Playlist: Our Favorite Songs About… Fire

“I am the God of Hellfire, and I bring you…FIRE” – Arthur Brown, “Fire”

For reasons unclear I don’t think I’ve done a playlist since like, June, when I did my “Road Songs” list. Maybe it’s all these box sets I’m spending my time with from Pete Townshend to the Faces. It’s been a busy time and I haven’t even started with Neil Young’s Archives Volume 3 yet. Now that summer is about to “officially” end – for me it ends when they close the pools after Labor Day, and my eternal quest for a tan ends – on Sunday September 22nd, I couldn’t help but think about sitting in the backyard staring at the fire pit. Is there anything more mesmerizing on a crisp fall evening than sitting outside with a tumbler of brown and murky fluid staring into the flames, watching the smoke disappear into the night…ruminating on the vast universe. Or is it just me who does that? I do happen to look good in a sweater…”Autumn’s sweet, we call it fall, I’ll make it to the moon if I have to crawl.”

It was believed by the Greeks that a Titan named Prometheus, also the god of fire, was the one who stole fire from the gods of Olympus and gave it to man. Nice get for mankind. Prometheus suffered eternal torture for his act of generosity… Zeus bound him to a rock and for an eternity and an eagle ate Prometheus’ liver. I guess it would grow back and the eagle would eat anew. I mean, man, I need my liver. Although I’ve been abusing it since I was a teenager. Maybe next time I’m at the fire pit I’ll leave the dark and murky fluid alone.

Ah, fire. It has the power to consume us all, transform us into ash. No wonder so many songwriters and poets have used fire as a metaphor for love or more directly, lust. The only thing that burns like fire is that feeling of passion. Nothing but passion transforms like fire. There are a lot of songs that reference fire, burning or smoke. And where there’s smoke, there’s fire. It’s one of the most used metaphors this side of “the heart” that I can think of. On the flip side of the use of “fire” to symbolize that feeling of love and/or passion, fire is often used to symbolize when love goes wrong. I’ve been “burned” is a common theme in a lot of tracks. They say that people who like to stare into fire are, well, “horny.” I’m not sure that’s true, but next time you’re at a bonfire, keep an eye out for that.

We used to go to my late father-in-law’s house and cook brats on a bonfire. For some reason someone in the family started calling these picnics “weenie roasts.” My father in law would gather all the brush he could find in whatever pasture we were in and pile it up for a giant bonfire. It was fun until that one time he threw a couple of tires into the brush fire. He needed to get rid of them so why not poison the family? I’m sure we all damaged our lungs standing next to that giant plume of black smoke. It was like smoking a pack a day for 10 years in one evening. My sainted mother was freaked out but what doesn’t freak out your mom? I still miss my father-in-law.

As it stands, there are an infinite number of songs about fire/flame/smoke/burning. I have cataloged the following 70 of my favorites for your listening pleasure. If you’ve got a favorite that fits on the list, drop it into the Comments and I’ll add it. As usual, I’m all over the map stylistically from rocking songs to mellow tracks. I’ve got reggae and heavy metal. My goal, as always, is to turn you onto a song you haven’t heard, or haven’t heard in a while. If you come across a song you don’t like, skip it, there’s bound to be one you like up ahead. Play in order, play on “random,” season to taste.

1. Arthur Brown, “Fire” – I couldn’t resist this crazy song. It begs the question, how good was the acid back in the day?
2. AC/DC, “Shot Down In Flames” – I think we’ve all been there… If you don’t ask, you’ll never know.
3. Roger Daltrey, “After The Fire” – A track Pete Townshend wrote for Live Aid but they didn’t get recorded, so he gave it to Roger. I like Townshend’s live version as well.
4. Bob Seger, “The Fire Down Below” – A rather jaunty tune about prostitution.
5. Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Fire” – The quintessential fire song.
6. Van Halen, “On Fire” – From their spectacular debut album.
7. Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs, “External Combustion” – Title track from Tom Petty’s erstwhile guitarist and his great band from their second album. I’m still grooving on it and Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits. 
8. Elton John, “Burn Down The Mission” – Yes, lets burn down the mission. There’s nothing else to do around here.
9. David Bowie, “Cat People (Putting Out Fire)” – I always go with the original version on the Cat People soundtrack, it’s the definitive version. I dedicate this one to Natasha Kinski wherever she may be these days.
10. The Cult, “Fire Woman” – The Cult’s most famous track and the Rock Chick’s least favorite of their big songs…”Overplayed…”
11. Sammy Hagar, “Baby’s On Fire” – I had a roommate in college who described his girlfriend like this… I call that time, “The Dark Semester.”
12. Bruce Springsteen, “Into The Fire” – This one is dedicated to all the heroic First Responders from 9/11. This song chokes me up every time.
13. U2, “The Unforgettable Fire” – I won a bet, 1 beer, from Arkansas Bill on this song one upon a time. He didn’t think this album had a title track… It’s only one of the best tracks on the album. Great video too.
14. Elvis Presley, “Burning Love” – I knew a Pakistani woman who claimed this was her favorite Elvis track. It was, I believe, his last number 1 song.
15. Jerry Lee Lewis, “Great Balls Of Fire” – I despise Jerry Lee Lewis but knew I had to include this song.
16. Johnny Cash, “Ring Of Fire” – Johnny’s estate stopped a hemorrhoid commercial from using this song, thank God.
17. Al Green, “Full Of Fire” – Al Green does not have a sad song. Even his break up songs make me smile.
18. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros, “Burnin’ Streets” – Sort of a sequel to track number 23 on this list. The world misses Joe Strummer.
19. Greta Van Fleet, “Black Smoke Rising” – Where there is smoke, there’s fire.
20. The Cult, “My Bridges Burn” – This song should be played at my funeral, it could be my theme song.
21. Free, “Fire And Water” – One of my all time favorites from a band that never got enough attention in the States.
22. Deep Purple, “Smoke On The Water” – A story song about an actual fire in Montreux, Switzerland where an idiot with a flare gun shot it off indoors.
23. The Clash, “London’s Burning” – “London’s burning, with boredom now…” I know the feeling.
24. Robbie Robertson, “Sweet Fire Of Love” – The late Robbie Robertson backed by U2 much the same way the Band used to back Dylan. Great duet.
25. Warren Zevon, “I Was In The House When The House Burned Down” – We certainly love Zevon around here. And yes, this too could be a theme song for me.
26. Sanford Townshend, “Smoke From A Distant Fire” – This is one of the cheesiest songs of all time and yet, I can’t resist it. Every once in a while I have to embrace the cheese.
27. Pat Benetar, “Fire And Ice” – I was never a huge Benetar fan but this track always got me reaching to turn up the volume.
28. AC/DC, “Demon Fire” – Well, Halloween is right around the corner. I need to add this to my Halloween playlist if I haven’t already.
29. Bruce Springsteen, “Streets Of Fire” – From the sensational Darkness On The Edge Of Town. This describes how I feel at work.
30. Robert Plant, “Burning Down One Side” – One of my all time favorites from his solo debut. I’d die a happy death if he’d play this live next time I see him concert.
31. The Donnas, “Smoke You Out” – Leather clad ladies using an old technique used by posses when they chased a bad guy into the brush.
32. Buffalo Springfield, “Burned” – One of Neil’s great songs from the Springfield.
33. The Band, “This Wheel’s On Fire” – Written by Dylan.
34. Blue Oyster Cult, “Burning For You” – Great song from a weird band. I could have gone with “Fire Of Unknown Origin,” but this one is my favorite.
35. AC/DC, “Skies On Fire” – Again with the fire… one might think AC/DC are a bunch of pyromaniacs.
36. Audioslave, “The Original Fire” – Underrated band that combined three members of Rage Against The Machine and the late Chris Cornell.
37. Ronnie Wood, “I Can Feel The Fire” – Mick Jagger, who can be heard on harmony vocal on this song, and Ronnie stayed up all night and wrote this song and “It’s Only Rock N Roll.” Mick convinced Ronnie to let him have “It’s Only…” and keep this one. Great track.
38. The J. Geils Band, “Flamethrower” – This track reminds me of high school. When it came over the PA system at lunch there wasn’t a woman in the room who didn’t start dancing in their chair.
39. Bruce Springsteen, “I’m On Fire” – A song of obsession.
40. Iggy Pop, “Fire Girl” – From Blah Blah Blah produced by Bowie.
41. The Rolling Stones, “Play With Fire” – “Don’t play with me, cause you’re playing with fire…” You’ve been warned, baby.
42. Cinderella, “Fire And Ice” – An apparently favorite combination. How many of us have run hot and cold in a situationship.
43. Randy Newman, “Burn On” – A lovely tune that recounts the ecological disaster when the Cuyahoga River was so polluted it caught on fire. “Burn on, big river, burn on.”
44. John Mellencamp, “Paper In Fire” – Perhaps one of my top 3 favorite Mellencamp songs.
45. Stevie Nicks, “Rooms On Fire” – We do so love Stevie Nicks here.
46. Talking Heads, “Burning Down The House” – I’m embarrassed to admit that it wasn’t until this song that the Talking Heads caught my fancy.
47. Steely Dan, “Fire In The Hole” – Brilliant band that I need to post about since I haven’t yet.
48. Journey, “Line Of Fire” – You won’t see Journey on this list much but man, this one rocks. It’s probably better live…
49. The Rolling Stones, “Hang Fire” – From the fabulous Tattoo You.
50. Neil Young, “Homefires” – Great deep track from Archives II.
51. Grateful Dead, “Fire On The Mountain” – I may just be turning into a Dead Head. Where’s that tie dye shirt of mine.
52. The Black Keys, “Fire Walk With Me” – These Akron lads must be Twin Peaks fans. From “Let’s Rock.”
53. Van Halen, “Blood And Fire” – Fro the ill-fated reunion album with Roth.
54. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, “Fire (Live)” – I chose the live version as it’s probably the definitive one. “For all the girls here…”
55. David Bowie, “Slow Burn” – Bowie’s last 4 or 5 albums were money!
56. Tom Petty, “Walkin’ From The Fire” – Outtake from An American Treasure.
57. Bob Marley & The Wailers, “Burnin’ And Lootin'” – One of the few tracks here that is about an actual fire.
58. Billy Joel, “We Didn’t Start The Fire” – This track hasn’t aged well, but man it was huuuge.
59. Midnight Oil, “Beds Are Burning” – I should have put this on my Insomniac Playlist.
60. John Lee Hooker, “The Motor City Is Burning” – Isn’t Detroit always burning?
61. The Black Keys, “Burn The Damn Thing Down” – From the fabulous Dropout Boogie.
62. Jimi Hendrix, “House Burning Down” – Best guitarist ever.
63. Bruce Springsteen, “Just Like Fire Would” – Late period Springsteen deep track.
64. Bad Company, “Wild Fire Woman” – We need more Bad Co around here.
65. The Doors, “Light My Fire” – I try to avoid really long songs but there is no escaping this classic. Also done ably by Jose Feliciano.
66. The Runaways, “I Love Playin’ With Fire” – Women who love to play with fire… yes, I’ve known quite a few.
67. David Bowie, “You Will (Set The World On Fire)” – Lovely words of encouragement from Mr. Bowie. Go get ’em kid!
68. Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Magpies On Fire” – Great deep track from the Josh Klinghoffer era.
69. The Byrds, “Everybody’s Been Burned” – “Oh to be young and feel love’s keen sting…” I think Albus Dumbledore said that.
70. Nirvana, “Lake Of Fire (Live)” – The perfect set ender…

Hopefully next time you’re out at the fire pit, you’ve got a little speaker with you and you can kick on this playlist. Again, if you’ve got a good “fire” song, let me know and if it fits I’ll drop it on the list. I like these things to be a collaboration. And you guys have turned me onto some great tunes over the years.

I hope everyone had a good summer. I think this fall is going to be a very tumultuous one for everybody. Try to be nice to each other at Thanksgiving… we don’t want any plate throwing like that one year… er, those records are sealed. Maybe put this playlist on and divert everyone’s attention while they’re waiting for that damn turkey to cook.

Cheers!