Sunburn (song)

Muse song
Name	Sunburn
Album/single	Showbiz (1), Sunburn CD1 (1,3), CD2 (1), vinyl (1,2), German Promo (1,4), US promo (1,2,3) » Muscle Museum US CD1 (3), Sunburn/Overdue demo (demo version) (1) Random 1-8 (9), Muse Sampler (4) Sing for Absolution BX CD1 (3), Absolution Tour (7)
Length	3:54
Alternative titles	-
First live performance	Unknown
Latest live performance	-
Recorded	1999
Writer/composer	Matthew Bellamy
Producer	John Leckie
Chart position	22

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Description

A staple of the live set prior to the Black Holes and Revelations tour and has been performed on guitar and piano.

Additional information

It is possibly about the band struggling money wise before they were signed.

Lyrics could also suggest the possibility of it being about a stripper or prostitute, or a strip club.

Alternative meaning: seems to be about a girl who was associated with the band before they made it, who Bellamy regrets having to leave behind, due to him seeing her as a star.

Matthew Bellamy declared that while the band were recording, this song was one of his favourites, but found it a bit weak at first: "I wanted to make it sound good. So that was when John Leckie, our producer, had this idea to work out the guitar part on the piano. That was the first time I played piano in years it seems, and I had to spend two or three days just practicing Sunburn, which is a pretty simple part".

According to Bellamy, Sunburn was composed whilst in the studio.

Sunburn was added to Radio 1's C playlist on, or shortly before, 31st January 2000.

As of 18th July 2007, the piano and drums from the intro of Sunburn were used in the BBC's TV coverage of the Open golf championship

Alternate versions

An early demo recording of Sunburn features different lyrics and has an extended ending. The entire song is played on guitar, and is seemingly the original version, before John Leckie decided that a piano version would sound stonger. The lyrical focus of this early version appears to be the end of a relationship. Also a live preformance of Sunburn acoustic was broadcasted over the radio [Watch]

Three remixes were created entitled "Sunburn (Timo Maas Sunstroke Mix)", "Sunburn (Timo Maas Breakz Again Remix)" and "Sunburn (Steven McCreery Remix)".

Lyrics

Come waste your millions here
Secretly she sneers
Another corporate show,
A guilty conscience grows

And I'll feel a guilty conscience grow
And I'll feel a guilty conscience grow

She burns like the sun
and I can't look away
And she'll burn our horizons
make no mistakes

Come let the truth be shared
No one ever dared
To break these endless lies
Secretly she cries

She burns like the sun
And I can't look away
And she'll burn our horizons
Make no mistakes

And I'll hide from the world
Behind a broken frame
And I'll run forever
I can't face the shame

And I'll hide from the world
Behind a broken frame
And I'll run forever
I can't face the shame

Alternative lyrics

Instead of

Another corporate show

It was changed to, on some live versions:

Just like a virgin blows

Whilst Showbiz was still being recorded it was:

Just like an angel glows

Demo version

Let the truth be known
Life just carries on
When you're dead and gone
I'll still feel your glow

And I'll believe 
I'll still feel your glow
And I'll believe 
I'll still feel your glow

She burns like the sun
And I can't look away
And she'll burn our horizons
Make no mistake

Let the truth be heard
True love is absurd
And I'll believe 
Just to feel your glow

She burns like the sun
And I can't look away
And she'll burn our horizons
Make no mistake

She burns like the sun
And I can't look away
And she'll burn our horizons
Make no mistake

She burns like the sun
And I can't look away
And she'll burn my horizons
Make no mistake

See also

• Showbiz media use

Go back to Showbiz