Fire Water Burn

"Fire Water Burn" makes a variety of references to numerous figures from popular culture. These include the musicians Barry White, Frank Black, Marvin Gaye, Martha Raye, Lawrence Welk, Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix, the fictional characters Han Solo and Webster, the television show Kojak, the actor Emmanuel Lewis, the author Mark Twain, and U.S. president John F. Kennedy.Bloodhoundgang.com, [http://www.bloodhoundgang.com/index2.html Lyrics Schmyrics — Fire Water Burn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070316173818/http://www.bloodhoundgang.com/index2.html |date=March 16, 2007 }} Retrieved on March 17, 2007

The lyric, "the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire; we don't need no water, let the motherfucker burn" is originally from a song by Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three from 1984 called "The Roof is on Fire". The lyric "we don't need no water, let the motherfucker burn" is also present on the 1994 song "Burn" by Rancid on their album Let's Go.

Additionally, the song makes a modified quote from the Pixies song "Monkey Gone to Heaven", with the lyrics, "if man is five and the devil is six then that must make me seven / this honky's gone to heaven" rather than "so if man is five / then the devil is six / then God is seven / this monkey's gone to heaven". The song is also musically similar to the latter half of the Pixies song "The Happening" from their album Bossanova.

Larry Flick from Billboard commented on the song, "Is the world ready—or in need—of a new act mining ground broken by the Beastie Boys and Ugly Kid Joe a number of years ago? Probably not, but here comes the Bloodhound Gang anyway. And this (...) proves to be quite the guilty pleasure. The words of this chugging funk/rocker are extremely amusing and are delivered with a monotone howl that gets its bounce from grinding turntable scratching and fuzz guitar lines."{{cite magazine|first=Larry|last=Flick|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1996/BB-1996-12-07.pdf|title=Single Reviews|magazine=Billboard|volume=108|issue=49|page=78|date=December 7, 1996|access-date=February 5, 2020|author-link=Larry Flick}}

Matt Diehl of Entertainment Weekly wrote of the song, "If you think mumbling hip-hop slang with self-conscious Caucasian stiffness is funny, this dud’s for you."{{cite magazine |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |last=Diehl |first=Matt |url=https://ew.com/article/1997/01/10/fire-water-burn/ |title="Fire Water Burn" |date=January 10, 1997 |access-date=November 7, 2023}}

The song's accompanying music video features the band performing in the cafeteria of the Mt. Yermom Retirement Home, where tapioca pudding is being served as the day's special meal. As the song progresses, lead vocalist Jimmy Pop leaves the stage and performs numerous spontaneous actions in front of a group of unresponsive senior citizens, including dancing suggestively on tables and making awkward facial gestures. The video culminates when the elderly notice the band, and are rejuvenated by their performance. With the retirement home now filled with a rock concert-like atmosphere, the band exits the stage with numerous senior citizens. The final shot of the video reveals that the retirement home was specifically designated for the deaf, the joke being that if they weren't impaired they would have left upon noticing the band.

The video is introduced by "Pat Minfield" (portrayed by Pop), a spoonerized parody of Matt Pinfield, the then-host of MTV's music video show 120 Minutes (which is presented in the video as 120 Midgets). Minfield, in a fashion similar to Pinfield, attempts to connect Alex Karras, Blazing Saddles, Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, The Graduate, Simon & Garfunkel, Diana Ross, The Wiz and Michael Jackson.

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• US 12-inch vinyl and European maxi-CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=Fire Water Burn|others=Bloodhound Gang|year=1997|type=US 12-inch vinyl sleeve|publisher=Jimmy Franks Recording Company, Republic Records|id=REP-96031, 757433960318}}{{cite AV media notes|title=Fire Water Burn|others=Bloodhound Gang|year=1997|type=European maxi-CD single liner notes|publisher=Geffen Records, Republic Records|id=GED 22203}}

1. "Fire Water Burn" (Rudimental Jammy Jam) – 4:50
2. "Fire Water Burn" (Jim Makin' Jamaican Mix) – 5:01
3. "Fire Water Burn" (We Don't Need No God Lives Underwater Mix) – 3:31
4. "Fire Water Burn" (A Coo Dic Ver Din) – 4:42

• European CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=Fire Water Burn|others=Bloodhound Gang|year=1997|type=European CD single liner notes|publisher=Geffen Records, Republic Records|id=GED 22249}}

1. "Fire Water Burn" (Rudimental Jammy Jam) – 4:50
2. "Fire Water Burn" (Jim Makin' Jamaican Mix) – 5:01

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• Australian CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=Fire Water Burn|others=Bloodhound Gang|year=1997|type=Australian CD single liner notes|publisher=Geffen Records, Republic Records|id=GED 22234}}

1. "Fire Water Burn" (Rudimental Jammy Jam)
2. "Fire Water Burn" (Jim Makin' Jamaican Mix)
3. "Fire Water Burn" (We Don't Need No God Lives Underwater Mix)
4. "Fire Water Burn" (A Coo Dic Ver Din)
5. "Fire Water Burn" (Donkey edit)

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Category:Bloodhound Gang songs

Category:1996 songs

Category:1997 singles

Category:Geffen Records singles

Category:Republic Records singles

Category:Songs about entertainers

Category:Songs written by Jimmy Pop