By The Landlord
"It takes two flints to make a fire." – Louisa May Alcott
"I am a phoenix who runs after arsonists." – Saul Bellow
“Fire destroys that which feeds it” – Simone Weil
"The innovative leader has to be an arsonist and a firefighter.” – Paul Sloane
"The spread of civilisation may be likened to a fire; first, a feeble spark, next a flickering flame, then a mighty blaze, ever increasing in speed and power." – Nikola Tesla
“Husbands are like fires – they go out when unattended." – Zsa Zsa Gabor
It is what keeps us alive, but will ultimately kill us off. It is cave and hearth comfort, history’s social focal point, but also a tool of death and destruction. It is love and desire, it is inspiration and passion, it can be ritualistic, and religious, and also dangerous, dazzling entertainment. But whether our giant flaming sun will ultimately expand and destroy our planet in a billion years seems a little academic, right now there are many other activities leading to our ultimate demise. For example, imagine choosing to be the anarchic standout comedian Chris Lynam, who has spent the past 35 years making a living by deciding to dance naked and climax each show by lighting a firework stuck up his arse.
Chris Lynam. Hair today, gone tomorrow?
When Jimi Hendrix set fire to his guitar at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, there is much myth and mystery surrounding the incident. His performance seemed beguiling, sexual, primal almost, especially his in movements has he fanned the flames, but according to manager Chas Chandler, the reason he destroyed it, with such panache and a smashing, Pete Townshend-like follow-up was because he’s already accidentally cracked the body of his Fender Stratocaster. However, this led to a number of later, much hyped and theatrical performances where the stunt was pulled to go with the song, Fire.
Also on stage, Bobby Jensen of the Kiss tribute band Strutter likes a bit of fire-eating, but it’s hard not to admire this moment last year when despite sparks from a firework ignited his ample hair, he kept on playing without missing a note. This clip is better with the sound down to avoid the commentary:
That aside, this week’s theme is not about fire in general (and was previously touched dup on the dawn of time, with 10 songs. Anything about fire might simple spread out of control, so let’s be slightly more focused, where fire is lit on purpose, not by accident. So that could take you into any number of contexts, from fireworks to cigarettes, or far more violent acts such as the arson of buildings (such as of the German Reichstag in 1933, a famous political move that led to the suspension of civil liberties), to the burning of people, witches most famously in Salem in the late 17th century. Deliberate fire certainly plays a part in social control.
Fire of course, in several parts of the world in a burning issue in terms of climate change, particularly Australia, but also the Amazon, Africa, and Russia. Bushfires of course are not deliberate, but the causes that lead to them are, the refusal to acknowledge climate change by governments, to remain in league with the fossil fuel industry is, in effect, like setting a match to every dried up forest. It literally is fiddling (for short-term gain) while Rome burns.
The combustion engine of course is one of the most profound inventions of the last 100 years, pushing us forward, but also leading to long-term pollution and climate change. It’s ignition feels necessary to many lives but is also killing us. On a lighter note, the late Clive James described a famous British Formula 1 racing commentator: “Even in moments of tranquility, Murray Walker sounds like a man whose trousers are on fire.”
Setting a match can have even more chilling and profound political meaning on a personal level, particularly the case of Thích Quảng Đức the Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection on 11 June 1963 in protest at the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government led by Ngô Đình Diệm.
Thích Quảng Đức in Saigon, 1963
Fire has also always had a powerful symbolic meaning in religion, myth and literature. Switching now to fiction, though deliberate burning has never been far from true human activity, the final scene of 1973’s The Wicker Man still remains one of film’s most shocking and brilliant, never really bettered, particularly in the appalling remake starring Nicholas Cage, or indeed the shock-horror alternative story, Midsommar. But while that last giant sacrificial burning is well known, there is fire through the plot of The Wicker Man. Deliberate fire worship is also seen as symbolic of life, as in the naked leaping over flames in this earlier scene.
Deliberate fire, and indeed nudity, is utterly rampant in George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones from the Songs of Ice and Fire series, whether that be in horrendous ritualistic sacrifice, or forms of burning under supervision of flaming redhead Melisandre of Asshai, or more combative swordplay or life-saving antics by Thoros, the red priest of R'hllor from the city of Myr. But perhaps the biggest fire moment, other than with all the dragons, is when Daenerys Targaryen emerges from a burning ruin to prove her true heritage. “What matters most is how well you walk through the fire,” said Charles Bukowski. Indeed. Daenerys’s clothes burn up of course, but why not her hair?
Fire of course is a tool of that brings her to heady heights but also gets out of control. Those dragons do get a bit carried away:
It’s dragon on a bit …
So then, we come to the point when several Bar guests are all now gathered around our fire to tell us more about the subject. “The serial arsonist is the most difficult to apprehend because the evidence is burned up,” Joseph Wambaugh, but that wasn’t the case of the Nazi-sympathiser and arsonist Tristan Morgan, who tried to set a synagogue on fire in Exeter last year, pouring petrol everywhere, only to find that when he set fire to it it exploded in his face.
CCTV shows how things backfire for a racist Exeter arsonist
“The deepest lessons come out of the deepest waters and the hottest fires,” says Elisabeth Elliot. Indeed they do.
We also have several old sages in the Bar this week. “The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled,” says Plutarch. “It is with our Passions, as it is with Fire and Water, they are Good Servants, but Bad Masters,” says Aesop.
And there are also some literary heavyweights are large. Here’s just a couple of many sparking out: “To love is to burn, to be on fire,“ writes Jane Austen. “Fire that's closest kept burns most of all,” adds William Shakespeare.
And finally setting fire to things might also be metaphorical. Here’s David Bowie, describing a particularly sparky moment in his musical inspiration. “When I heard Little Richard, it just set my world on fire.”
Let’s close then with an obvious song that’s already been chosen and be dazzled by the flames of Arthur Brown:
Now it is time to let you bright sparks set your own musical candles aflame. I’m delighted also to welcome this week’s keeper of the flame, fanning your suggestions with skill and warmth, the superb swawilg! Nominations close at last orders 11pm UK time on Monday, for playlists published on Wednesday. It will be most illuminating.
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