This Fire (Franz Ferdinand song)

"This Fire" is a song by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand, the seventh track on their self-titled debut album. It was written by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy and produced by the band themselves at their studio in Scotland during 2003. A new version of the song, produced by Rich Costey, was released as a single on 4 October 2004, titled "This Fffire". The single artwork is based on El Lissitzky's art work Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge.^{[citation needed]}

"This Fire"
Song by Franz Ferdinand
from the album Franz Ferdinand
Released	9 February 2004 (2004-02-09)
Recorded	2003 in Scotland[1]
Length	4:14
Label	Domino
Songwriter(s)	Alex Kapranos Nick McCarthy
Producer(s)	Franz Ferdinand

"This Fffire"
Single by Franz Ferdinand
from the album Franz Ferdinand (bonus disc edition)
B-side	"Darts of Pleasure" "Love and Destroy" "Missing You"
Released	4 October 2004 (2004-10-04)
Length	3:32
Label	Domino
Songwriter(s)	Alex Kapranos Nick McCarthy
Producer(s)	Rich Costey
Franz Ferdinand singles chronology
"Michael" (2004) "This Fffire" (2004) "Do You Want To" (2005)

Song history

"This Fire" was featured on the soundtrack for the 2004 racing game Burnout 3: Takedown.^[2] The song was later sampled for "Burn This City" by Lil Wayne and Twista.^[3] In 2022, the Rich Costey version of the song was selected as the intro song to Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the Cyberpunk 2077 tie-in anime from Studio Trigger.^[4]

Release and reception

In the United States and the United Kingdom, the song was released as a radio and download single, respectively, reaching number 17 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number eight on the UK Download Chart.^[5][6] In Australia, the song was released as a CD single and reached number 62 on the ARIA Singles Chart.^[7] In the same country, it was ranked number 29 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004.^[8]

Music video

The music video, directed by Stylewar,^[9] echoes the style of 1920s-era Soviet art and propaganda (Constructivism etc.), including Cyrillic lettering, and shows the members of the band spreading a world-wide "hypnosis epidemic".

Track listings

All tracks were written by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy except "Missing You", written by Kapranos.

• Digital download^[10]

1. "This Fffire" (Rich Costey re-record) – 3:38
2. "This Fire" (Playgroup remix) – 8:13

• European CD single^[11]

1. "This Fffire"
2. "This Fire" (Playgroup remix)
3. "This Fffire" (video)

• Australian CD single^[12]

1. "This Fffire" (Rich Costey re-record)
2. "Love and Destroy"
3. "Missing You"

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2004–2005) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[7] 62 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 85 UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[6] 8 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[5] 17

Year-end charts Chart (2005) Position US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[14] 76

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	4 October 2004	Alternative radio	Domino	[15]
Australia	15 November 2004	CD		[16]
United Kingdom		Digital download		[17]