Burning in the Skies

Album: A Thousand Suns (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This Rick Rubin-produced track is the third single from Linkin Park's fourth album, A Thousand Suns. The song made its full live debut at Linkin Park's Melbourne, Australia, show on December 13, 2010 during their A Thousand Suns World Tour.
  • The lyrics are awash with references of ruin and appears to be a self-chastising lament for mistakes of the past. It finds co-frontman Chester Bennington beseeching in the chorus: "I'm swimming in the smoke of bridges I've burnt/ So don't apologize I'm losing what I don't deserve." There are thematic similarities to the band's 2007 hit single, "What I've Done."
  • The album finds Linkin Park straying even further from their nu-metal roots into the realm of electronica and experimental rock in the vein of Radiohead's 2004 album, Kid A. Co-vocalist Mike Shinoda said the band drew on a range of influences for the album's sound. "I was listening to a lot of Radiohead, everything from MGMT to Pink Floyd," he explained in a 2020 Twitch stream. "I think there was some Nine Inch Nails and Tool in there. We a bunch of remixes with other people that were based on some of the things I was listening to at the time. But I wasn't listening to new Nine Inch Nails at the time - it was old Nine Inch Nails, like Broken and Fragile. The first four proper studio albums by Nine Inch Nails are my favorite ones. Also weird instrumental music, I was listening to like Gonjasufi and this group called f--kbuttons. Those are super crazy, by the way... Flying Lotus too... some really out there stuff which I loved and I still love. Tarot Sport was the album, Rough Steez," that was a track. So dope. Gang Gang Dance was another artist I was into that I was listening to a lot. Holy F--k was another band. O+S, Caribou, Peter Bjorn and John, Naked & Famous. So I was listening to a lot of wild stuff and those influenced it."
  • This was used in the 2014 movie How To Train Your Dragon 2.
  • In the slow-motion music video, directed by Linkin Park DJ Joe Hahn, people unwittingly live out their final before being caught in the blast radius of a nuclear explosion in downtown Los Angeles. The concept ties in with the album's apocalyptic themes.

Comments: 2

  • Zero from Nowhere, NjI could probably see a political theme with this song as well. With the theme of war and desctruction that go with this album. Burning bridges with other countries, one country attacks another and the provoked country strikes back and it's the innocent that suffer (the blood of innocence burning in the skies). Or it could also be taken as a conflict between two people. To each his own.
  • Shadow from Depression, VaVery pretty :D
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.

Band Names

Band NamesFact or Fiction

Was "Pearl" Eddie Vedder's grandmother, and did she really make a hallucinogenic jam? Did Journey have a contest to name the group? And what does KISS stand for anyway?

90s Music Quiz 1

90s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

First question: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson appeared in videos for what artist?

Mick Jones of Foreigner

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.