Burning

‘Burning’ by Wild Beasts is an alternative track from the album ‘Smother’ (2011). Its lyrics tell of being hauled up, pulled from dirt, and cast into the wind, with an image of fire licking at walls and the speaker being dragged burning across coals. The repeated sense of rescue quickly turns into shame, with the narrator left fallen and clutching. The vocal performance and language feel intense and physical, as if the song keeps switching between deliverance and punishment, ending on a posture of damage control rather than escape. One quoted phrase captures the turn, “You drag me burning across the coals”.