What It Is to Burn (song)

Last updated
"What It Is to Burn"
Finch what it is to burn.png
Single by Finch
from the album What It Is to Burn
ReleasedJanuary 2003
Genre
Length
  • 4:29
  • 4:51 (demo)
Label Drive-Thru
Songwriter(s) Nate Barcalow
Finch singles chronology
"What It Is to Burn"
(2003)
"Letters to You"
(2003)

"What It Is to Burn" is the first single and title track off the album What It Is to Burn by the U.S. post-hardcore band Finch. It was released as a single in 2003 and was featured in the pilot episode of One Tree Hill . A demo version of the song was released on the Drive-Thru Records compilation CD Welcome to the Family in 2001.

Contents

Background

In an interview with AOL, lead singer Nate Barcalow said he wrote this song from the viewpoint of a man in hell sending a letter to his loved one. [3]

"What It Is to Burn" was first released in 2001 as a demo for a compilation by Drive-Thru Records entitled Welcome to the Family. [4] This version is described as being longer and orchestral, as well as more popular within Finch's fanbase. [3] The song was re-recorded and added as the title track for Finch's debut album in 2002. [3] The shorter album version was released as a single in 2003, peaking at No. 15 on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart; to this date, it is Finch's only charting song in the United States.

Loudwire listed "What It Is to Burn" at No. 47 in their list of the Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs. [3]

Chart history

Chart (2003)Peak
position
US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [5] 15

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References

  1. "Top 46 post-hardcore songs from the 2000s". Alternative Press . February 10, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  2. "10 Essential Emo Power Ballads". Alternative Press . October 23, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hartmann, Graham (June 28, 2012). "No. 47: Finch, 'What It Is To Burn' – Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs". Loudwire . Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  4. Savage, Paul (February 23, 2002). "Finch Know What It Is to Burn". Punktastic. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  5. "Finch Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2017.