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Burning Ground Lyrics
And I take you down to the burning ground
And you change me up and you turned it around
In the wind and rain I'm gonna see you again
In the morning sun and when the day is done
And you take my hand and you walk with me
Sometimes it feels like eternity
And I turn the tide I get back my pride
And I make you proud won't you say it out loud
When I take you down to the burning ground
To the burning ground, to the burning ground
To the burning ground, to the burning ground
And I take you down by the factory
And I show you like it has to be
And you understand how the work is done
And I pick up the sack in the midday sun
And I pull you through by the skin of your teeth
And I lift the veil, I see what's underneath
And you return to me and you sit on your throne
And you make me feel that I'm not alone
And I take you down to the burning ground
To the burning ground, to the burning ground
To the burning ground
Hey man, what's that you're carrying?
Feels like lead
It weighs a ton - let's see if we can dump it by the side of the hill
Hey wait up, why don't you dump it on the burning ground
Dump it down there
Yeh man, dump the Jute
Hey man dump the Jute on the burning ground
Dump the Jute?
Yeh you know, dump the Jute
Dump the Jute!
On the burning ground
On the burning ground
And you make me think what it's all about
Sometimes I know gonna work it out
And I watch you run in the crimson sun
Tear my shirt apart open up my heart
And I watch you run
Down on your bended knees
By the burnt out well
Can you tell me please
Between heaven and hell
Won't you take me down
To the burning ground, to the burning ground
To the burning ground, to the burning ground
And you fall and pray, when you hear that sound
As we're walking back to the burial mound
And you shake your head and you turn it around
And you see the flames from the burning ground
And you get down on your knees and pray
And I catch my breath as we're running away
And I take the Jute and I throw him down
On the burning ground, on the burning ground
On the burning ground, it's on the burning ground....
One of Van's great songs. His Dad was an electrician on the Belfast docks and this song celebrates both father and son relationships and the expectation of working class life - hard physical work. The burning ground was just an area of the docks where they burnt rubbish.
I think the song's about knowing your place and belonging to somewhere. The song describes his Dad leaving the house early and returning late, working in all kinds of weather. His Dad takes Van down to his workplace and shows him the world of work. As a young lad this is where Van expects he will work when he gets older. Van has pride in his roots, he can "turn the tide" and look back at a secure childhood.
I think the song also goes into Van letting his Dad glimpse into his own world of work when he's much older, and here the burning ground is just a metaphor for a place of hard work. The song switches from the passionate remembrance of youth into a wonderful joke of musicians bitching about the 'hard labour' of studio work - slacking off from lugging jute sacks by dumping them on their burning ground.
And then it gets serious again as Van talks of his own father's passing, switching perspectives as he does so (I/you/he), remembering those days of his Belfast youth in the security of his father's company.
@Paega My wife and I saw Van perform this at the Hollywood Bowl about 4-5 years ago. He closed the show with him and Tom Jones jamming on this song. It was amazing, especially for me since I had never heard the song before. Thank you for such an inspiring comment.
@Paega My wife and I saw Van perform this at the Hollywood Bowl about 4-5 years ago. He closed the show with him and Tom Jones jamming on this song. It was amazing, especially for me since I had never heard the song before. Thank you for such an inspiring comment.
Jute is a fiber they use to make like burlap sacks and stuff. I think the burning ground is a place (in your head) where you can destroy things - old memories, things that are weighing you down, etc. I think this song is about struggling with a breakup.
You're right about burning ground but notice toward the end of the song he refers to "the Jute" as "him" (And I take the Jute and I throw him down). That makes me think he is referring to the the Mutt and Jute episode in Finnegan's Wake. Being quite possibly the most cryptic book written, it's hard to give easy analysis of what this means but you could argue the Jute represents confusion (particularly about identity) and frustration (particularly frustrated understanding).
You're right about burning ground but notice toward the end of the song he refers to "the Jute" as "him" (And I take the Jute and I throw him down). That makes me think he is referring to the the Mutt and Jute episode in Finnegan's Wake. Being quite possibly the most cryptic book written, it's hard to give easy analysis of what this means but you could argue the Jute represents confusion (particularly about identity) and frustration (particularly frustrated understanding).
@OntheHeath
@OntheHeath
Irish doesn't have the word "it", so the Irish may use he or she instead of "it" when speaking English, see here bitesize.irish/blog/i-me-he-him/
Irish doesn't have the word "it", so the Irish may use he or she instead of "it" when speaking English, see here bitesize.irish/blog/i-me-he-him/
Similarly, people of Irish descent (including some Liverpudlian English folk) use "yous" to refer to the second person plural.
Similarly, people of Irish descent (including some Liverpudlian English folk) use "yous" to refer to the second person plural.
There remains a lot of mystery in this song from Van's 1997 album, The Healing Game. He sang it recently at the Cyprus Avenue gigs when he made reference to his "daddy" taking him to this place. It may refer to the old Belfast Rope Works off the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast so he may have got his inspiration from a common scene from his childhood when jute was shipped to Belfast from India in the 1950s. The original is sung at a fast pace but at concerts now he tends to weave seamlessly into Burning Ground from another song and he becomes slightly animated with various actions but the enigma maintains the mystery of what actually the song is about. I'm sure there are other connections I know nothing about.