Daughtry’s “World on Fire” Lyrics Meaning
Do you remember the Australian bushfires of 2019 to 2020? They were a major ecological and financial disaster for the Land Down Under, in addition to claiming a few lives. And it seems like the event received ample coverage in the international news media. But so many things have happened even between then and the end of 2020 that, sadly enough, it’s easy to forget that such even transpired.
World on Fire
So in actuality the title of this song is both literal and symbolic. Literally it was inspired by the aforementioned wildfires when they were at their peak, circa January 2020.
But in terms of the symbolism featured in the lyrics and considering the fact the song wasn’t released until the latter half of 2020, many people may rather be under the impression that it was penned in relation to the coronavirus pandemic, the George Floyd protests and what have you. Indeed as Chris Daughtry had concluded, “it was as if (Daughtry) had a crystal ball”, i.e. could see the future, when they put this song together.
Lyrics
And in terms of the vocalist’s disposition in the first verse, he feels like “a dead man walking”. There is no exact reason stated as to why he comes off this way. Rather it’s more like he’s a personification of the times, a person who is consumed by some inexplicable anxiety and sensation of imminently-forthcoming doom.
Indeed such would, to some degree, be what the “crowd like a thousand sirens” is referring to. On one hand when we hear the word “sirens” we think of police. But more to the point at hand it appears that the singer is alluding to some type of harrowing mass discontent, not so much amongst law enforcement but rather the masses themselves.
A Prophetic Song
Indeed as far as this song being prophetic goes, it is really the second verse that kinda makes you go wow. After all, it’s not every day where a popular musician makes a track in which he depicts himself as being caught up in some type of police versus protestors’ type of violence, in which both sides are suffering casualties.
Indeed there appears to be “a war” between the people and law enforcement. And of course that is exactly what the scene appeared like in certain parts of America by the time mid-2020 rolled around.
And according to Chris Daughtry, he was able to perceive such would happen. How? According to him, this is because even before the tragic demise of George Floyd, police brutality and racial injustice was rife.
In Short…
So conclusively, what we have here is a song which some analysts have defined as being apocalyptic. And it is so in its overall tone.
You could tell that the singer is not feeling too jipper about the prospects for the future or even the present. But beyond that general shall we say Biblical fatalism there is a special emphasis on police brutality as well as violence against the police, all of which actually went on to catch us off guard, for real, in 2020.
Summary: “World on Fire” is an apocalyptic-themed song with a degree of prophetic attention on police brutality.
Facts about “World on Fire”
Daughtry released “World on Fire” as the official lead single from their “Nothing Lasts Forever” album. With the track being released on 13 August 2020. As of March 2021 there still doesn’t appear to have been a definitive date set for the release of the album itself. However, on March 19th, 2021, the band released the second single (“Heavy is the Crown“) from the album.
The label that put this track out is Dogtree Records.
“World on Fire” was able to make it onto the top 20 of Billboard’s Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. In doing so it marked the first time Daughtry had appeared on that particular list since their 2007 track “Crashed”.
At the end of the day, “World on Fire” ended up being the only song with Daughtry released during 2020.
Up until that fateful day on 25 May 2020, George Floyd (1973-2020) was an inconspicuous human being just like that rest of us. However, he was a fatal victim of racism mixed with police brutality – again not that uncommon of an occurrence as Chris Daughtry stated.
But this time around the people didn’t take the police-inflicted murder lying down at all. And what resulted were protests that not only swept across America but also other parts of the Western world. And resultantly one can say even incalculable people lost their lives, not only in terms of protestors but also police and others who were either directly or indirectly involved in all of the violence that followed.
Daughtry
Daughtry is a band fronted by Chris Daughtry. This is a man who, upon coming in fourth place on American Idol in 2006, many people probably thought was going to sail off into the sunset. But instead, as far as record sales go, no other participant on the show has outperformed him during the first two decades of the 21st century beside Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson, both music superstars in their own right.
Besides Chris Daughtry, the other members of Daughtry as of the release of this track are as follows:
- Brian Craddock (rhythm guitar)
- Elvio Fernandes (keyboards)
- Brandon Maclin (drums)
- Josh Paul (bass guitar)
- Josh Steely (lead guitar)
