Echo & the Bunnymen is a British Post-punk band formed in Liverpool in 1978… Read Full Bio ↴Echo & the Bunnymen is a British Post-punk band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of Ian McCulloch (of The Crucial Three), Will Sergeant and Les Pattinson. There are many stories, probably apocryphal, that the quartet was completed by a drum machine known as "Echo".

By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles - a moderate UK hit - the drum machine had been replaced by Pete de Freitas. Their next, the critically-acclaimed Heaven Up Here, reached the Top Ten in 1981, as did 1983's Porcupine and '84's Ocean Rain. Singles like "The Killing Moon" (later used in the soundtrack to Donnie Darko, a film whose imagery owed much to the artwork of the band's early records.), "Silver," "Bring on the Dancing Horses," and "The Cutter" helped keep the group in the public eye as they took a brief hiatus in the late 1980s. Their 1987 self-titled LP was a small American hit, their only LP to have significant sales there.

McCulloch quit the band in 1988. De Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident one year later. The others decided to continue, recruiting Noel Burke to replace McCulloch on vocals in Reverberation (1990), which did not generate much excitement among fans or critics. Burke, Sargeant and Pattinson split after that, but the surviving three fourths of the original band reformed in 1997 and released Evergreen (1997), What are You Going to Do with Your Life? (1999), Flowers (2001) , Siberia (2005), and the latest addition, The Fountain (2009). The group's old audience liked the return to their classic sound, and they also managed to gain a number of new, younger listeners.

Echo and the Bunnymen were managed early on by Bill Drummond, who went on to be a founder member of The KLF.

Burn It Down
Echo & the Bunnymen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I’ve been where you are
Ascending to dizzy heights
I’ve seen how the stars
Can light up the darkest nights

Flew too close to the sun
Before I’d become
What can’t be undone

I know how the sky
Makes you believe anything
I’ve flown where you fly
Thought I’d grown angel’s wings

Flew too close to the sun
Before I’d become
What can’t be undone

Burn it down, burn it down
Burn it down, burn it down
Burn it down, burn it down
Burn it down, burn it down
Burn it down
Burn it down
Burn it down
Burn it down

I’ve been where you are
Ascending to dizzy heights
I’ve seen how the stars
Can light up the darkest night

Flew too close to the sun
Before I’d become
What can’t be undone

Burn it down, burn it down
Burn it down, burn it down
Burn it down, burn it down
Burn it down, burn it down
Burn it down
Burn it down
Burn it down (put your fingers in the fire)
Burn it down (put your fingers in the fire)
Burn it down (put your fingers in the fire)
Burn it down (put your fingers in the fire)
Burn it down (put your fingers in the fire)

Burn it down (put your fingers in the fire)
Burn it down

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Echo & the Bunnymen's song Burn It Down speak about the dangers of reaching for success and fame, and the consequences of flying too close to the sun. The singer acknowledges that they've been in the same position as the listener, climbing to great heights and basking in the adoration of others. However, they've also experienced the crash that comes with overreaching and going too far. The line "burn it down" can be interpreted as a call to let go of the obsession with fame and success, to burn down the house that they've built and start anew.

The reference to flying too close to the sun is a nod to the Greek myth of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun with wings made of feathers and wax, and ultimately fell to his death. The singer is cautioning against a similar recklessness and hubris in pursuing one's dreams.

The repetition of the phrase "burn it down" can also be interpreted as a desire to let go of the past and start fresh. The burning down of something, whether it be a physical structure or a metaphorical one, represents a new beginning and a way to move on from what has come before.

Overall, the lyrics of Burn It Down are a cautionary tale about the dangers of reaching too far and losing oneself in the pursuit of success.

Line by Line Meaning

I've been where you are
I understand your current situation

Ascending to dizzy heights
Reaching new heights of success

I've seen how the stars
I understand how greatness can light up everything

Can light up the darkest nights
Even in the darkest of situations, hope can shine through

Flew too close to the sun
I made a mistake by aiming too high

Before I'd become
Prior to achieving my goals

What can't be undone
The consequences of that mistake can't be reversed

I know how the sky
I recognize the allure of success

Makes you believe anything
It's easy to be taken in by the promise of greatness

I've flown where you fly
I've been through the same experiences as you have