Rosanne Cash — Burn Down This Town
Album: Black CadillacAvg rating:
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Total ratings: 962
Length: 3:02
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This hills are burning, fields turn to steel
the big house is haunted with what we don't feel
the streets are empty, no one ever comes around
so you know they won't make a sound
burn down this town
My lungs are blackened with the smoke and sobs
so just be a man and finish the job
and I'll watch you from this distant place I've found
oh you know I won't make a sound
burn down this town
The clapboard jail and the co-op board
the garden club and the bedroom door
the sprinkled lawn and the mirrored hall
the Christmas tree
just burn it all
The sky is falling with ash and mud
we gotta make the promise, yeah blood to blood
so shut the door then slowly turn around
now you know you can't make a sound
burn down this town
The clapboard jail and the co-op board
the garden club and the bedroom door
the sprinkled lawn and the mirrored hall
the Christmas tree
just burn it all
burn down this town
the big house is haunted with what we don't feel
the streets are empty, no one ever comes around
so you know they won't make a sound
burn down this town
My lungs are blackened with the smoke and sobs
so just be a man and finish the job
and I'll watch you from this distant place I've found
oh you know I won't make a sound
burn down this town
The clapboard jail and the co-op board
the garden club and the bedroom door
the sprinkled lawn and the mirrored hall
the Christmas tree
just burn it all
The sky is falling with ash and mud
we gotta make the promise, yeah blood to blood
so shut the door then slowly turn around
now you know you can't make a sound
burn down this town
The clapboard jail and the co-op board
the garden club and the bedroom door
the sprinkled lawn and the mirrored hall
the Christmas tree
just burn it all
burn down this town
Comments (92)add comment
i love this song
cc_rider wrote:
jpfueler wrote:
heard an interveiw with her and she was amazed he came up with those off the top of his head, that being the days before Google and whatnot. Later when married (T-Bone Burnett iirc) and after he died, there was the list...waiting to be done.
Fine Artist from One of the Best Singers imo, Damn Fine
Thanks for the notes cc_rider + jpfueler : )
She really has not received the props she should, probably because her Dad is such an icon, everyone pales by comparison. But she's got some chops, maybe not like Johnny, but she does alright. I like the idea, and the execution, of a more recent album, I think it's called 'The List'. From amazon:
ROSANNE CASH
When I was 18, I was on the road with my dad. One day, we were sitting in the tour bus, talking about songs, and he mentioned a song, and I said, “I don’t know that one.” He mentioned another one, and I said, “I don’t know that one, either.” Then he started to get alarmed, so he spent the rest of the day making a list on a legal pad, and at the top he put “100 Essential Country Songs.” And he handed it to me and he said, “This is your education.”
ROSANNE CASH
When I was 18, I was on the road with my dad. One day, we were sitting in the tour bus, talking about songs, and he mentioned a song, and I said, “I don’t know that one.” He mentioned another one, and I said, “I don’t know that one, either.” Then he started to get alarmed, so he spent the rest of the day making a list on a legal pad, and at the top he put “100 Essential Country Songs.” And he handed it to me and he said, “This is your education.”
jpfueler wrote:
heard an interveiw with her and she was amazed he came up with those off the top of his head, that being the days before Google and whatnot. Later when married (T-Bone Burnett iirc) and after he died, there was the list...waiting to be done.
Fine Artist from One of the Best Singers imo, Damn Fine
Thanks for the notes cc_rider + jpfueler : )
Love this song. If I had some matches I'd help her.
This should be on an episode of Nashville! Like it (this song and Nashville).
Relayer wrote:
Yeah, country music -- just like rock and roll -- has lots of variants and dialects. The Nashville hit machine is just the 'least common denominator' version. I really go for this style, and the styles that seem more closely related to the Allman Brothers than Ricky Garth Chestnut Jackson.
PS: Had a sailing dinghy named Relayer once upon a time. She was yar.
I absolutely HATE country music, but love this (as well as her Rules of Travel). I guess then I really just hate that crummy pop country that everyone listens to, and I must say this is expanding my taste in music (thanks again Radioparadise).
Yeah, country music -- just like rock and roll -- has lots of variants and dialects. The Nashville hit machine is just the 'least common denominator' version. I really go for this style, and the styles that seem more closely related to the Allman Brothers than Ricky Garth Chestnut Jackson.
PS: Had a sailing dinghy named Relayer once upon a time. She was yar.
The entire album is great. Thanks for playing some!
cc_rider wrote:
heard an interveiw with her and she was amazed he came up with those off the top of his head, that being the days before Google and whatnot. Later when married (T-Bone Burnett iirc) and after he died, there was the list...waiting to be done.
She really has not received the props she should, probably because her Dad is such an icon, everyone pales by comparison. But she's got some chops, maybe not like Johnny, but she does alright. I like the idea, and the execution, of a more recent album, I think it's called 'The List'. From amazon:
ROSANNE CASH
When I was 18, I was on the road with my dad. One day, we were sitting in the tour bus, talking about songs, and he mentioned a song, and I said, “I don’t know that one.” He mentioned another one, and I said, “I don’t know that one, either.” Then he started to get alarmed, so he spent the rest of the day making a list on a legal pad, and at the top he put “100 Essential Country Songs.” And he handed it to me and he said, “This is your education.”
ROSANNE CASH
When I was 18, I was on the road with my dad. One day, we were sitting in the tour bus, talking about songs, and he mentioned a song, and I said, “I don’t know that one.” He mentioned another one, and I said, “I don’t know that one, either.” Then he started to get alarmed, so he spent the rest of the day making a list on a legal pad, and at the top he put “100 Essential Country Songs.” And he handed it to me and he said, “This is your education.”
heard an interveiw with her and she was amazed he came up with those off the top of his head, that being the days before Google and whatnot. Later when married (T-Bone Burnett iirc) and after he died, there was the list...waiting to be done.
Awesome segue. First time I heard them together.
Father to Daughter, how cool is that !
Father to Daughter, how cool is that !
Awesome! I stop what I am doing... and turn it up, way up
She is wonderful!! Saw her live back in the day.
llyon wrote:
ROSANNE CASH
When I was 18, I was on the road with my dad. One day, we were sitting in the tour bus, talking about songs, and he mentioned a song, and I said, “I don’t know that one.” He mentioned another one, and I said, “I don’t know that one, either.” Then he started to get alarmed, so he spent the rest of the day making a list on a legal pad, and at the top he put “100 Essential Country Songs.” And he handed it to me and he said, “This is your education.”
Have always loved Roseanne. When this song was playing I had to click to see who it was because it was so good. Said to myself "But, of course" when I saw it was her. Still consistent after all these years.
She really has not received the props she should, probably because her Dad is such an icon, everyone pales by comparison. But she's got some chops, maybe not like Johnny, but she does alright. I like the idea, and the execution, of a more recent album, I think it's called 'The List'. From amazon:ROSANNE CASH
When I was 18, I was on the road with my dad. One day, we were sitting in the tour bus, talking about songs, and he mentioned a song, and I said, “I don’t know that one.” He mentioned another one, and I said, “I don’t know that one, either.” Then he started to get alarmed, so he spent the rest of the day making a list on a legal pad, and at the top he put “100 Essential Country Songs.” And he handed it to me and he said, “This is your education.”
How is this rated so low? An easy eight on lyrical content alone.
Have always loved Roseanne. When this song was playing I had to click to see who it was because it was so good. Said to myself "But, of course" when I saw it was her. Still consistent after all these years.
Awesome
Nice!
I absolutely HATE country music, but love this (as well as her Rules of Travel). I guess then I really just hate that crummy pop country that everyone listens to, and I must say this is expanding my taste in music (thanks again Radioparadise).
Rosanne Cash by DerekBrad
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dbkuber/
@ XPoNential Music Festival
https://www.derekbrad.com/
All rights reservedexcellent album
wow...great power in the voice. Apple didn't fall far from the tree, IMO.
RParadise wrote:
Neither did he at this age.
Besides, comparison to true greatness is a horrible way to judge. Most of us would come up very diminished. Just listen to the music, hear the lyrics, and make a judgment based on your own taste. We will all respect that.
Well, most of us will.
Can we get Bill to post this as the RP Credo:
"Just listen to the music, hear the lyrics, and make a judgment based on your own taste. We will all respect that."
Neither did he at this age.
Besides, comparison to true greatness is a horrible way to judge. Most of us would come up very diminished. Just listen to the music, hear the lyrics, and make a judgment based on your own taste. We will all respect that.
Well, most of us will.
Can we get Bill to post this as the RP Credo:
"Just listen to the music, hear the lyrics, and make a judgment based on your own taste. We will all respect that."
So, when the Cashes left town, did they burn the place?
Great song.
rjewyo wrote:
Great song.
rjewyo wrote:
And she rode the school bus with me too!!!!
And she rode the school bus with me too!!!!
Johnny Cash / I'm Leaving Now———->Rosanne Cash / Burn Down This Town
I get it. Love it. Thanks Bill!
Great song, great CD. I heard it here first. Thanks.
Rosanne Cash is at the core of "real" country, not the Nashville variety.
AdyMiles wrote:
You must have had a nice childhood. I relate to the trauma. 8 — > 9.
this is decent, but lacking something
You must have had a nice childhood. I relate to the trauma. 8 — > 9.
Rosanne Cash rules in her own right. Never compare. I love her music!
this is decent, but lacking something
coffee-eyes wrote:
Neither did he at this age.
Besides, comparison to true greatness is a horrible way to judge. Most of us would come up very diminished. Just listen to the music, hear the lyrics, and make a judgment based on your own taste. We will all respect that.
Well, most of us will.
Perhaps I need to listen to more of her music, but judging by this song alone, she just doesn't have the soul and grit of her father. 
Neither did he at this age.
Besides, comparison to true greatness is a horrible way to judge. Most of us would come up very diminished. Just listen to the music, hear the lyrics, and make a judgment based on your own taste. We will all respect that.
Well, most of us will.
had to turn it up cause it was a nasty rasty singin song
coffee-eyes wrote:
Maybe, but then who has?
Perhaps I need to listen to more of her music, but judging by this song alone, she just doesn't have the soul and grit of her father.
Maybe, but then who has?
Perhaps I need to listen to more of her music, but judging by this song alone, she just doesn't have the soul and grit of her father.
most would say 99% of your stuff / comments are crap, ehh psycho?
phallic genius wrote:
phallic genius wrote:
I was going to make a comment but I fell asleep on the way to the keyboard.
cc_rider wrote:
'Black Cadillac' is some of Rosanne's best work. She's growing into a 'harder' sound, more bluesy and raw. It ain't Lightin' or Muddy, but it's got more edge than her earlier work. I still love 'Tennessee Flat Top Box' though...
c.
Absolutely.
lattalo wrote:
This CD is very good, but I still like her song My Old Man. It is a song about her Dad.
I personally like "September When It Comes," which took on an entirely new level of depth and eeriness on 12 September 2003...
cc_rider wrote:
'Black Cadillac' is some of Rosanne's best work. She's growing into a 'harder' sound, more bluesy and raw. It ain't Lightin' or Muddy, but it's got more edge than her earlier work. I still love 'Tennessee Flat Top Box' though...
c.
This CD is very good, but I still like her song My Old Man. It is a song about her Dad.
physicsgenius wrote:
I was going to make a comment but I fell asleep on the way to the keyboard.
Must be some sleep...from May 2006...the only benefit from playing music like this
Thanks RP, a great choice..........
excellent choice Bill!
Honeyman wrote:
Goin' thru some serious medical issues right now.
Prayers with Rosanne.
Heard that today, or yesterday. Maybe I need the brain surgery?
not much of a fan but good luck to her.
Goin' thru some serious medical issues right now.
Prayers with Rosanne.
celt wrote:
the mind boggles!
Great song by a great songwriter/musician. Some here just need to go back listening to their favorite American Idol singers. 
... yea, talk 'bout different strokes for different folks?
same here in oz, huge contingent of idol heads the mind boggles!
Great song by a great songwriter/musician. Some here just need to go back listening to their favorite American Idol singers.
I just bailed from LRC to come here. I figured that THIS had to be better listening than "Ring of Fire" by Eric Burdon and the Animals. Bill's definately in a fiery mood today...
seltzer wrote:
second time hearing this song on RP. Very pleased to catch it again! I'd follow it up with her daddy's "Ring of Fire."
Farquwaar wrote: You Sir are a horse's ass!!!
I kinda like physicsgenius. He's funny.
'Black Cadillac' is some of Rosanne's best work. She's growing into a 'harder' sound, more bluesy and raw. It ain't Lightin' or Muddy, but it's got more edge than her earlier work. I still love 'Tennessee Flat Top Box' though...
c.
Stingray wrote:
Sorry, but this is kinda bullshit, no matter her name and the musicians. That's the 80's and it's bores me to death! Rock for grandma's in their last spring!
Burn down this song!
Stingray!
Go away.
Sorry, but this is kinda bullshit, no matter her name and the musicians. That's the 80's and it's bores me to death! Rock for grandma's in their last spring!
Burn down this song!
Stingray!
As big a disappointment as Julian Lennon. Not for me.
jedzep wrote:
Love what sounds like a Hammond B3 throughout.
Same here. Liner notes credit Benmont Tench on "organ"--and he plays nothin' but a Hammond B3.
Good choice, Bill
I like this. I was surprised is was Roseanne Cash, though. Should I be?
physicsgenius wrote:
I was going to make a comment but I fell asleep on the way to the keyboard.
Farquwaar wrote: You Sir are a horse's ass!!!
Or an ass's arse.
Love what sounds like a Hammond B3 throughout.
I'm sure there's something good about this for somebody, but not me. 
DianaL wrote:
I like the voice but the music itself doesn't do very much for me.
I agree. I find this song terribly dull and can't wait for it to be over.
remind anyone else of Robert Earl Keen's Christmas Song?
Its a good song but it feels like its in heavy rotation. Well... heavy by RP's standards
physicsgenius wrote: You Sir are a horse's ass!!!
I was going to make a comment but I fell asleep on the way to the keyboard.
Roseann Cash has a nice sound. I hadn't heard her music in quite a while until here on rp. I give a good solid 7.54321
How I love a B-3 / Leslie!!!
I like the voice but the music itself doesn't do very much for me...not a big fan of country...
physicsgenius wrote:
I was going to make a comment but I fell asleep on the way to the keyboard.
Do you like anything?
physicsgenius wrote:
physicsgenius
(90% of everything is crap)
PG, you forgot something in your disclaimer:
Including the opinions posited herein.
Sorry, but this is yet another example of a likeable tune on RadioParadise. Thanks. Bye bye.
I was going to make a comment but I fell asleep on the way to the keyboard.
Whoah now.. wait a minute. Rosanne ain't country. Also, she writes great music and has one of the best studio bands around.
This song, however, is not one of my favorites.. drags a bit..... predictable... not one of her better efforts..
What's next? Toby Keith?
Should follow this with Shawn Colvin "Get out of this House"
Incredibly boring.
Getting closer, but still not quite Buck Owens.
I like.. 
second time hearing this song on RP. Very pleased to catch it again! I'd follow it up with her daddy's "Ring of Fire."
crockydile wrote:
Link : For Rosanne Cash, Family Is Inspiration
World Cafe, March 3, 2006 ยท Alt-Country singer and songwriter Rosanne Cash's latest album, Black Cadillac is surely some of her finest -- and darkest -- work to date. Over a span of two years, Rosanne Cash suffered devastating losses: her mother, step-mother, June Carter Cash, and father, the great Johnny Cash
Apparently this is about her dad's penchant for setting things on fire. She's saying "why don't you just burn everything while you're at it." . . .
I heard Rosanne do an interview w/David Dye of NPR's World Cafe from WXPN . As I recall, she commented that many of Johnny's & June's things were to go to Sotheby's after their deaths. She said "when you lose your parents, you lose your childhood homes." Dye apparently found this idea related to Burn Down This Town. Rosanne related the comment to House on the Lake. I think it well applies to both pieces. I am a person deeply affected by a sense of place. That comment she made struck me like a punch in the gut and has since stuck with me. The whole album gets to me and I find it extremely difficult to listen, as I have aging parents. It is a very fine album, IMHO.
The interview includes live acoustic performances of album tracks and also her Seven Year Ache. It's a great interview as is everything done by our own DFD.
I thought about that after I sent the message. I was being stupid. Sorry!
paulnew2000 wrote:
Apparently this is about her dad's penchant for setting things on fire. She's saying "why don't you just burn everything while you're at it."
My post was in reference to the music...sets me on fire.
PeteyGreens wrote:
Listen a little closer next time.
Apparently this is about her dad's penchant for setting things on fire. She's saying "why don't you just burn everything while you're at it."
My post was in reference to the music...sets me on fire.
Thank you! Thank you! A goddess then a god! Rosanne and Mark in a row! Thank you for confirming that I might actually be listening to the right music all these years! Radio Paradise has saved my soul! Glory! Glory!
PeteyGreens wrote:
She'll be at the Birchmere in Alexandria on March 19. GO!!!!!
Oh GOD! I haven't been to the Birchmere in AGES! What a great place to see her. Dunno if I can swing it though. Will have to call some folks in NOVA and see if I can find anyone who wants to go. Thanks for the head's up!
Antigone wrote:
I think Johnny would be proud!
She'll be at the Birchmere in Alexandria on March 19. GO!!!!!
paulnew2000 wrote: Burn it all!!
Listen a little closer next time.
Burn it all!! The whole album is as good as this song. Check out the albums "The Wheel" and "Rules of Travel" if you like what you hear from her new album. Her husband/producer John Levanthal adds a distinctive, unmistakable touch. Glad you are giving Rosanne plenty of air time!!!
beelzebubba wrote:
Anybody own/heard the rest of this album???
I sure would like to know if the rest of it kicks ass as much as this ditty...
It's a really great album that walks the line between a lot of different genres, without ever going too far into one direction or the other. This album has a little something for everyone. The title track, Black Cadillac, kicks even more ass than Burn Down This Town. And there are some great lyrics on this album. One of my favorites is the chorus to Like Fugitives.
"It's a strange new world we live in where the church leads you to hell, and the lawyers get the money for the lives they divide and sell. And, the only world believed in is the one up on the screen. So, we all just live like fugitives when we were meant to live like queens."
I highly recommend this album.
Burn it all!! Anybody own/heard the rest of this album???
I sure would like to know if the rest of it kicks ass as much as this ditty...
Nice segue -- from father to daughter....
I think Johnny would be proud!
Glad to hear Rosanne is back stronger than ever. I hear great things about this album. Good to get a sample of it here on RP.
She's been on heavy rotation, lately! =)
A little country - a little rock and roll. Strong voice - must have been the genes.........
Eddie likes it 
very cool!
Me likey! This is the second time I've heard Bill pimp this song. With good reason me thinketh.