"Burn the Witch" | ||||||||
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Single by Radiohead | ||||||||
from the album A Moon Shaped Pool | ||||||||
B-side | "Spectre" (vinyl) | |||||||
Released | 3 May 2016 | |||||||
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Genre | ||||||||
Length | 3:40 | |||||||
Label | XL | |||||||
Writer(s) | Radiohead | |||||||
Producer(s) |
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Radiohead singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Burn the Witch" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 3 May 2016 as the lead single from their ninth studio album A Moon Shaped Pool (2016). Radiohead developed the song for over a decade, first working on it during the sessions for their fourth album, Kid A (2000). It features a string section playing col legno battuto, producing a percussive sound, arranged by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood.
"Burn the Witch" was accompanied by a stop-motion animated music video that pays homage to the 1960s British children's television programme Camberwick Green and the 1973 British horror film The Wicker Man. Some critics interpreted the lyrics and video as a warning against groupthink and authoritarianism. The song received positive reviews and was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.
Radiohead worked on "Burn the Witch" during the sessions for their albums Kid A (2000), Hail to the Thief (2003), and In Rainbows (2007), but were not satisfied with the results. The phrase "burn the witch" appears in the Hail to the Thief album artwork. Singer Thom Yorke mentioned the song in a 2005 blog entry on Radiohead's website and posted lyrics in 2007. Radiohead briefly "teased" the song in performances in 2006 and 2008, but never played it in full.
When asked in 2013 about the status of Radiohead's unreleased songs, including "Burn the Witch", Radiohead's longtime producer Nigel Godrich responded: "Everything will surface one day... it all exists... and so [they] will eventually get there, I'm sure." He cited the song "Nude", released on Radiohead's 2007 album In Rainbows but written 12 years prior, as an example of a song that took several years to complete.