Look at the sky turn a hellfire red.
Somebody's house is burning.
Down, down. Down, down.
Down, down, down.

Well, I asked my friend,
Where is that black smoke coming from ?
He just coughed and changed the subject,
And said oh, uh, I think it might snow some…
So I left him sipping his tea,
And I jumped in my chariot
And rode off to see
Just why and who could it be this time.

Sisters and brothers,
Daddies, mothers,
Standing 'round crying.
When I reached the scene
The flames were making a ghostly whine.
So I stood on my horse's back.
And I screamed without a crack,
I said, oh baby, why'd you burn
Your brother's house down?

Look at the sky turn a hellfire red, Lord.
Somebody's house is burning.
Down, down. Down, down.
Look at the sky turn a hellfire red, Lord.
Somebody's house is burning.
Down, down.
Down, down, down.

Well, someone stepped from the crowd,
He was nineteen miles high.
He shouts, “We’re and disgusted,
So we paint red through the sky!”
I said, “The truth is straight ahead—
So don't burn yourself instead—
Try to learn instead of burn,
Hear what I say.”

So I finally rode away
But I'll never forget that day.
'Cause when I reached the valley,
I looked way down across the way:
A giant boat from space,
Landing with eerie grace,
Had came and taken
All the dead away.

Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
What'd I say?
Look at the sky turn a hellfire red, Lord
Somebody's house is burning.
Down, down. Down, down.
Look at the sky turn a hellfire red, Lord.
Somebody's house is burning.
Down, down. Down, down.

Look at the sky, look at the sky.

-- Jimi Hendrix, House Burning Down, from the album Electric Ladyland