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Radiohead ‘Knows Where You Live,’ Teases the Long-Awaited Song ‘Burn the Witch’ With Creepy Leaflets

JERSEY CITY, NJ - AUGUST 09: Musician Thom Yorke of Radiohead performs onstage during the 2008 All Points West music and arts festival at Liberty State Park on August 9, 2008 in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by John Shearer/WireImage)
Photo: John Shearer/WireImage

If the internet is good for anything, it’s conjuring up Radiohead rumors. A new album may or may not come out in June, Paul Thomas Anderson may or may not have shot a music video with the band … etc. Between the new company they started and the massive tour they’re embarking on in a few weeks, Radiohead has been awful busy lately, and it appears that they’ve officially begun building hype for the purported upcoming album: U.K. fans report receiving creepy, ominous leaflets — yes, as in tangible, snail-mail-sent paper products, which were widely used before the advent of the internet — festooned with lyrics from the long-gestating song “Burn the Witch” and an official Radiohead logo. The lyrics read, “Sing a song of sixpence that goes/Burn the Witch/We know where you live.” The song was first teased by Stanley Donwood’s art for 2003’s Hail to the Thief, and the opening chords have been played by Thom Yorke & Co. at least twice, in 2006 and 2008. The lyrics appeared on the band’s site in 2007, though the song has been presumably percolating in a cauldron for a decade. You can see the leaflet, and hear a very brief snippet of the song’s opening chords, below.

Radiohead Teases ‘Burn the Witch’ in Creepy Way