Snow Patrol: Set the Fire to the Third Bar Meaning

Set the Fire to the Third Bar Lyrics

I find the map and draw a straight line
Over rivers, farms, and state lines
The distance from 'A' to where you'd be
It's only finger-lengths that I see
I touch the place where I'd find your face
My fingers in creases of distant dark...

1. anonymous

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   Jul 2nd 2023 !⃝

   Past lives of soul mates, your words in my memory are like music to me.. .
   One soulmate is no longer here and this is a lovesong of the lengths the other soulmate would go to spend time with them again
2. anonymous

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   Feb 8th 2020 !⃝

   The third bar is a reference to working class Britain and Ireland who had a single source of heating in the home which was a cheap gas fire that could be set at three levels, or bars. Setting the fire to the third bar was something you only did when family came over and you needed to heat the home properly. It's a reference to blue collar life and a point of luxury that could not be afforded every day, i.e. being together again was a special moment. Anyone who didn't grow up in UK & Ireland in the 60s, 70s, or 80s would likely be unfamiliar with this as it was a cultural thing unique to low cost housing.
3. anonymous

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   Jan 18th 2019 !⃝

   To me this song is about long distance love.
4. anonymous

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   Jun 26th 2015 !⃝

   Set the fire to the third bar is about being away from someone (who is possibly dead) and wanting them back so badly that you would burn down the town if you could see them again and not care about the consequences. It's a song about longing for someone who you used to know but you will probably never see again.

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