Song Review: Kings of Leon “Pyro”

9-29-11

One of my favorite songs from Come Around Sundown is “Pyro”, the third song on the album. It opens with a somber, slowly developing melody that sets the mood just right for a sad story telling for vocalist Caleb Followill. In the interview, Caleb says the song is about a man who loses faith in the world he lives in, and upon realization of disgust, wants nothing more than to set fire to it- hence the title, “Pyro”. “Single book of matches” is said with such a somber, hopeless tone, this line sounds like it is going to be the last words out of his mouth.

Caleb’s vocals really make this song, like many of the others on the album. The lyrics surge high and low in volume, creating a powerful and somber melody, making whatever he is talking about, unexplainable desirable to uncover. It rings out, as if the loudest 3 year old you know just fell off his bike down the block, “AHHHHHHH,” followed unexpectedly by the strongest words you can say to anybody: “will never be your corner stone.” A corner stone is the fundamental part of something. So to never be someone’s corner stone is to say you will never be important enough to remember or regret, which goes along with the line “If I’m forgotten, you’ll remember me for day.” Nobody wants to be remembered for just a day, and this is realization that you are forgettable is a strong enough emotion that it drives the entire song.

The inspiration for this song is said to be the slaughter of a Radical Christian group by the FBI, which the information about I could not find. However, to want to burn down the world, you must be in a very dark and depressed place, or have seen something so gruesome that this world could not be as wonderful as so many seem to believe it is. “All the black in side me is seeping from the bone” sounds like the darkness is manifesting itself in the man and its too late to turn back, as everything he used to cherish “is slowly dying, or it’s gone”.

“Pyro” is a great spilling of emotion by a man who feels let down by the world he used to love, and worst of all, feels insignificant in it. The simple melody, accompanied by loud and intense drums, provide a perfect setting for Caleb Followill’s somber tale. However, “Pyro” could have been improved with a strong instrument solo, or a breakdown in the melody.

 

“Pyro” deserves a 4/5