Songs about Fire often capture the attention of both the artist and the audience as it means different things to different people. In all genres of music, fire is used to pass a message of love, hate, lust, deep emotions, and many other feelings.
While Fire is one of the five main elements in nature that brings balance to our existence, it is used in songs to convey different messages. It has the power to destroy just as its warmth can be a metaphor for calm and soothing pains.
Despite having many songs about fire out there, there are some that have remained timeless and have found a permanent place on our playlist of favorites.
15 Best Songs about Fire You Should Listen To
1. Set fire to the Rain-Adele
- Album: 21
- Release Date: 2011
- Songwriters: Adele and Fraser T. Smith
- Producer: Fraser T. Smith
- Genre: Pop, Soul
- Award: Won Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance
Lyrics:
‘I set fire to the rain
And I threw us into the flames…’
The beautiful song by English singer and songwriter, Adele is a description of an intense point in a relationship and the pain of breaking up. If you have ever been/are still in a toxic relationship, this song is about freeing yourself from such a relationship.
2. Play With Fire-The Rolling Stones
- Album: Out of Our Heads
- Release Date: 1965
- Songwriter: Nanker Phelge
- Producer: Andrew Loog Oldham
- Genre: Pop, Rock
- Award: It didn’t win an award but it became the group’s first no. 1 single on the US Billboard 200
Lyrics:
Now you’ve got some diamonds
And you will have some others
But you’d better watch your step girl
This timeless song by one of English greatest rock groups is a warning to a daughter of an affluent woman to be careful with her step or she falls from grace like her mother who owned diamonds but lost them.
3. Fight Fire With Fire- Metallica
- Album: Ride the Lightning
- Songwriters: Cliff Burton, Lars Ulrich, and James Hetfield
- Producer: Metallica
- Release Date: 1984
- Genre: Metal
Lyrics:
Do unto others as they’ve done to you
But what in the hell is this world coming to?
This song is an all-time favorite and a reminder of the world’s impending end as a result of using heavy nuclear weapons. While it starts with a message captioned in the Bible, this song is a timely warning of the destructive nature of Fire if used incorrectly.
4. I’m On Fire-Bruce Springsteen
- Album: Born in the U.S.A
- Release Date: 1984
- Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen
- Producers: Jon Landau Chuck Plotkin, Bruce Springsteen, and Steven Van Zandt
- Genre: Rock
- Award: Gold single for The Pointer Sisters Version
Lyrics:
At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet
And a freight train running through the middle of my head
Only you can cool my desire
This song changed the mood of the period as it captured the intimate desire of wanting a particular woman by the singer. The song was initially written for Elvis Presley by Bruce Springsteen who was his big fan but it ended up in the hands of The Pointer Sisters.
The song’s success also made Springsteen do his own version. Presley may never have heard a demo of the song that was written for him yet, the song was covered by many artists across genres of music.
5. Just Like Fire- Pink
- Album: Written as an original motion soundtrack titled Alice Through the Looking Glass
- Released: 2016
- Songwriter: Alecia Moore, Max Martin, Karl Johan Schuster, and Oscar Holter
- Producer: Max Martin Shellback, Oscar Holter
- Genre: Pop, Rock
- Award: Grammy Nomination for Best Song Written For Visual Media in 2017. Nominated for Teen Choice Award for Choice Song from a Movie or TV Show
Lyrics:
Just like fire, burning up the way
If I can light the world up for just one day
Watch this madness, colorful charade
When the American singer Pink co-wrote this song she was inspired by her daughter. It is a reflection of how Pink’s gift is like Fire, though it is uncontrollable, it has the power to ignite the whole world.
6. Fire and Rain-James Taylor
- Album: Sweet Baby James
- Release Date: 1970
- Songwriter: James Taylor
- Producer: Peter Asher
- Genre: Folk Rock
- Award: Grammy nomination for Song of the Year 1970
Lyrics:
I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain
I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
Fire can be used to convey the humanity we all share especially pain and this song does just that. Humans suffer weaknesses caused by addictions, fame, and the loss of dear ones.
Taylor wrote this song at a low period of his life while battling with loss, depression, and addiction. Over the years, this song has remained timeless.
7. Firework-Katy Perry
- Album: Teenage Dream
- Release Date: 2010
- Songwriters: Katy Perry, Mikkel S. Eriksen
- Producers: Stargate, Sandy Vee
- Genre: Dance-pop
- Award: MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year
Lyrics:
Baby, you’re a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
This song can be played on our worse days especially when we need a boost to remind us of how we can have a spark. Katy made a song to show how much we can believe in ourselves.
8. Girl on Fire-Alicia Keys
- Album: Girl on Fire
- Release Date: 2012
- Songwriters: Alicia Keys, Salaam Remi, Jeff Bhasker, and Billy Squire
- Producer: Alicia Keys, Jeff Bhasker, Salaam Remi
- Genre: R&B
- Award: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Music Video
Lyrics:
She’s just a girl and she’s on fire
Hotter than a fantasy, lonely like a highway
She’s living in a world and it’s on fire
Filled with catastrophe, but she knows she can fly away
How about getting cheered for reaching to be the best despite all the odds of being who we are. Here is a song about celebrating our best by being that ‘Girl on Fire’ reaching for the top of our world.
This song is one of the best and should be played on a repeat until that fire burns until we fly to success.
9. Fireball- Pitbull
- Album: Absolute Dance Autumn 2014
- Release Date: 2014
- Songwriters: Armando C. Perez, John Ryan, Andreas Schuller, Eric Frederic, Joe Spargur, Tom Peyton and Ilsey Juber
- Producers: Ricky Reed, Axident, John Ryan, and Joe London
- Genres: Samba, Pop
- Award: Nominated for Best Latin Dance of the Year
Lyrics:
Mr. Worldwide to infinity
You know the roof on fire
Fire is a Pitbull song that is absolutely positive. Everyone needs that song that is like a refill of energy. Pitbull and Ryan Reed were inspired to write this song while drinking at the beach.
See Also: Songs About Believing In Yourself – 20 Best Songs To Get Through Any Moment
10. Great Ball of Fire-Jerry Lee Lewis
- Album: Duets: Jerry Lee Lewis and Friends
- Release Date: 1957
- Songwriter: Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer
- Producer: Sam Phillips
- Genre: Rock and Roll
Lyrics:
You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain
Too much love drives a man insane
You broke my will, but what a thrill
Goodness gracious, great balls of fire
There are expressions we grew up to, only to realize that they have been around for a long time. Lewis ‘great balls of fire’ has been used in movies, art, and expression. He performed his song at a time his career was blooming. The song was featured in the movie Jamboree.
Interestingly, Lewis’s song is filled with many sexual references and makes the fire an item for our wildest imaginations. It has become a part of the entertainment industry reference material.
11. Firewalls-Bright Eyes
- Album: The People’s Key
- Release Date: 2011
- Songwriters: Conor Oberst
- Producer: Mike Mogis
- Genre: Indie Rock/Pop
Lyrics:
I do my best to sleep through the caterwaul
The classicist, the posturing avant-garde
This fire song has a religious interpretation that is a reflection of life itself. Like many songs about fire, Fireballs describes a sober mood of hopefulness.
12. I See Fire- Ed Sheeran
- Album: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
- Release Date: 2013
- Songwriter: Ed Sheeran
- Producer: Ed Sheeran
- Genre: Folk Pop
- Award: Nominated for a Satelite Award for Best Original Song
Lyrics:
Now I see fire
Inside the mountain
And I see fire
Burning the trees
This fire song is sure to capture anyone’s attention of sacrifices that can be made for others. Though Edd wrote the song as a movie soundtrack for The Hobbit, it is one of the best songs about fire out there.
13. Fire Bomb- Rihanna
- Album: Rated R
- Release Date: 2009
- Songwriter: Rihanna, James Fauntleroy, and Brian Kennedy
- Producer: Brian Kennedy
- Genre: Pop
Lyrics:
I just wanna set you on fire so I
Won’t have to burn alone then you
Then you’ll know where I’m coming from
Fire bomb…
Fire bomb…
There is a saying about a thin line between love and hate. The award-winning singer puts this emotion into the mood of her song Fire Bomb. The song is likely inspired by a relationship that went bad and the revenge that follows after.
The fire in this song may also be about regrets on a relationship that the other party did not want to end.
14. BTS Fire
- Album: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever
- Release Date: 2016
- Songwriters: Suga, Pdogg, RM, and Bang Si-Hyuk
- Producer:
- Genre: K-pop
- Award: Nominated for Best Dance-Male in the Melon Music Awards
Lyrics:
Fire fire fire fire
When I wake up in my room (room)
This Korean song by the boy band, BTS is a call to enjoy the moment and live to the fullest.
15. Fire in the Henhouse-Our Lady Peace
- Album: Curve
- Release Date: 2012
- Songwriters: Duncan Coutts, Jeremy Taggart, Raine Maida, and Steve Mazur
- Genre: Rock
Lyrics
Fire in the hen house
Protests in the deep south
It’s Shangri-La in reverse
This song about fire is a call to action for societal change. Though the artists did not perform it as a political song, the lyrics of the song say a lot about change in the climate.
