Released: June 1, 1983
Songwriter: Tina Weymouth Jerry Harrison Chris Frantz David Byrne
Producer: Talking Heads
[Verse 1]
Ah
Watch out, you might get what you're after
Cool, babies - strange but not a stranger
I'm an ordinary guy
Burning down the house
[Verse 2]
Hold tight, wait 'til the party's over
Hold tight, we're in for nasty weather
There has got to be a way
Burning down the house
[Chorus 1]
Here's your ticket, pack your bag, it's time for jumping overboard
The transportation is here
Close enough but not too far, maybe you know where you are
Fighting fire with fire, ah!
[Verse 3]
All wet, here, you might need a raincoat
Shakedown, dreams walking in broad daylight
Three hundred sixty-five degrees
Burning down the house
[Chorus 2]
It was once upon a place, sometimes I listen to myself
Gonna come in first place
People on their way to work say, “Baby, what did you expect?”
Gonna burst into flame, ah
[Synthesizer Solo]
Burning down the house
[Verse 4]
My house is out of the ordinary
That’s right, don't wanna hurt nobody
Some things sure can sweep me off my feet
Burning down the house
[Chorus 3]
No visible means of support and you have not seen nothing yet
Everything's stuck together
I don't know what you expect staring into the TV set
Fighting fire with fire, ah
[Instrumental Outro]
Ah
Watch out, you might get what you're after
Cool, babies - strange but not a stranger
I'm an ordinary guy
Burning down the house
[Verse 2]
Hold tight, wait 'til the party's over
Hold tight, we're in for nasty weather
There has got to be a way
Burning down the house
[Chorus 1]
Here's your ticket, pack your bag, it's time for jumping overboard
The transportation is here
Close enough but not too far, maybe you know where you are
Fighting fire with fire, ah!
[Verse 3]
All wet, here, you might need a raincoat
Shakedown, dreams walking in broad daylight
Three hundred sixty-five degrees
Burning down the house
[Chorus 2]
It was once upon a place, sometimes I listen to myself
Gonna come in first place
People on their way to work say, “Baby, what did you expect?”
Gonna burst into flame, ah
[Synthesizer Solo]
Burning down the house
[Verse 4]
My house is out of the ordinary
That’s right, don't wanna hurt nobody
Some things sure can sweep me off my feet
Burning down the house
[Chorus 3]
No visible means of support and you have not seen nothing yet
Everything's stuck together
I don't know what you expect staring into the TV set
Fighting fire with fire, ah
[Instrumental Outro]
more tracks from the album
The Best of Talking Heads
- Once in a Lifetime
- Love → Building on Fire
- Found a Job
- Blind
- Wild Wild Life
- Houses in Motion
- Memories Can’t Wait
- Road to Nowhere
- (Nothing But) Flowers
- Take Me to the River
- And She Was
- Life During Wartime
- Heaven
- This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
- Girlfriend Is Better
- Psycho Killer
- Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town
- Burning Down the House
From the albums
- Speaking in Tongues (1983)
- Once in a Lifetime: The Best of Talking Heads (1992)
- Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites (1992)
- Only Dance 1980-1984 (1995)
- Once in a Lifetime (2003)
- The Best Pub Jukebox … Ever! (2004)
- 13 Going on 30: Music From the Motion Picture (2004)
- The Best of Talking Heads (2004)
Talking Heads popular songs
- Once in a Lifetime
- Psycho Killer
- This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
- Burning Down the House
- Life During Wartime
- Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)
- Road to Nowhere
- Crosseyed and Painless
- The Great Curve
- Girlfriend Is Better
- Slippery People
- (Nothing But) Flowers
- Heaven
- Take Me to the River
- And She Was
- Listening Wind
- Don’t Worry About the Government
- Seen and Not Seen
- Making Flippy Floppy
- Houses in Motion
- I Zimbra
- The Overload
- Cities
- Wild Wild Life