The Burning Hell is the alter-ego of songwriter and ukulele-slinger Mathias… Read Full Bio ↴The Burning Hell is the alter-ego of songwriter and ukulele-slinger Mathias Kom. Loosely based in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, The Burning Hell has toured back and forth across Canada and Europe since 2007, playing everywhere from festivals to bars to living rooms - and once even a mental asylum in rural France. The band has garnered acclaim for their hyperactive live shows and their caustic yet sincere lyrics, believing as they do that songs about the inevitability of death can also be fun to dance to. In 2012, The Burning Hell both made AND broke a record: the band recorded their newest album 'People' (released in spring 2013) in Berlin with producers Norman Nitzsche and Ramin Bijan; later in the summer, The Burning Hell set a new world record, playing ten shows in ten countries in less than 24 hours.

Dance Dance Dance
The Burning Hell Lyrics

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I was born much too early – surely, surely prematurely.
But I already knew that I wanted more by the time the placenta hit the floor.

And it wasn’t too much later, lying inside my incubator
Clenching my tiny newborn fists, trying to slit my little newborn wrists

So I went to see the rabbi. I said ‘rabbi, why why why why why?’
He said ‘I’ve read the Torah and I’ve read the Talmud. You get born, you meet some people & then you die.’

He said ‘everybody has a tiny Pope inside their head!
Go forth and multiply – that’s all the tiny Pope ever says.’

Then he said ‘cause after all is said and done, from womb to tomb and sperm to worm
There’s nothing much else to do, so you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do:

Dance, dance, dance, and romance.
You just can’t help but dance.

Dance, dance, dance, and romance.
Take off your pants and dance.

Overall Meaning

The Burning Hell's song Dance Dance Dance is an introspective and humorous critique on the absurdity of life's purpose. The first verse introduces the idea of the singer feeling premature in their birth, but already desiring something more out of life than what they're given. The reference to the placenta hitting the floor is a vivid image that implies a lack of care in the singer's delivery. The next line is a shocking revelation that the singer was contemplating suicide even as a newborn - a metaphorical gesture for the futility the singer feels in life.

The singer then seeks guidance from a rabbi, but the answer he provides is unsatisfyingly simplistic - everyone has a "tiny Pope" inside their head wanting them to "go forth and multiply." The rabbi's answer doesn't acknowledge the singer's existential frustration, leading to a chorus that urges the listener to dance and abandon their worries. The repetition of "Dance, dance, dance, and romance" is a celebratory expression of rebellion against the meaninglessness of existence. The last line, "Take off your pants and dance," is a tongue-in-cheek way of insisting that our inhibitions should be shed, and we should all join together in this pursuit of joy.

Overall, Dance Dance Dance is a nuanced and comedic piece that points to the human condition of feeling lost in the world. It's a reminder to not take our own importance too seriously, and to approach life with a playful attitude.

Line by Line Meaning

I was born much too early – surely, surely prematurely.
I came into this world way ahead of schedule and surely I wasn't ready for it.

But I already knew that I wanted more by the time the placenta hit the floor.
Even as a newborn, I knew that there was more to life than just being born.

And it wasn’t too much later, lying inside my incubator Clenching my tiny newborn fists, trying to slit my little newborn wrists
While confined to my incubator, I had suicidal thoughts as a helpless newborn.

So I went to see the rabbi. I said ‘rabbi, why why why why why?’ He said ‘I’ve read the Torah and I’ve read the Talmud. You get born, you meet some people & then you die.’
I went to a rabbi seeking answers to life's meaning and the rabbi simply said, life is about being born, meeting people, and dying as told in the holy books of Judaism.

He said ‘everybody has a tiny Pope inside their head! Go forth and multiply – that’s all the tiny Pope ever says.’
The rabbi explained that the human mind is like having a tiny Pope in your head, that constantly urges you to have children and make more of your kind.

Then he said ‘cause after all is said and done, from womb to tomb and sperm to worm There’s nothing much else to do, so you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do:
The rabbi concluded that, from birth to death, there's nothing much else you can do except to accept your fate and do whatever you please in between.

Dance, dance, dance, and romance. You just can’t help but dance. Dance, dance, dance, and romance. Take off your pants and dance.
The song concludes by conveying the message that, in this brief existence of ours, we must dance, find love, and enjoy ourselves to the fullest because that's all there is to it. And, in the end, just take off your pants and dance carefree.

Contributed by Asher E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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