2016Released
3:40

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about Burn the Witch. By Songfacts®.

The origins of this song date back to 2003's Hail To The Thief when the phrase "burn the witch" appeared in the cover art of that album's booklet. The lyrics were reportedly finished a couple of years later and snippets were teased during 2006 and 2008 Radiohead concerts.

The disturbing lyrics appear to be about the policing by authority figures of group discussion and the persecution of a dissenter. The warning against groupthink places the song in the same Orwellian category as the Hail To The Thief tracks "2+2=5" and "Myxomatosis."

The band unveiled a stop-motion video for the song, directed by Chris Hopewell who previously helmed the animated clip for Radiohead's 2003 single "There There." The clip features a cast of puppets similar to the popular 1960s UK children's Trumptonshire trilogy, three connected animated series – Camberwick Green, Trumpton, and Chigley – that were aired on the BBC. The 1973 British horror movie The Wicker Man also appears to be an influence.

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of Burn the Witch.
BKey
MajorMode
4/4Time Signature
149BPM

Album

The album Burn the Witch is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released Burn the Witch.
XL Recordings
2016 LLLP LLP under exclusive license to XL Recordings Ltd
2016 LLLP LLP under exclusive license to XL Recordings Ltd

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