From the recording Let It Burn (Martin's Folly, 1996)
"Let It Burn" is from the first Martin's Folly album, self-titled. We recorded it at Coyote Studio in Brooklyn in October 1995, on the night we turned the clocks back to Eastern Standard Time. That may have contributed to the vibe on the tune.
Vocals by Chris Gray. He and I wrote the tune. I came up with the title after a trip to Brazil. I had heard the expression "Deixa Queimar," "let it burn," meaning let it go, don't fuss with it. Chris took the lyrics a step further.
Producer is Eric "Roscoe" Ambel, who also plays one of the acoustic guitars. and that fine harmonica solo is by Andy York. I play organ. I had a head cold that night, so I was able to reach the low notes on the backup vocals.
Lyrics
When you said
What you said when you told me
You told me more than I knew
That's not much, but I missed it, I missed it all
That's OK, so you said, then you showed me
You showed me more, more than I wanted
And more, more than I needed
Let it burn, it's all I got
And I'll burn it, I'll burn it to the ground
Your hand was out, so I reached
And you pulled it, you pulled it away
Not too far, not far enough, so I grabbed it
I pulled it back, back to me
That was good, but it faded, it faded away, away from me
Is there nothing, nothing left to say?
Let it burn, it's all I've got
And I'll burn it, I'll burn down for you
Let it burn, it's all I've got
And I'll burn it, I'll burn it down for you
You're all I wanted, you're all I needed
I hope, I hope these things were true
All I have is what I got
And you can have it
You can take this from me
In return, not much, just an answer
Or even a lie, that's OK
I lie too and you know it, it's what we do
It's what we know
I take, I take these things from you
Let it burn, it's all I've got
And I"ll burn it, I'll burn it down for you
Let it burn