veltBuch
songs

Burn It Down

Arising from a discussion about what to do with the old farmhouse, which is abandoned and slowly falling apart.

Summary

The song explores the process of demolishing an abandoned farmhouse, using repetition and a shift from narrative to reflective tone to convey the inevitability of letting go. It builds up through a series of descriptive lines, culminating in a final chorus that emphasizes the acceptance of ruin as a natural progression. The structure emphasizes a sense of finality and quiet resignation, with the repetition of "let it go" reinforcing the central theme.

Lyrics

Arising from a discussion about what to do with the old farmhouse, which is abandoned and slowly falling apart...

[Verse 1]
Burn the old house down
It’s a ruin
The termites are eating
The palings one by one

The weatherboards are rotten
The verandah fell away
Swallows in the bedrooms
And junk under the floor

[Pre-Chorus]
Thirty years of silence
Seeping through the frame
A day or so more
Can’t change the name

[Chorus]
Let it go, let it go
Ruin on the hill
Let it go, let it go
The bones are standing still
One more night, one more dawn
Then the dust can move on
Let it go, let it go
Ruin on the hill

[Verse 2]
There’s no one left to lock it
No one left to care
Old paint on the rafters
Rain in every stair

A big fire would be brutal
Yeah, brutal as they come
But the job’s already over
The house is nearly done

[Pre-Chorus]
Thistles at the threshold
Cold light in the halls
Nothing here is waiting
Nothing calls

[Chorus]
Let it go, let it go
Ruin on the hill
Let it go, let it go
The bones are standing still
One more night, one more dawn
Then the dust can move on
Let it go, let it go
Ruin on the hill

[Bridge]
Leave the nails in the timber
Leave the birds their room
If the roof caves in by morning
It will meet its moon

No more keys in pockets
No more names on the door
Just the wind through the framing
And the floor no more

[Final Chorus]
Let it go, let it go
Ruin on the hill
Let it go, let it go
The bones are standing still
One more night, one more dawn
Then the dust can move on
Let it go, let it go
Ruin on the hill

Detail

The song Burn It Down begins with a quiet, almost meditative question: what to do with the old farmhouse, which is abandoned and slowly deteriorating. The lyrics open with a simple, almost ritualistic declaration—“Burn the old house down”—and immediately set a tone of decay and deliberate action. The repetition of “let it go” in the chorus is not just a lyrical device but a philosophical one, suggesting a surrender to the inevitable.

This track functions as a study in Sedimentarianism — the valuing of administrative and architectural residues as they return to the earth. The farmhouse is no longer a site of human utility but a "ruin on the hill," transitioning from a "house" to a skeletal frame where "swallows in the bedrooms" represent the new residents.

The formal structure of the song is built around the repetition of the phrase “Let it go, let it go,” which appears in the chorus and is also present in the pre-chorus and the bridge. This repetition builds a sense of inevitability. The song doesn’t just describe the house—it invites the listener to accept the decay as a natural progression.

Cross-references