There are two reasons I love Snow Patrol’s song ‘Set The Fire to the Third Bar’:
The first is the central metaphor of the three bar electric heater. It’s an image from the lead singer’s childhood: ‘if we were very good and it was very cold Aunt Jean would let us put all three bars on.’… I too remember this little heater! It’s the kind of connection that makes a bleakly haunting song even more evocative.
The second is the opportunity it affords for guest vocalists. Originally performed with the excellent Canadian singer Martha Wainwright, here I have chosen a duet with a Portuguese singer known by her stage name ‘Rita Redshoes.’ Recommended to me after a friend spotted my red shoes – she’s a great new discovery!
