L9746 on January 30th, 2012

    Rose_L9746

    in my opinion it means heaven and earth. One of the lyrics mentioned laying on the cold ground, it can possibly mean laying on a lover's grave. In the music video, gary and martha were seperated into two rooms, one completely white, it could symbolize that the lover's dead and trapped in "cold ground" unable to wrap him arms around his lover to provide her "warmth".

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  • by DJ_Ruby on February 8th, 2010

    DJ_Ruby

    I agree that its a play on words. I think when the first bar is mentioned they are literally talking about a bar. However, when the third bar is mentioned I think they are talking about the bars on a map that denote the scaling for distance. Thus, by setting fire to the third bar the couple in the lyrics are bringing themselves together.

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  • by Laurens_S on September 3rd, 2011

    Laurens_S

    could someone explain the music video to me?
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfa9yxCpWoA&ob=av2e
    hope so

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  • by Jerry_C9121 on January 16th, 2012

    Jerry_C9121

    what patrol do?

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  • by hithere1352 on January 28th, 2010

    hithere1352

    its about 2 people who are in love but each is trying to forget the other. the'bars' in the song are not regular bars but levels of forgetting. the fact that theyre singing the same thing at the same time shows that they are stil connected to one another. a sad song indeed. hope this helps!

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