Witch | 5ive Songs

On the 89^th edition of 5ive Songs (2021), we select five songs that are associated with a WITCH or WITCHES in some form or fashion.            

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elcome to 5ive Songs, where we keep things short and sweet – no extra calories or needless fluff! There’s a theme/topic, five songs, and a short blurb.  Yes, it’s a playlist, but it’s a miniature playlist that shouldn’t take much time to consume.  On the 89^th edition of 5ive Songs (2021), we select five songs that are associated with a WITCH or WITCHES in some form or fashion.  Okay, let’s get into it!

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1. Whitechapel, “When a Demon Defiles a Witch”

💿 The Valley • 🏷 Metal Blade • 📅 2019

“The demons dance by the fireside / But tonight they migrate to my bedside.” Woo! 🎵 “When a Demon Defiles a Witch.”  Damn, that’s a disturbing song title to say the least! “When a Demon Defiles a Witch” arrives as the opener on 💿 The Valley, the 2019 album by Tennessee metal collective, 🎙 Whitechapel.  Fittingly, this witchy song is set in a minor key.  Also, portions of the song feature aggressive, unclean vocals, intense, jagged guitars, and wild lyrics. 

“There’s nowhere left to run
There’s nowhere left for me to be
Without you by my side.”

For some context, the visions captured lyrically on “When a Demon Defiles a Witch” came from singer 🎙 Phil Bozeman’s mom.  His mom had mental issues, hence why such a vision is incredibly outlandish.  Per Kerrang, guitarist 🎙 Ben Savage states, “Phil’s mom would see a demon outside or by her fireside, and she knew that if she saw it there, then it would be by her bedside that night.” Wow! Truly, “What has the world come to when a demon defiles a witch?”  

Also Appears On 🔽:
🔗 🎸🤘 Whitechapel, “When a Demon Defiles a Witch”: Outlandish Rock 🎸🤘 No. 6

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2. Radiohead, “Burn the Witch”

💿 A Moon Shaped Pool • 🏷 XL • 📅 2016 

“This is a low flying panic attack / Sing the song on the jukebox that goes / Burn the witch / Burn the witch / We know where you live.” 🎵 “Burn the Witch” served as a promo single from 💿 A Moon Shaped Pool, the 2016 album by 🏆 Grammy-winning British alternative rock darlings, 🎙 Radiohead.  An intriguing, mysterious affair, this opening record makes for a clever, dramatic, and dynamic listening experience.

“Stay in the shadows
Cheer at the gallows
This is a round-up.”

🎙 Thom Yorke’s vocals are splendid, never forced, yet pack a punch.  Instrumentally, the strings are the crowning achievement. 

“Red crosses on wooden doors
If you float you burn.”

Per Mental Floss (referencing Oxford English Dictionary), a witch referred to “a male practitioner of sorcery and magic… over the centuries, witch’s masculine application melted away, thanks in no small part to the historical persecution of many women believed to be witches.” 

Also Appears On 🔽:
🔗 🎧 21 Songs Where the Monsters are Out

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3. Panic! At the Disco, “Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met…)”

💿 Vices & Virtues • 🏷 Fueled By Ramen • 📅 2011

“You have set your heart on haunting me forever from the start / It’s never silent.” Man, oh man, 🎙 Brendon Urie! The 🎙 Panic! At the Disco front man is suffering from those devastating matters of the heart on 🎵 “Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met…).” “Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met…)” serves as the closing cut on 💿 Vices & Virtues, released in 2011.

This is an epic closer to any album.  The lyrics are creative, descriptive, and poetic, particularly on the verses.  See exhibit A, the first verse:

“My wing tips waltz across naïve wood floors
They creak innocently down the stairs
Drag melody, my percussive
Feet serve cobweb headaches...”

Only PATD could concoct such colorful lyrics! The Baroque pop cues add character to the production, something else that’s a selling point of the band.  The best section of the song, expectedly, is the dramatic chorus, which highlights the witching experience perfectly:

“Ever since we met, I only shoot up with your perfume
It’s the only thing that makes me feel as good as you do
Ever since we met, I’ve got just one regret to live through
And that one regret is you.”

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4. Ghost, “Witch Image”

💿 Prequelle • 🏷 Loma Vista • 📅 2018 

“While you sleep in earthly delight / Someone’s flesh is rotting tonight.” Well, that’s disturbing, isn’t it? Morbid, morbid, MORBID! 🎙 Ghost has the tendency to ‘keep it real’ musically, something they do masterfully on their 2018 album, 💿 Prequelle.  Honestly, I’m still salty this fantastic LP didn’t win the 🏆 Grammy for Best Rock Album.  At least 🎙 Cardinal Copia (🎙 Tobias Forge) has one Grammy under his belt!

Focusing on the witching matter at hand, 🎵 “Witch Image” features dynamic, bluesy harmonized guitars, giving it a ripe sound.  Worth noting, a witch is never explicitly mentioned but rather, referenced.  Prequelle focuses on the plague during the Middle Ages, so this ‘image’ is one of widespread death.  “You never want me to appear,” Cardinal Copia sings on the pre-chorus, continuing, “You never want this to be over / You never want it to reach out to the edge of time.” Everything he says is accurate, and it continues at the end of the song: “While you sleep in earthly delight / Still, your soul will suffer this plight.” Day-um, that’s witchy AF!  

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5. Queens of the Stone Age, “Burn the Witch”

💿 Lullabies to Paralyze • 🏷 Interscope• 📅 2005

“Ask yourself / Will I burn in Hell? / Then write it down / And cast it in the well.” Hmm, if I were accused of being a witch, or perhaps knew I were a witch, I supposed I’d ask myself that question. More than a decade prior to 🎙 Radiohead recording a song entitled 🎵 “Burn the Witch”, 🎙 Queens of the Stone Age, led by 🎙 Josh Homme recorded their own 🎵 “Burn the Witch,” which appears on their 2005 album, 💿 Lullabies to Paralyze.

“Burn the Witch” explores ‘witches’ being tried and burned at the stake, often, wrongfully.  “The mob it cries for blood / To twist the tale / Into firewood,” Homme sings on the second verse. Later, chillingly, “The skin it peels / Like the truth, away / What it was / I will never say.” Bigger picture, “Burn the Witch” explores persecution (aka witch hunt), specifically one regarding Homme firing his friend, Nick Oliveri, from the band.  This idea of persecution is clear throughout the record, but crystal clear on lines like, “Bite your tongue / Swear to keep your mouth shut / Make up something / Make up something good.” The groovy “Burn the Witch,” with brilliant vocals by both Homme and 🎙 Billy F. Gibbons, is one of the best songs from the QOTSA catalog.

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Witch: 5ive Songs No. 89 (2021) [📷: Atlantic, Brent Faulkner, Clovis Cheminot, Fueled By Ramen, Interscope, Loma Vista, Metal Blade, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pixabay, Pexels, Thirdman, XL]

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