Lyric discussion by BarryKardon 

Cover art for Burning Down the House lyrics by Talking Heads

Just to add to what's already been said- on the commentary for the Stop Making Sense DVD, David Byrne mentions how the lyrics to this particular song make absolutely no sense at all. The individual couplets alone make sense, but they have nothing to do with the lyrics before or after them. Also, he does mention the P-Funk connection and how he thought the chant would make a catchy chorus, but the rest of the lyrics he kinda laughs at.