Meaning of “Burn Out” by Midland

This song is sung from the perspective of a guy who is suffering from saddening loneliness, despite finding himself in a social environment. This is due to losing the woman whom he loves. So as he sits in what appears to be a bar or nightclub, even objects completely unrelated to romance remind him of his lost love. For instance, he compares the precipitation on the side of a cold bottle to his own tears. Indeed his experience has become so mundane that it is reduced to him wallowing in his heartbreak while watching cigarettes burn out.

Ultimately he understands the risk he took by falling in love and even acknowledges that romances end in emotional tragedy when “the glow comes to an end”. He also seems to have exercised the idea of searching for a new love. However, he is totally unable to forget about his ex. So the song concludes with him apparently stuck in a cycle of spending evenings alone drinking, smoking cigarettes, listening to heartbreak songs and reeling from the pain of a romance that seemingly evaporated with the speed of a burning cigarette.

Facts about “Burn Out”

• Writer(s): This song was written by the members of Midland (Cameron Duddy, Jess Carson and Mark Wystrach). The group co-penned this song with songwriters Josh Osborne and Shane McAnally.
• Producer(s): Osborne and McAnally also served as producers of the track. They produced it along with American musician Dann Huff.
• Album/EP: This song was featured on Midland’s debut album On the Rocks, which was released in 2017.
• Release Date: The release date of this track was 28 October 2016.
• Record Label: The label behind “Burn Out” is Big Machine Records.
• 1st Interesting Stuff: This song was designed to be reminiscent of classic country music. Owing to this, its video was shot at Billy Bob’s Texas, a famous honky-tonk venue located in Fort Worth, Texas.
• 2nd Interesting Stuff: “Burn Out” serves as a prequel to Midland’s 2017 gold-certified single “Drinkin’ Problems”. Both “Burn Out” and “Drinkin’ Problem” are featured on the same album.
• 3rd Interesting Stuff: This was the only single Midland released in 2018.