"We have written a consciously political record, not as a manifesto which is how people used to take our lyrics but as a reaction to apathy - something we're all guilty of. The songs on the album are observations on topics including war, the media, government, betrayal, life choices and broken dreams. Burn America Burn is about that country imploding from within, using the Virginia Tech massacre as an example. The song is from the gunman's point of view." - Levellers
Superb return to form. For a few years I was scared the Levs had gone the way of Chumbawamba and started making meaningless pop shit. Thanks for proving me wrong :)
@FMTCH I like half the songs on Hello Pig, to be honest. It's just that songs like Dog Train and Invisible seem to have no purpose to the lyrics. And yes, 61 minutes of pleading is awesome and meaningful. A favourite of mine
Hey this is a pop band usa not burning it could be you wake up we are all fools good on the levellers sold England you could be next and I hope they sing about it
My prior comment was mistaken, I downloaded this video from The Levellers site in June. After making the comment i found the video on my system. Both videos are the same, (also this video was posted may 30.) The expletive was likely removed to deny viewers who would be offended by the songs video content and ideas sufficient reason for getting YT to pull it. Removing "mucking" to keep this video up allows for more views, thus the song's ideas reach even more viewers.
@albertobob everything must be censored, its to protect us from ourselves! Can you imagine if they let us hear a dirty word? I tell you what would happen, before you know it there would be paedophiles on every street walking hand in hand with gay asylum seekers!!!! No, its much better that our innocent minds are protected from such filth!
Yours sincerley, A Daily Mail reader.
(I am of course being sarcastic, Im actually the one the Daily Mail warned you about. Peace.)
The Levellers are a band one could never accuse of 'cashing' in on something. They have always expressed their political views openly and this offering is no different. No artist can be responsible for the way in which each individual may interpret a piece. I quite like this song and really love the video.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
First off: I absolutely love The Levellers. I've been listening to them for a long time and love what they do. This song, however, seems plain ignorant. The Levs believe in unity; this is just seperating. I know it's through the eyes of an American gunman but, Wow. Talk about cashing in on the "Anti-Americanism" of today. It's not like there are teenage stabbings every week here in the UK *wink wink*.
Yeah, I know. I just hate those who believe one country is better than the other. In every country there are humans, and there are at least 2 humans who are alike in different countries. You get the bad, you get the good. England is just as bad as America, and vice verse. Those who think differently have never studied history.
naade, you judge people, and countries, by their actions. America has a worse legacy than many other countries. For starters it's the only one to have used the atom bomb in warfare. That's studying history for you
Just bought the album 2day in hmv.Normal version is £8 and bonus is £10 but someone has messed up as lookin at the later there is no mention of 2nd cd.Also my video will not load on my laptop hence me being here.Sounds good doh,death to the illmuminati etc.will listen to album 2nite after a few K ciders!
some of you have assumed this is a simple anti american song, in fact this song is about high school shootings, and is rather anti american gun culture than simply anti american.
i think this song is about a self destructive aspect of american culture revolving around guns, and the chorus reflects that self destruction, rather than an extremist blow up america message.
good song, but still think weapon called the word and one way, from what i've heard, are the best albums.
No worries my friend. The Levs have inspired debate here , which is never a bad thing - so clearly they're back on form! Hmm... they wouldn't give the song a provocative title, just to get folk talking, would they? Cheeky chappies! Have a beautiful day.
haha it's possible.. on the actual music now, i don;t know about others but i actually really don't like the song. The sound is really to polished pop punk for my liking. I'd sooner hear 'Together All The Way.' The bridge and musical interlude bit is quite nice though
As a long-term Levs fan I think this is very dumb. The title merely fnas the flames of hatred and stupidity that are scorching the world atm. Yes, the current US Gov are dicks - but it's a culturally, racially and politically divers country that gave us Jazz, the Blues and the Civil Rights Movement. This title just reinforces negative and generalised stereotypes.
It is not meant to be taken literaly as incitement to set fire to america. Nor is it an attack on all aspects of american culture and history. Fuks sake it's not that and to understand. It seems your the dumb one by that interpretation.
Obviously it's not incitement, that's not what I said. But the title is symptomatic of the 'generalised thinking' which afflicts the world. The lyrics are ambiguous but the title is unequivocal, and titles have a lot of power, like 'Give Peace A Chance' or 'Glad To Be Gay'. The title of this song, despite the intention of the lyrics, is counter productive. Hence my position is not 'dumb' - although your inability to enter into discussion without being abusive is - to say nothing of your grammar.
i was not offensive i simply adopted the insult you gave the songs title. But now i see you are an 'academic' or 'intellectual' by your attempt to mock my grammar. I have nothing else to say to you in that case. You may find the song counter productive but your interpretation does not mean other people cannot take a more positive interpretation of it. Your view is not supreme no matter how good your grammar is.
Writing clearly doesn't make me 'academic', just clear. I said the title was 'dumb', but I didn't need to swear to make my point, although you addressed me with 'fuck'. Yet in reply you chose to focus on the lesser issue of grammar instead. If you read my comment, I wrote that the TITLE is counter-productive, not the SONG, which is lyrically interesting. Unfortunately the lyrics aren't easy to discern, so the song is open to the misinterpretation of generalised anti-Americanism, which is a shame
Your choice to be offended by certain words is of no interest to me and simply limits yourself. I do not care. I use the words i choose to my desired affect and if you are offended that is your problem. I am not going to change my use of vocab to suit your personal taste. My first post was a reply as i thought by your mentioning of some good american cultutral influences that you thought this song dismissed them.
I disagreed so i commented. Your interpetation of the title is as valid as mine i was simply disagreeing with your original post, i misunderstood it as criticising the content of the song sorry
Interesting discussion. In my opinion the title is also ambiguous, all be it a little less than the song lyrics. I don't think the Levellers should condition themselves to having to think about a title that is potentially damaging to 'generalised thinking'. The title works for them and their audience. 'Born in the USA' is a title that has a far deeper meaning than it's general understanding of blind patriotism, which for me makes it far more credible and interesting.
Well, there are idiots from every country so I don't think it's the same. Joe Strummer wept when he heard that US Air Force pilots used to sing 'Rock Casbah' when bombing Iraq. This title is more inflammatory than that - and it doesn't reflect the intention of the lyrics, leaving it open to negative misinterpration. Most people singing along won't have a clue that it's through the eyes of derranged high-school gumnan. Hence it degenerates into mindless anti-Americanism.
Alfonz........in some ways i agree, but in others i totally disagree. "Cholera Well" was a bit dull for my liking, but i spose it will grow on me. "A Life Less Ordinary" is a great live song, great tempo, great sounding song.......just brilliant!!
I love "Burn America Burn" To me its the revival of the old levellers, the stuff from recent years has been a bit dull......."Truth and Lies" doesnt rank highly in great Levellers albums. Their bes are Zeitgeist LTL and Levellers
As a life long fan this song in my opinion is very poor. This just does not seem to get me going like 'A life less ordinary' and 'The Cholera Wall' looking forward to the album though and im sure this will grow on me!
the 4 dislikes are american people
RhunarenTV 6 months ago 2
Anthem!
Stotinkica 11 months ago
Excellent song. Greetings from Serbia!
zoccaerg 11 months ago 3
"We have written a consciously political record, not as a manifesto which is how people used to take our lyrics but as a reaction to apathy - something we're all guilty of. The songs on the album are observations on topics including war, the media, government, betrayal, life choices and broken dreams. Burn America Burn is about that country imploding from within, using the Virginia Tech massacre as an example. The song is from the gunman's point of view." - Levellers
kjsuk 2 years ago 2
Superb return to form. For a few years I was scared the Levs had gone the way of Chumbawamba and started making meaningless pop shit. Thanks for proving me wrong :)
Thunderwolf666 2 years ago
They did start making meaningless pop shit. Fortunately they realised no one liked Hello Pig and worked out what it was they were doing wrong.
aliencheesemaker 2 years ago
@aliencheesemaker speak for your self
GwaishfulGuy 1 year ago
Comment removed
FMTCH 1 year ago
@aliencheesemaker Try listening to the lyrics of 61 minutes of pleading it is not meaningless pop shit
FMTCH 1 year ago
@FMTCH I like half the songs on Hello Pig, to be honest. It's just that songs like Dog Train and Invisible seem to have no purpose to the lyrics. And yes, 61 minutes of pleading is awesome and meaningful. A favourite of mine
aliencheesemaker 1 year ago
don't worry i think chumbawumba may have come to their senses with the new album
I hope
krazykittykat100 2 years ago
i just might get the levellers logo tattoo'd to my face.
ThirdEyeOpen123 2 years ago 3
cool dude
manhattenhero 2 years ago
my uncle had his instruments stolen by the levellers =P ive seen them nearlly 5 times now!!!! they are amazing!
WH1TEW4BBIT 3 years ago
Hey this is a pop band usa not burning it could be you wake up we are all fools good on the levellers sold England you could be next and I hope they sing about it
xb492 3 years ago
ive met the levellers because my uncle tours with them they are a nice bunch of guys
jordanlovesdogs 3 years ago
The second line of the song has been censored!
"There's a shooter in the school
Get you * heads down"
*Rhymes with muckin**
**I don't want this comment to be censored
A shame, I wonder if youtube censored this. I would certainly hope the band did not.
I watched this same video a few weeks ago and it was not censored.
albertobob 3 years ago 5
WTF? Is YT afraid of the FCC??
istrebitjel 3 years ago
My prior comment was mistaken, I downloaded this video from The Levellers site in June. After making the comment i found the video on my system. Both videos are the same, (also this video was posted may 30.) The expletive was likely removed to deny viewers who would be offended by the songs video content and ideas sufficient reason for getting YT to pull it. Removing "mucking" to keep this video up allows for more views, thus the song's ideas reach even more viewers.
albertobob 3 years ago
The song (purchased from iTunes) has *muckin* in it. Maybe the video was created with a censored version of the song so it was playable on TV?
tarascot 2 years ago
@albertobob they played the song in belgium ( and wasnt censored)
lowieverriest 1 year ago
@albertobob everything must be censored, its to protect us from ourselves! Can you imagine if they let us hear a dirty word? I tell you what would happen, before you know it there would be paedophiles on every street walking hand in hand with gay asylum seekers!!!! No, its much better that our innocent minds are protected from such filth!
Yours sincerley, A Daily Mail reader.
(I am of course being sarcastic, Im actually the one the Daily Mail warned you about. Peace.)
PeteJones100 1 year ago
The Levellers are a band one could never accuse of 'cashing' in on something. They have always expressed their political views openly and this offering is no different. No artist can be responsible for the way in which each individual may interpret a piece. I quite like this song and really love the video.
elixirsoo 3 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
First off: I absolutely love The Levellers. I've been listening to them for a long time and love what they do. This song, however, seems plain ignorant. The Levs believe in unity; this is just seperating. I know it's through the eyes of an American gunman but, Wow. Talk about cashing in on the "Anti-Americanism" of today. It's not like there are teenage stabbings every week here in the UK *wink wink*.
This is the only song of The Levs that I dislike.
naade 3 years ago
Hey, If you hate this song about it's problems with unity, then listen to England My Home. even the title's obvious
LightFlight666 3 years ago
Yeah, I know. I just hate those who believe one country is better than the other. In every country there are humans, and there are at least 2 humans who are alike in different countries. You get the bad, you get the good. England is just as bad as America, and vice verse. Those who think differently have never studied history.
naade 3 years ago
naade, you judge people, and countries, by their actions. America has a worse legacy than many other countries. For starters it's the only one to have used the atom bomb in warfare. That's studying history for you
aliencheesemaker 2 years ago 5
Just bought the album 2day in hmv.Normal version is £8 and bonus is £10 but someone has messed up as lookin at the later there is no mention of 2nd cd.Also my video will not load on my laptop hence me being here.Sounds good doh,death to the illmuminati etc.will listen to album 2nite after a few K ciders!
bluewool 3 years ago
some of you have assumed this is a simple anti american song, in fact this song is about high school shootings, and is rather anti american gun culture than simply anti american.
i think this song is about a self destructive aspect of american culture revolving around guns, and the chorus reflects that self destruction, rather than an extremist blow up america message.
good song, but still think weapon called the word and one way, from what i've heard, are the best albums.
stiflevelfighter 3 years ago 2
I haven't heard the Levellers for about 14 years... Good to see they are back to making political statements.
I couldn't see any free download at the weblink though... any ideas?
oclandestin 3 years ago
just go on there website mate they post a few tracks free to download
corstic 3 years ago
GREAT NEW SONG! CHEERS!!!
16spinz 3 years ago
No worries my friend. The Levs have inspired debate here , which is never a bad thing - so clearly they're back on form! Hmm... they wouldn't give the song a provocative title, just to get folk talking, would they? Cheeky chappies! Have a beautiful day.
clarencefern 3 years ago
haha it's possible.. on the actual music now, i don;t know about others but i actually really don't like the song. The sound is really to polished pop punk for my liking. I'd sooner hear 'Together All The Way.' The bridge and musical interlude bit is quite nice though
neutralsandwichface 3 years ago
Wooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! Loving the new songs!!! This is fairly radio friendly, apart from the lyrical content. ;) Still loving it though!!
randomandyandy 3 years ago
Great Song, lookinmg forward to see you in Germany Hannover...
Rocki6666 3 years ago
Brilliant Video, Love the Riot Police Pigs
BenjiBLT 3 years ago 2
A most brilliant song -Happy Birthday Jeremy for today 2nd june 2008-keep levelling the LAND .greetz frank(babafk)
babafk 3 years ago
awesome
mansfield1981 3 years ago
Cant wait for the new album... from the 3 songs we've heard, it sounds like its gona be a great album!!!!
Cant wait to see you guys again, esp in my home town of Doncaster! :o)
snuzedot 3 years ago
As a long-term Levs fan I think this is very dumb. The title merely fnas the flames of hatred and stupidity that are scorching the world atm. Yes, the current US Gov are dicks - but it's a culturally, racially and politically divers country that gave us Jazz, the Blues and the Civil Rights Movement. This title just reinforces negative and generalised stereotypes.
clarencefern 3 years ago
It is not meant to be taken literaly as incitement to set fire to america. Nor is it an attack on all aspects of american culture and history. Fuks sake it's not that and to understand. It seems your the dumb one by that interpretation.
neutralsandwichface 3 years ago
Obviously it's not incitement, that's not what I said. But the title is symptomatic of the 'generalised thinking' which afflicts the world. The lyrics are ambiguous but the title is unequivocal, and titles have a lot of power, like 'Give Peace A Chance' or 'Glad To Be Gay'. The title of this song, despite the intention of the lyrics, is counter productive. Hence my position is not 'dumb' - although your inability to enter into discussion without being abusive is - to say nothing of your grammar.
clarencefern 3 years ago
i was not offensive i simply adopted the insult you gave the songs title. But now i see you are an 'academic' or 'intellectual' by your attempt to mock my grammar. I have nothing else to say to you in that case. You may find the song counter productive but your interpretation does not mean other people cannot take a more positive interpretation of it. Your view is not supreme no matter how good your grammar is.
neutralsandwichface 3 years ago
Writing clearly doesn't make me 'academic', just clear. I said the title was 'dumb', but I didn't need to swear to make my point, although you addressed me with 'fuck'. Yet in reply you chose to focus on the lesser issue of grammar instead. If you read my comment, I wrote that the TITLE is counter-productive, not the SONG, which is lyrically interesting. Unfortunately the lyrics aren't easy to discern, so the song is open to the misinterpretation of generalised anti-Americanism, which is a shame
clarencefern 3 years ago
Your choice to be offended by certain words is of no interest to me and simply limits yourself. I do not care. I use the words i choose to my desired affect and if you are offended that is your problem. I am not going to change my use of vocab to suit your personal taste. My first post was a reply as i thought by your mentioning of some good american cultutral influences that you thought this song dismissed them.
neutralsandwichface 3 years ago
I disagreed so i commented. Your interpetation of the title is as valid as mine i was simply disagreeing with your original post, i misunderstood it as criticising the content of the song sorry
neutralsandwichface 3 years ago
Interesting discussion. In my opinion the title is also ambiguous, all be it a little less than the song lyrics. I don't think the Levellers should condition themselves to having to think about a title that is potentially damaging to 'generalised thinking'. The title works for them and their audience. 'Born in the USA' is a title that has a far deeper meaning than it's general understanding of blind patriotism, which for me makes it far more credible and interesting.
eagle1967 3 years ago
not the first tho' - what about "american idiot"?
I think you need to lighten up a tad....
forestfunky 3 years ago
Well, there are idiots from every country so I don't think it's the same. Joe Strummer wept when he heard that US Air Force pilots used to sing 'Rock Casbah' when bombing Iraq. This title is more inflammatory than that - and it doesn't reflect the intention of the lyrics, leaving it open to negative misinterpration. Most people singing along won't have a clue that it's through the eyes of derranged high-school gumnan. Hence it degenerates into mindless anti-Americanism.
clarencefern 3 years ago
great song, great video, great band!!! cheers!!
16spinz 3 years ago
Alfonz........in some ways i agree, but in others i totally disagree. "Cholera Well" was a bit dull for my liking, but i spose it will grow on me. "A Life Less Ordinary" is a great live song, great tempo, great sounding song.......just brilliant!!
I love "Burn America Burn" To me its the revival of the old levellers, the stuff from recent years has been a bit dull......."Truth and Lies" doesnt rank highly in great Levellers albums. Their bes are Zeitgeist LTL and Levellers
lev2383 3 years ago
As a life long fan this song in my opinion is very poor. This just does not seem to get me going like 'A life less ordinary' and 'The Cholera Wall' looking forward to the album though and im sure this will grow on me!
AlfonzPoofarty 3 years ago
F*CKIN AWESOME!!
Cannot wait for the new album!!
lev2383 3 years ago
I find the animation is very good.
I also enjoyed your gig at Rock Affligem in Belgium.
hellsjester31 3 years ago
FANTASTIC!!!! -(As always!!) Luv Roxi xXx
RoxiB1984 3 years ago
First! Bloody amazing song lads - Come to nottingham again! Loved it in 06!
jamesxme 3 years ago