Burning Hearts’ “Into the Wilderness” Lyrics Meaning
“Into the Wilderness” by Burning Hearts operates on a couple of different levels. It’s most-obvious purpose seems to be serving as a tribute to Timothy Treadwell (1957-2003). And who is Timothy Treadwell? We hear you ask? He was a bear enthusiast who was slaughtered by one of the selfsame animals he was so fond of while on an expedition in the Alaskan outback. On top of actually namedropping “Timothy” there are numerous references to his life.
The most haunting of all would be in the final verse where the Burning Hearts alludes to the idea that for powerful animals such as bears, it is only ‘natural’ that they ‘mix friends with prey’. This to a certain degree summarizes Timothy’s fate in a nutshell, as he (and a female companion) were eaten alive by one of the selfsame bears he was apparently observing.
But another theme of the song is the narrator (Jessika) seemingly sympathizing with Treadwell, not necessarily in terms of his death but more along the lines of understanding what drove him “into the wilderness” in the first place. But at the same time, she apparently has no intentions of replicating his lifestyle. And this is to meant to be a diss. Rather, she recognizes Timothy as an outback icon if you will, who was willing to risk all for what he believed in, which was more or less forsaking modern society.
Conclusion
So ultimately, we can conclude that “Into the Wilderness” primarily serves as a tribute to Timothy Treadwell. Furthermore it can also perhaps serve as a cautionary tale for others who decide to take a similar course of action. Treadwell’s life is highly idealized. And his death is never spoken of explicitly. But even without knowledge of who this song is actually based on, the listener will be able to ascertain that whereas the Burning Hearts look up to “Timothy”, they also consider his lead – in terms of having a hardcore outback lifestyle – to be too challenging to attempt to follow.
Release Date of “Into the Wilderness”
This is the title track from the Burning Hearts’ 2011 EP, which was published by Shelflife Records.
“Into the Wilderness” was later featured on the Burning Hearts’ second full-length album, (Extinctions). Extinctions came out on 1 February 2012 and was also published by Shelflife Records. That particular project featured a number of tragic stories which caught the attention of the band.
Music Video for “Into the Wilderness”
The music video to the song was based on a documentary that was about Alaskan grizzly bears. It should be noted that grizzly bear was the same animal that killed Timothy Treadwell back in 2003.
Writing and Production Credits
Burning Hearts members Jessika and Henry wrote this tune together. They also worked together on the song’s production.
Live Performance of “Into the Wilderness”
Below is a video of Burning Hearts’ performing their global hit “Into the Wilderness”. This brilliant performance took place in Helsinki, Finland on May 6, 2017.
This tune is very popular with fans of Burning Hearts. For this reason, the band regularly performs it during their live shows.
