The lyric is from “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple, from the 1973 album Machine Head. Inspired by the fire at the Montreux Casino, the song became one of Deep Purple’s most recognized classics (and the bane of every guitar teacher).

This particular lyric was chosen in July 2026, as Chicago and the entire Northeast suffered from 2 days of wildfire smoke. Chicago and Detroit took the worst of it, with both cities covered in an eerie haze not unlike the referenced Smoke on the Water. Given the proximity of each city to a Great Lake, it seemed fitting.

If you want to know how bad it got, the Air Quality Index (AQI) defines above 150 as “Very Poor”, and 200 as “Hazardous”, and at those levels you should limit your time outside.

The highest numbers recorded in those 2 days were over 700.