The Bobs are a "new wave" a cappella group founded in San Francisco, Califo… Read Full Bio ↴The Bobs are a "new wave" a cappella group founded in San Francisco, California. The group is known for humorous original songs and avant-garde arrangement techniques. Instead of covering more traditional doo-wop songs, The Bobs started out with songs like "Helter Skelter" (The Beatles) and "Psycho Killer" (Talking Heads). Although two of their albums are dominated by covers, the overwhelming majority of their repertoire is original, with songs discussing diverse subjects like lunar cattle farming, sleepy bus drivers, bumper stickers, laundry, hurricane-related flooding, graffiti, Oliver North, shopping-mall security guards, celebrity autographs, synaesthesia, post office violence, heart transplants, Heaven's Gate, spontaneous human combustion, turtles, rebellious footwear, tattoos, nicknames for genitalia, and felines intent on ruling the world. They are currently based in Seattle.

The Bobs have broken with a cappella tradition several times by including instruments. The majority of the 1995 album Plugged is backed by toy drums. Plugged also made heavy use of studio equipment to make the voices sound more like guitars and bass guitars. Coaster includes a rock rhythm section on one song. But this original "band without instruments" usually uses just their mouths, hands, feet and "other body parts" to fill a room with a sound as big as an orchestra.

Members of the group are always credited with "Bob" as their middle name. The name is often described as an acronym for "Best of Breed," an award given out at dog shows.

The group has garnered a healthy cult following in the U.S. and Europe in the 24 years they've been touring and recording, and has won numerous songwriting and vocal performance honors.

Ring of Fire
The Bobs Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Love is a burnin' thing,
And it makes a fiery ring
Bound by wild desire
I fell into a ring of fire.

I fell into a burnin' ring of fire
I went down, down, down
And the flames went higher,

And it burns, burn, burns,
The ring of fire, the ring of fire.

The taste of love is sweet
When hearts like ours meet.
I fell for you like a child
Oh, but the fire ran wild.

I fell into a burnin' ring of fire
I went down, down, down
And the flames went higher,
And it burns, burn, burns,
The ring of fire, the ring of fire.

I fell into a burnin' ring of fire
I went down, down, down,
And the flames went higher,
And it burns, burn, burns,
The ring of fire, the ring of fire.

The ring of fire

Overall Meaning

is clearly used as a metaphor for the passionate and all-consuming love that the singer is experiencing. The first verse talks about how love is like a burning ring, bound by wild desire, and how the singer fell into it. The use of fiery language throughout the song, such as "burnin'" and "flames," reinforces the idea that this love is intense and perhaps even dangerous.

The second verse explores the sweet taste of love when it is reciprocated, but also how the singer fell for their love interest like a child, indicating a sense of naivete or recklessness in this love affair. Again, the chorus describes the sensation of falling into a burning ring of fire, going down and down as the flames rise higher and higher.

Overall, the song captures the captivating yet overwhelming nature of falling in love, with the ring of fire symbolizing both the passion and the potential danger inherent in such relationships.

Line by Line Meaning

Love is a burnin' thing,
Love is an intense emotion that can cause people to act recklessly and without control.

And it makes a fiery ring
Love can create a passionate and all-consuming experience that seems to encircle and trap people in its grasp.

Bound by wild desire
People can become overwhelmed by their desire for love and end up making decisions that are not rational or well thought-out.

I fell into a ring of fire.
The artist became entangled in an intense and unrelenting love affair that was both exhilarating and dangerous.

I fell into a burnin' ring of fire
The artist became trapped in a fiery and intense love affair that was constantly burning out of control.

I went down, down, down
The intensity of the love affair was overwhelming and caused the singer to lose all sense of self and direction.

And the flames went higher,
The passion between the two lovers continued to escalate and became more volatile and dangerous.

And it burns, burn, burns,
The fire of passion between the two lovers continued to rage on, causing pain and destruction in its wake.

The ring of fire, the ring of fire.
The all-consuming and dangerous love affair is described as a ring of fire, inescapable and constantly burning out of control.

The taste of love is sweet
Love can be a wonderful, exhilarating experience that is enjoyable and uplifting.

When hearts like ours meet.
When two people are made for each other and share a deep connection, the experience of love can feel particularly sweet and special.

I fell for you like a child
The artist fell deeply in love with their partner and felt young and vulnerable in the face of their intense feelings.

Oh, but the fire ran wild.
However, their love quickly became overwhelming and almost out of control, causing pain and destruction in its wake.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: June Carter, Merle Kilgore

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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