Lyrics to
Burning Sky

This version of Burning Sky was released by The Jam in 1979.

Our About The Jam page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Burning Sky from 1979 as well as all of the other lyrics from The Jam that we have in our lyrics database.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to The Jam or about the 1970s in general.

How are things in your little world?
I hope they’re going well, and you are too
Do you still see the same old crowd?
The ones who used to meet every Friday
I’m really sorry that I can’t be there
But work comes first, I’m sure you’ll understand
Things are really taking off for me
Business is thriving, and I’m showing a profit

And in any case it wouldn’t be the same
‘Cause we’ve all grown up, and we’ve got our lives
And the values that we had once upon a time
Seem stupid now, ’cause the rent must be paid
And some bonds severed, and others made

Now I don’t want you to get me wrong
Ideals are fine when you are young
And I must admit we had a laugh
But that’s all it was and ever will be

‘Cause the burning sky keeps burning bright
And as long as it does (and it always will)
There’s no time for dreams when commerce calls
And the taxman’s shouting, ’cause he wants his dough
And the wheels of finance won’t begin to slow

And it’s only us realists who are gonna come through
‘Cause there’s only one power higher than that of truth
And that’s the burning sky

Oh and by the way I must tell you
Before I sign off, that I’ve got a meeting next week
With the head of a big corporate
I can’t disclose who, but I’m sure you’ll know it

And the burning sky keeps burning bright
And it won’t turn off till it’s had enough
It’s the greedy bastard who won’t give up
And you’re just a dreamer if you don’t realize
And the sooner you do will be the better for you
Then we’ll all be happy, and we’ll all be wise
And all bow down to the burning sky

Then we’ll all be happy, and we’ll all be wise
And together we will live beneath the burning sky

---

Want more lyrics and songs by The Jam?

The Jam has released many songs over the years besides Burning Sky. The Jam released songs from 1977 to 1992 spanning across albums like This Is The Modern World, In The City, All Mod Cons, Setting Sons, Sound Affects, Dig The New Breed, The Gift, and Extras. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by The Jam.

If you're a fan of 1970s music looking for more songs from 1979 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Burning Sky by The Jam

The lyrics to Burning Sky are just the words, phrases, verses and chorus that The Jam used when the song was created in 1979. The lyrics to Burning Sky have both easy-to-spot meanings and hidden metaphors that have been discussed by the music press and fans, but only The Jam and any collaborators know all of the inspirations for the song.

If you like etymology or breaking apart phrases and words, it is easy to understand the lyrics to Burning Sky by The Jam. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Burning Sky" means the words set to the music of Burning Sky, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by The Jam. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Burning Sky and the lyrics to Burning Sky are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of The Jam who came here looking just for the lyrics to Burning Sky, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

More Songs & Lyrics by The Jam

Visit our The Jam profile for more The Jam songs, lyrics & info!

)