Burning Bridges

Album: Burning Bridges (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Burning Bridges is the last Bon Jovi album released through Mercury Records, signaling the end of a 32-year relationship. Frontman Jon Bon Jovi tells the whole story of their split in the record's title track:

    After 30 years of loyalty, they let you dig the grave
    Now maybe you can learn to sing or strum along
    Well I'll give you half the publishing
    You're why I wrote this song


    Bon Jovi told Billboard magazine: "It fulfills a commitment to Mercury Records. We've parted ways. If you listen to 'Burning Bridges,' the song, it's clearly spelled out."

    "This hits it right in the head and tells you what happened," he added. "Listen to the lyrics. That's that."
  • This wasn't the first time a rocker has recorded a bitter parting gift aimed at Mercury. In 1979 British rocker Graham Parker expressed his frustration with his label's inept marketing in "Mercury Poisoning."
  • The term 'To burn one's bridges' was originally used in a military sense of intentionally cutting off one's own retreat in order to commit oneself to a course of action. The phrase is now used primarily to reference the intentional alienating of relationships. Other artists that have recorded songs with the title "Burning Bridges" include Mike Curb Congregation, Information Society and Ludacris.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Mike Love of The Beach Boys

Mike Love of The Beach BoysSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.