The wait is over, Radiohead has released their first song in five years and it’s unlike anything else you’re hearing right now. Burn the Witch was released just yesterday, along with an appropriately dark stop motion music video. This is everything you were expecting from Radiohead and more.
After a quick Google search, I learned that “Burn the Witch” is a key phrase that’s been running through Radiohead’s work since 2002. According to Genius.com, the characters in the video are reminiscent of British children’s series, Trumpton, as well as the horror film, Wicker Man. Listeners that have been pulling at this thread can hardly be disappointed by the film inspired stop motion graphics accompanying the atmospheric, moody and lyrically strong track that has been gifted to them.
The song is rich with strong lyrical imagery sung by Thom Yorke.
This is a low flying panic attack / sing a song on the jukebox that goes / burn the witch / burn the witch / we know where you live
The images of childhood are stark against a background of death, torture and hunting for witches. This is perhaps one of the things that makes the mood of the song so striking. The following chorus is introduced by a nursery rhyme, securing the theme of innocence introduced by the childlike characters in the video.
sing the song of sixpence that goes / burn the witch
It is not a futile feat to search for deeper meaning in Radiohead’s work, as their prolific career has seen them release hordes of wonderfully weird and artful pieces that simultaneously deliver thought-provoking social commentary. The juxtaposed elements of innocence and horror leads listener’s thoughts to the things in life that are not questioned, but accepted as normal or right, and the evil that can go unnoticed in them. This is not something that is mentioned explicitly, and the questions that are written into the lyrics are tucked between the lines.
Perhaps there is something even more ominous to the meaning of the song. The repetition and the reference to “we” in “we know where you live” allude to a greater picture, and the necessity of behaving and thinking a certain way in order for society to function the way that it does. The full lyrics, not sung, but written and shared on Radiohead’s official website, Citizen Insane, under the Scrapbook tab, reinforce this idea of subservient citizens, living lives that cannot be described as totally independent. (Find it here: http://citizeninsane.eu/burnthewitch.html) This is not an entirely new concept in alternative rock music and at least dates back to Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” which was released in July of 1982. However, it is expressed by a fresh voice in Radiohead’s latest offering which places these thoughts in the context of the modern age and the millennial generation.
Cheer at the gallows / eat your popcorn / fill out your census form
Perhaps this is a jab at the culture of instant gratification, numbed by the limitless forms of entertainment available at all times.
Follow the ant trail / start an opinion poll / receive a bloody nose
Put your muzzle on / call yourself a dj / call yourself an mc
And maybe this is a comment on the flooded market and the illusion of originality in an age where it’s incredibly easy to share an opinion, start a blog or release a song.
Regardless of the exact intended meaning of the song, Radiohead have written a unique piece that is definitely thought provoking. If the rest of the album is anything like the single, we have a lot to look forward to.
