Radiohead in Trumpton

Trumpton – the inspiration for Radiohead’s Burn The Witch video – was a children’s series from 1967 …

Commentary on the new Radiohead track (and video) so far suggests that they were intended as an allegory for migration and the European refugee crisis (‘we know where you live’), and – ‘Burn the witch’ – the atmosphere of scapegoat-ism  that prevails in this context (‘Abandon all reason / Avoid all eye contact /  Do not react / Shoot the messengers).

It is also worth noting that Trumpton is referenced in the spoof Twitter account created to parody the UK Independence Party (UKIP), the political party that campaigns for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

So, here’s that video again …

Stay in the shadows
Cheer at the gallows
This is a round up

This is a low flying panic attack
Sing a song on the jukebox that goes

Burn the witch
Burn the witch
We know where you live

Red crosses on wooden doors
And if you float you burn
Loose talk around tables
Abandon all reason
Avoid all eye contact
Do not react
Shoot the messengers

This is a low flying panic attack
Sing the song of sixpence that goes

Burn the witch
Burn the witch
We know where you live
We know where you live