Bastille

Released: July 14, 2013

Songwriter: Dan Smith

Producer: Dan Smith

[Intro: Queen's College Choir]
Oh
Oh

[Verse 1: Dan Smith]
"Look who's digging their own grave"
That is what they all say; you'll drink yourself to death
Look who makes their own bed, lies right down within it
And what will you have left?

[Verse 2: Dan Smith]
Out on the front doorstep, drinking from a paper cup
You won't remember this
Living beyond your years, acting out all their fears
You feel it in your chest

[Pre-Chorus: Dan Smith]
Your hands protect the flames
From the wild winds around you

[Chorus 1: Dan Smith & Backing, Dan Smith, Queen's College Choir]
Icarus is flying too close to the sun
And Icarus' life, it has only just begun
It's just begun
Ooh
Ooh

[Verse 3: Dan Smith, Queen's College Choir]
Standing on the cliff face, highest fall you'll ever grace (Ooh)
It scares me half to death (Ooh)
Look out to the future, but it tells you nothing (Ooh)
So take another breath (Ooh)

[Pre-Chorus: Dan Smith]
Your hands protect the flames
From the wild winds around you

[Chorus 2: Dan Smith & Backing ]
Icarus is flying
Too close to the sun
And Icarus' life
It has only just begun
This is how it feels
To take a fall
Icarus is flying
Towards an early grave

[Bridge: Dan Smith, Queen's College Choir]
You put up your defenses when you leave (Oooh)
You leave because you're certain
Of who you want to be
You're putting up your armour when you leave (Oooh)
And you leave because you're certain
Of who you want to be

[Chorus 2: Dan Smith & Backing]
Icarus is flying
Too close to the sun
And Icarus' life
It has only just begun
This is how it feels
To take a fall
Icarus is flying
Towards an early grave

[Outro: Dan Smith, Queen's College Choir]
Oh, oh (Ooh)
Oh, oh, oh-oh oh-oh, oh, oh (Ooh)
Oh oh, oh, oh, oh, oh-oh oh (Ooh)

Bastille is a British indie pop band. After releasing a limited single in 2010 and the Laura Palmer EP in 2011, the band was signed to Virgin Records. Following their signing, the band released two mix-tapes – Other People’s Heartache and Other People’s Heartache Pt. 2 — for free. In an interview with The Guardian, Dan Smith discussed the

Someone recently said to ‘The mixtapes were very clever, was that the label’s idea?’ Actually the label were completely against it; we were stealing and sampling illegally left, right and centre. The label ‘We want nothing to do with this.’ When it came to hosting the mixtapes, I had to register the website myself.

Preceding the release of their debut album, Bad Blood, the band released several singles — “Overjoyed”, “Bad Blood” and “Flaws”— to moderate commercial success. In February 2013, the band was catapulted into the charts by the album’s fourth single, “Pompeii”. The song was a commercial hit, going up to 5x Platinum around the world. In June 2014, “Pompeii” was confirmed to be the United Kingdom’s most streamed song ever. Unfortunately, it has since been overtaken.

more tracks from the album

Things We Lost in the Fire

From the albums

Things We Lost in the Fire (2013)
Roots of ReOrchestrated (2021)

Bastille popular songs

Icarus (Live from Queens’ College, Cambridge)Bastille

Bastille

Things We Lost in the Fire