Siouxsie & the Banshees - Burn-up

from 1988's "Peepshow"

A crumpled future in your fist
The killing streak ascends sun kissed
And the firestarter from within
Pokes out from fever blistered grin
King Salamander that's his name
A desert maker that's his aim
The benign cremator, branding iron in his hand
Eager and willing to torch the land

All fire and brimstone
This jack-o-lantern
He likes to watch the buildings burn

His ardour smoulders, phosphorous flies
He radiates with urgence to hypnotise
Stoke the furnace, feed his need
This thirst for fire is all he seeks
He's the blazing rubber making tracks
The blue touch paper at your back

All fire and brimstone
This salamander king
He basks while all around him burns

`Giddy-up, burn-up, not fade away'
These words ignite and pave his way
`Giddy-up, burn-up, stoke it up and turn it up'
He sings these words in fervid frame

All fire and brimstone
This jack-o-lantern
He likes to watch the pyres burn

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack jump over the candlestick

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Siouxsie
• Banshees
• Burn-up
• Burn
• Burnup
• Peepshow

[x3mserge]

"Peepshow" is an outrageously fantastic album. I could never get enough of this music. The lyrics were always so amusing and inspiring, especially sung by Siouxsie.

[EmilieSagae]

Alongside Juju, Peepshow is my favorite album of all time. Yes, it's true that Peepshow was an evolution finely treading pop water, but it was all done with intent. It really is an "album" in the true sense of the word, everything comes together and compliments itself. I never thought I'd hear a country track by S&TB, but here it is (in a demented, horror film kind of way), and I love it!

Superstition followed in the same vein, but it was messy and totally uninspired.

[gmcg923]

I had bought Peepshow in 1988 and hadn't listened to the whole thing. One night, I came home tripping on mushrooms and put my headphones on. I started listening to Peepshow. Burn up came on and I was literally transported into the song. I had visions of a skeleton devil driving a train, dancing ghosts made of fire, and even a frog playing a banjo. Blew my fucking mind!

[imagenpagana]

I´m dancing and no stopme!!!!!

Saludos paganos

[martinz60]

The world's first gothic squaredance.

[scottjhnsn]

@EmilieSagae and i do love the drifter from superstition. for me,the whole thing about superstition was that it was indeed too polished....to over-produced. the banshees in everything they did,from their inception and no matter how they evolved in sound,always had this underlying air of rawness and this spontaneous sense of experimentation about it.

[scottjhnsn]

@EmilieSagae i do indeed. ironically,it was the first one that i discovered. i just think it was full-circle to be their final studio album.....they ended it on a much brighter,more inspired not. not to mention going back to their independent ways again.

[EmilieSagae]

@scottjhnsn Ghost In You is still one of my favourite songs though, Shadowtime is lovely, Drifter too, and I guess there's a lot of love for Kiss Them For Me. Beyond that, everything sounds dated and extremely grating.

Do you prefer The Rapture?

[scottjhnsn]

@EmilieSagae i agree completely. although it's not really 'country' but more of that bluesy bayou sound. sioux had such an affinity for new orleans.

i agree to about superstition....sioux has expressed time and again her dissatisfaction with how that album turned out. their producer was so gung ho about computerising everything thus she was none too keen. she railed against it.

[shadow27b]

One of my favorite SatB songs. Of course this is a great album over all. But I never get tired of Burn Up

[Sioux2606]

MY FAVO OF ALL TIME! I LOVE SIOUXSIE SIOUX!

[mineralgreygt420]

I totally agree with that. very well put. awesome song