Mitski - A Burning Hill (Official Video)

[@ZeroSuitSarah]

Bruh she is a poet and she sure as hell knows it

[@TinaSuperBad]

bruh

[@penis2020_]

dont forget mitski was originally a film major

[@judyelkadi]

this explains so much oh my god

[@gabrielborjas7923]

Is this for real?

[@penis2020_]

@@gabrielborjas7923 yep she went to hunter college in manhattan for film and then transferred to like pratt i think. this video was obviously shot in manhattan and lush was released while she was at hunter so i wouldnt be surprised if she filmed this for a project tbh

[@gabrielborjas7923]

@@penis2020_ that is so cool. I'm amazed at how much you know about her life haha

[@krapulanta]

definitely won't!!

[@icepelt1001]

i remember seeing the post on tumblr that she made saying that this was “just a song i wrote at 4 AM when i was dead tired”. i was impressed then and i’m impressed now

[@anthony.andremusic]

I doubt she just haphazardly put this song together ... y’all are so gullible lmao

[@rokia7334]

@@anthony.andremusic she probably already had the lyrics on her mind and wrote it down??? Plus she might have also revised a few things???? Huh.

[@arianaaquino9691]

@@anthony.andremusic youre really flattering her there, even if that wasnt your intention... the song lyrics are really, really simple in comparison to her other works. i think anybody would be able to write something similar in an hour or less. (regardless of how long it took for her to write it, it's still a good song.)

[@karimdib4436]

@@anthony.andremusic its not a very complex song, to be honest

[@fink3920]

@@anthony.andremusic she obviously didnt play the instruments etc at 4 am. i write poetry at 4 am and thats what she means bruh.

[@alize0623]

I always thought of this as a prequel to Last Words of a Shooting Star

[@qpinica]

Yes oh my god

[@mchaggins3294]

i thought of it as a sequel, a nod to the fact that you were in pain but moving on from it. idk im just spitballing

[@nilantive]

They're in the same key too, I'm convinced

[@harleyaurora2280]

was crying before i read your comment and am now crying even harder

[@alize0623]

@@harleyaurora2280 just hear me out. At the end of the show she just takes it all in and says at least she’ll be clean and in Last Words of a Shooting Star she says she’s happy she left her house clean and neat. She’s happy because she finally got an out from the self destructive nature she’s singing about in this song. She’s getting dressed to go to the airport

[@swagmaster184]

Mitski has the ability to stare into my soul without even looking like she’s trying to

[@serdeczniepozdrawiam8588]

she probably gave you that soul

[@2toastedbagels]

@@serdeczniepozdrawiam8588 she probably created us

[@mitskilover_jenna]

@@2toastedbagels she *did* create us

[@RitardandoTheMailman]

fr

[@nicofish543]

saddest music video i've ever seen & nothing even happened

[@odenpetersen6028]

This song feels so short

[@LeonNeon30]

@@odenpetersen6028 because it is short

[@whateverjami]

yeah

[@femaleserialkiller]

you can see the sadness in her eyes when she looks into the camera

[@dootdootanna]

@@odenpetersen6028 a

[@comradehermit9320]

Being that naked takes so much courage. Mitski is my hero.

[@frostyclouded]

shes not naked though shes wearing her white button down

[@sydneysloth5437]

@@frostyclouded they didn’t mean literally

[@frostyclouded]

@@sydneysloth5437 i was joking

[@vp5816]

@@frostyclouded thx for making me laugh after crying for hours listening to this on loop.

[@nicekittysara3560]

@@frostyclouded HELPP I CANT BREATHA

[@HLMProduction003]

"I'm tired of wanting more/I think I'm finally worn". Mitski you are a beautiful human being, inside and out

[@kaceyobrien7462]

makes me cry sm

[@ruzakiyay]

when she looked at the camera... it was so profound and it felt like she was really there looking back at me. i started bawling my eyes out because i felt so seen and vulnerable... mitski, you are amazing and i sure hope i will get to see you live on stage some day

[@lemonadecandy7346]

She cried at 1:52 😭

[@TAB00]

I've never felt so much comfort looking through somebody's eyes

[@sabrinaithink]

@@TAB00 i see u on every mitski video

[@35mmonrose]

I FELT THAT. i started crying too wtf!!!

[@dizzielizzy]

​@@35mmonrosei love your music

[@clairelouise2706]

Today I will wear my white button-down I'm tired of wanting more I think I'm finally worn For you have a way of promising things And I've been a forest fire I am a forest fire And I am the fire and I am the forest And I am a witness watching it I stand in a valley watching it And you are not there at all So today I will wear my white button-down I can at least be neat Walk out and be seen as clean And I'll go to work and I'll go to sleep And I'll love the littler things I'll love some littler things

[@cineural]

Thanks!

[@frogdude327]

💛

[@kaceyobrien7462]

i thought at the end it said "and all of the littler things, all of some littler things" i could be wrong though

[@hami5544]

@@kaceyobrien7462 i hear that too, but i think the love one makes more sense

[@emilyloxton]

thank you- may both sides of your pillow be cold

[@kasnoyoullgetintrouble]

I come back to this song often just to contemplate it. I see many people interpret this song as an ode to giving up on or loosing their dreams but, for me, it has been the struggle with anxiety. The struggle of watching myself burn up and sob and breakdown over the smallest things is a feeling so dreadful and twisted it's difficult to put to words. So instead, much like the song, I get up. I put on my clothes. And I learn to love the littler things because thats all I can possibly hold onto at the moment. It is frustrating, but it's a struggle I feel everyday and I thank Mitski for inadvertently putting it into a song.

[@TAB00]

THIS OH MY GOD YOU PUT IT ALL INTO WORDS THANK YOU

[@leah-yf8pp]

it’s so hard

[@kirstinhall4035]

This comment is exactly what I couldn’t put into words. Thank you.

[@jacobhoward7146]

I agree so much but to piggy back/extend to myself it is about what the anxiety brings and how it affects you life. Not even just anxiety but also mental health being destructive. Like I am trying my hardest to live but the things that I think I should do end up being self-destructive and that is where the lines "I am a forest fire, I am the fire and I am the forest and I am the witness watching it" really hit for me. I am the firing burning down my forrest but at the same time I am observing what is happening like a bystander with no control. I ruin my own life but can't seem to change that fact.

[@rainynights5132]

@@jacobhoward7146 exactly!! and also the "I am a forest fire, I am the fire and I am the forest and I am the witness watching it" feels like its saying that no one else except for me feels and sees what i feel, like its only me stuck in my own fire and thats why the ending says "I can at least be neat, walk out be seen as clean" because others dont seem to be able to notice or care anyways

[@avatar7381]

It took me being high to get this, but the song is about letting go of your dreams, letting go of your childhood naivety towards adult life, and realizing that for most people its just the same boring routine over and over again, then finally conforming to that simple yet depressing truth yourself. My favorite song of hers I think.

[@andrewosegueda2283]

Josh Mitchell you don't necessarily have to let go of all of it. At times you can bring it up

[@jammminjazz6803]

Josh Mitchell it sort of lke the beauty of the mundane

[@GLOKGLOKGLOK]

It's about having self-destructive tendencies once you find a promising romantic relationship, but if you wanna read it on-the-nose and think you have a clever interpretation, that's fine too

[@min-ashin9355]

beauty of art, isn't it? people are supposed to take from it what resonated with them. doesn't make them invalid even if they aren't what the artist meant. i think finding your own meaning is less on-the-nose than discovering what the artist meant, because it isn't nearly as obvious

[@JosiahMcCarthy]

I thought of it in terms of what she said about wanting to think of herself as San from Princess Mononoke, but actually being more like No-Face from Spirited Away. She's wanted to be bigger than the world, to have a cause that justifies not caring what she leaves in her wake, but all the while it was actually just a destructive habit that was only feeding off of what she could get out of people and disregarded those around who actually cared about her. So she's giving it up.

[@nevermnid]

I loved the underwater part.

[@dwalkmusick]

Ophelia!

[@jasaray]

i am a forest fire and i am the fire and i am the forest and i am the witness watching it she is the destructive thing, the thing being destroyed and she’s watching herself being destroyed but can’t help herself which basically means she’s suffering from the pain she created herself, but yet she’s doing nothing to stop it

[@seguimiu]

mitski is so good omfg

[@jaydenprende]

OMG THAT MAKES SENSE

[@jellyfish1213]

My life in a nutshell. LOL

[@bombasticsideeye123]

Well that hit home

[@Mamszczerzedość]

Reletable

[@toby1004]

i've always interpreted this song to be about someone realizing how bad things have gotten for them, but not being able to do anything to fix it, so all they can do is watch as things continue to get worse (i usually view it as mental health, but it really could be whatever you want tbh)

[@broncored]

agreed! I relate to this interpretation and I also relate to the song for different reason!!

[@saraira]

Idk always thought of as a person's mental health as "the burning hill" and still trying to go with daily tasks like nothing is happening "I'll wear my white button down" but knowing all that's happening in their life. "I'll walk out and be seen as clean". It is a metaphor for thinking that acting normal like their mental health isn't terrible so that people will think they're fine. "I'm tired of wanting more I think I'm finally worn " I think it's a metaphor of $ucide and not wanting to do anything.

[@onefishplease]

It always starts with a lump in my throat and then tears rolling down my cheeks... Mitski.

[@spoonvvv]

you know it's getting bad again when you start crying to mitski at 3 am

[@moonshapedpool]

I hope u feel better one day

[@spoonvvv]

@@moonshapedpool thank you!

[@sincerelymaya]

me rn

[@WillHarken]

Everyone needs to know Mitski

[@kaceyobrien7462]

many people aren't...mature...enough to appreciate her. i'm glad us all here right now can agree she's amazing though :)

[@pascalrp7664]

so much emotional catharsis from so little

[@lunalee9545]

honestly looking into mitski's eyes and felt my soul was awakening from a long silent slumber

[@Spider-f7y7o]

It's because she is god

[@zumeow]

@@Spider-f7y7o TRUE

[@andre-cmyk]

i think the abundance of closeups could be visual expression of giving up on big farfetched dreams to look at the small picture and focusing on details of life (loving the littler things) some shots are so zoomed in you can barely understand whats happening, which is also disorientating; kinda like living the same routine over and over again to the point where you dont know where you are anymore

[@johnlim6316]

I know the “white button down” is mostly interpreted as an almost reluctant maturing, but I’ve always found significance in why she sings of the color white. Like why didn’t she sing blue? Or red? I think of it in two ways: 1) Given that this was released on the same album of “Your Best American Girl,” this could allude to the white predominance in the work force, even in the art work force, or 2) the color white represents a surrender, a sort of “truce” to having to grow up and letting go of what she once called good, being her childhood, her dreams, or maybe even a relationship that we can interpret that she’s singing about. It might be a small detail, but her button down being white feels very intentional and symbolic given how amazingly and meticulously she writes her music.

[@Frichilsasta08]

She describes it in the next sentence honestly. She wants to literally be seen as "clean" and "neat" despite her inner turmoil regarding life's mundanities, and wants to learn to coexist with life and her self destructive tendencies (she is the fire, and she is the witness watching it). White is generally seen as a color of purity, but also as surrender, you're right on that.

[@seraby7151]

I think a white shirt is just the most common, work shirt. And yeah she wants to seen as neat and professional. I doubt it has anything to do with race since it doesnt seem implied unlike american girl.

[@pucktoad]

You wear white shirts traditionally with a suit.

[@whatidk2441]

the way you interpreted it is so beautiful, honestly.

[@Sleepy-Honey]

“I am a forest fire. I am the fire and I am the forest and I am a witness watching it” ….To me this song is about mindlessly watching one’s own life fall apart because of your own actions and just feeling so numb you can’t fix it, despite being entirely to blame

[@europeanriver]

"i'm tired of wanting more/ i think i'm finally worn" translates differently to me because i'm just another sad, caged in an bad environment, overthinking teenager who just wants to go and escape but school makes me feel so not worth the freedom yet so i just sit and fail learning the things 'i'm supposed to learn' in order to get the things that i want,, plus, "cause you have a way of promising things" the fact that my parents constantly broke a lot of small, not so important, promises as i grew older and older so it's so hard to be here with them when i just want to go away, this is partly a vent and the way i view the lyrics so i'm sorry and i hope you have a great day/ night/ evening whoever and wherever you are!, things'll get better one day if they're not so great right now

[@touriabahhaj9196]

hope ur doing good

[@ostolero]

thanks mitski for my life

[@christy6606]

i don't like my brown eyes all that much, but im learning to. i'm happy to have the same eye color as mitski. littler things

[@meandmadarastwogiantballsa5638]

brown eyes are gorgeous.

[@thotieprincess7190]

to me this song is abt moving on from someone who doesnt reciprocate. "im tired of wanting more i think im finally worn" and "u have a way of promising things" i think encompasses this. and then her referencing how she can "at least be neat" symbolizes her going back to her routine and moving on idk

[@gabrielmorales2366]

And I've been a forest fire I am a forest fire And I am the fire and I am the forest And I am a witness watching it

[@nicholasbruno5723]

To be damned, having lose your innocence and realize the truth that your time is limited and every second matters.

I have listened to this song over and over, even sing it in the shower. Just so lovely.

[@dakotahope599]

We listen to the same music :)

[@ally4152]

i love reading through other people’s interpretations of this so here’s mine: to me it resonates the most with me in terms of feeling worn out after spending so much time preoccupied with your appearance for the sake of pleasing others. “i’m tired of wanting more i think i’m finally worn” and “i am the fire and i am the forest and i am a witness watching it i stand in a valley watching it and you’re not there at all” being so exhausted from putting in all that effort only to not receive any attention from the person you’re trying to please, meanwhile watching yourself get burnt out and knowing it’s unhealthy but not being able to stop yourself from focusing on perfecting your appearance. i connect it back to brand new city when she says “if i gave up on being pretty i wouldn’t know how to be alive” and i feel like this song is finally taking a step back and giving into simplicity

[@chowder5202]

I dont find this song to be sad. I hear acceptance.

[@Someone-fn3ij]

i hope today mitski is loving the littler things :')

[@jassy3856]

this song (to me at least) feels like the feeling of realization. Realizing your broken, realizing your a monster, realizing your issues and flaws and all the little and big things wrong with you. You are the forest fire, you always were. You are watching yourself burn. It’s like going insane while being perfectly fine.

[@sleepingegg1719]

That little bit where she was floating, letting her hand brush the water’s plants, and then she was in the car reaching her hand out the window to a green she couldn’t touch… I think that was to show she’s drowning in both settings. And that’s really powerful

[@lauramolnar8039]

mitski is my favorite poet.

[@clairej212]

to me, this song perfectly describes being in active addiction. an addiction that started as a way to deal with your depression. the forest fire metaphor hurts so bad.

[@anon7245]

“I am a forest fire And I am the fire and I am the forest And I am a witness watching it” god that felt like a stab to the side

[@azoversch693]

I'm listening to this at almost 5am, fighting with myself, in denial about something that can be in the future but isn't likely, and waiting for it isn't fair for anyone involved. I just wanna see them, be there, and feel like everything is ok.

[@Stella4444mwah]

I relate this song to my feeling of brokenness and fatherless-ness. Wanting to be better but watching myself self sabotage. Hurting and hurting myself and being ashamed that I cant get out of the cycle. Parenting myself, being the child that needs parenting and wanting to give up on myself. Wishing that the promises that were made to me were kept. Feeling worn out from my cognitive dissonance. This song feels like it sums up all my heart.

[@minhkhanhnguyen4699]

the way she sings "and you were not there at all" breaks my heart

[@underfellz]

the scene where she’s floating in the lake and brushing her fingers up against the grass strikes a chord within me idk why

[@allieallieallie596]

am cry

[@pulchritudinousness]

yes

[@wee3075]

yes

[@demiclown]

yes

[@marissaburdock6550]

Yes

[@orpheus.]

yes

[@katbrechtel499]

It's incredible how much this song means to so many people, and how there are as many different interpretations as there are people. To me it's such a specific mood. It's looking at your life and expectations and realizing that the things you have been burning for rely on other people, and those others keep failing to show up, keep making promises they aren't able to keep. It's watching yourself burn in hope and unfulfillable need over and over. It's being too big, too much, and being unable to want to stop. It's the painful process of realizing your expectations and passions are too much for the circumstances of your life, and finally, finally accepting that. It's the moment after the collapse, the fall, when you're still alive, even if you feel smaller, sadder, less. It's the getting back up after, because what else can you do, and it's the building of meaning outside of the furious cycle of hope and disappointment.

[@marshall4271]

i miss mitski like i would miss a parent that had died, or a friend that lost contact. i feel like i know her and she knows me so well, that it is weird thinking that we never even cohexisted in the same place. She doesn't know me, and probably will never, but she knows i am here, and i feel that.

[@abbymiller]

this is my favorite mitski song, a little hidden gem

[@jernariawright4569]

I think of so many things at once when I hear this song. Past relationships, my father, my mother, even myself. I just cry and cry cry when I hear it. I feel so alone. The only thing comforting is my sadness. I'm trying to get better, but often times I feel as if it's pointless, as if I'm just stalling the inevitable.

[@phoebexxlouise]

I was not prepared for how profound that was

[@Papismackmyassss]

Me neither

[@quinoa03]

I love the way she sings these poems and I love how they make me feel

[@_gerb0t]

So depressing, but at the same time it uplifts me.

[@35mmonrose]

the way i actually burst into tears when it was just her staring into the camera. i felt such a tsunami of emotion radiating from her eyes.

[@josiahperea5062]

This song will always remind me that the world is beautiful and peaceful when you take the time to look for the beautiful and peaceful aspects of this world.

[@beamarieclaire]

Watching this MV feels like I'm holding a mirror to myself

[@Papismackmyassss]

I sort of interpret this song as being stuck in an endless cycle everyday of self destruction and depression. Everyday feeling the exact same, like being stuck in a loop and even though you try and enjoy the little things, you can’t help but want more for your life.

[@bellahadidnt.]

im sorry, what does it mean to enjoy the littler things?

[@Papismackmyassss]

@@bellahadidnt. probably to enjoy the little things in life, everyday things like going outside, having a cup of coffee. That sort of stuff, trying to enjoy the simpler things in life

[@bellahadidnt.]

@@Papismackmyassss oh ty!

[@monkeypenny6422]

I love Mitski so so much ❤️

[@emmao3362]

I SCREAMED WHEN I SAW THIS! It's genuinely beautiful, simple, and it gave me tons of emotions. Amazing work as usual.

[@lucidunham3968]

This song really hitting this Christmas Eve

[@gabyfloreaytreal9857]

ISTG ITS THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

[@ezekialbrown293]

This really speaks to me, and makes me feel when everything is numb otherwise. Thank you

[@user-mk8zq2ni1w]

mitski fact: she created everything

[@JulioMoyaKazmarek]

i think this song is actually about surrendering. She realizes that it is not worth it to keep loving someone (even though she loves them so much) if the pain is unbereable. She is the fire burning herself, watches it from afar and realizes that while she is still stuck in this, the person she loves doesn’t actually care about it. The end of the song consists in giving up the greatest feeling she ever felt to be able to keep on going. She’s gonna have to try to be contempt with smaller, littler things. The album being named puberty 2 and this being the last song in it.. just devastatingly sad (and beautiful, in a painful way) *also think that this is about the same situation she describes in YBAG but that’s just a guess

[@happyzombiikitti]

This is exactly it. Learning to let go while in love and being content with loving yourself in little ways.

[@alanjosh4335]

You can really hear her soul in this song

[@yepisuredolikecats3979]

this is like a glass of fresh water in the spring

[@NickCooper-pq5im]

I actually cried listening to this song. My student shared it with me and now Mitski is my favorite thing. Thanks, Martin, for sharing this with me.

[@Lara-vo6rp]

youre a wonderful human being keep going

[@null6457]

deserves more recognition

[@justanotherone9648]

the last lines "And ill go to work And I'll go to sleep and I'll love the littler things i'll love some littler things" it's so beautiful. something I forget.

[@hxpeko]

in my eyes, this song means accepting everything that has happened to you back then. you accept the fact that many things that has happened to you, that youve been the fire, the forest, and the witness watching it. in all of your life, no one was there to you to guide you throughout, no one was there to help, the one you loved was not there at all. but you accept that all of these has happened already and you choose to move on. even with the guilt of whatever that happened to you, you choose to shadow that guilt and move onto other things in life, like loving other people, doing other things, n all that

[@littlestoryblog]

"im tired of wanting more/i think im finally worn" for me translates to finally being done with standards, finally being done with wanting to better yourself after you've tried so hard to change yourself. you can finally be enough for yourself and love littler things

[@smallfrycrybaby]

i have goosebumps from this omg

[@estupinansofia3938]

MITSKI MY BELOVED

[@ilovestrawberries26]

This made me cry for hrs, made me realize some things, and im so tired. I love you, Mitski. Thank you for existing.

[@bekmoore9627]

I've watched this 6 times and I just oHO it's so beautiful.

[@aridagos]

to me, this song is about accepting you're the problem. the white button down represents growth, maturity, responsibility. she's done falling for the lies others tell her; she realises she's the forest, she's the fire burning her, and she is also a witness watching from afar, doing nothing to stop her from hurting herself. and as much as she'd like to blame her lover for her suffering, the truth is he isn't even there. he doesn't care. he can't help her. so, she chooses to display neatness (a concept which has already appeared in last words of a shooting star) by wearing a white button down, "to be seen as clean". fake it 'til you make it. slowly, she'll get better: she'll form a routine, even if a mundane one, and she'll learn to be happy with what she already has. it's my fav album closer by her.

[@creativechristinaa]

I interpret the song very similarly!!

[@van-jk5xj]

finding mitski and her beautiful discography is such a blessing:( i adore her so much

[@cybertomson]

I can't begin to explain all that this song means to me. The constant dilemma it rises in me, bc yes it's about closing a chapter and starting over, but also about leaving behind something that might be significant, about giving up to live a quiet life. it's about settling down but what does that mean? living a clean healthy life? or a meaningless one where you've given up on your dreams and hopes? I'll love your work forever, mitski

[@a1mzie]

i wanna hug her so bad i feel like she needs a hug.. we love you mitski

[@sillydaphne]

that is not just a song, that is a poem and it'll be my favorite poem forever

[@saturnprinc3sss]

i wonder if mitski knows how much she means to me, she’s saved me, she really really has

[@Gamerkat10]

Now THIS is some artsy bullshit. Love it.

[@belladonna92]

For me, this song is about realising when to move on. Not just from dreams, but friendships, barren land with nothing left for you to grow. It’s about moving on

[@pickleboss69]

cant believe she invented hills for this song we heart you mitski 🫶

[@kaiherrera9134]

I can’t believe Mitski invented hills!!

[@cherrychairlegs2493]

and fire!

[@Dryadics]

aaaaaaaa!!! I absolutely love this song. I'm so glad it got a video, and it's so simple yet so beautiful. I'm in love with the minimalism, and the underwater footage is perfectly perfect and ties up the video amazingly.

[@skdnanbwq9022]

I cry every night with this song

[@morg1328]

this is so beautiful!

[@katherinerivera3520]

please keep making more official videos, these are amazing you are extremely talented, just keep being you and shine on 🤗

[@brnne]

I love the littler things

[@BasicDomesticActivity]

"I Bet on Losing Dogs" next please, it's so beautiful!

[@sevenawfulcats3260]

I've cried to many of mitski's songs(this song too), I associate with "Once More to see You" the most,because that's my life basically.

[@someoneunknown7102]

Perfect

[@pdepalomitas]

Oh baby, pls don't cry 😞😞

[@andrewosegueda2283]

choose your last words crying is really good for you mental health so cry on when needed 👍

[@beltrancaceres2777]

and i am the foreestt and i am the fireeee and i am a witness that's watching it

[@funnygal5837]

mitski’s music seriously makes me feel seen. this song along with i don’t smoke and drunk walk home, make me cry. her whole persona just resonates really well with me

[@iamkenpores]

And just like this song, that sounds long but actually short once it ends, what's eating you up right now will end all of a sudden and you'll play a different song. Dont rush the pace of healing..

[@Kirbybaby]

those chords rip my heart open

[@cassieandjoslyn]

Listening on repeat. ❤

[@trashtvinternational]

OMG! Love it, so pure!

[@camilleferron6330]

I've never needed a song in my life so much as I've needed this one. The video is amazing and the part where you drive by trees is something I actually saw listening to this song ty so much❤️

[@libertyerichsen3904]

One of my favorite mitski songs because I interpret it as being about being so worn down from trying to be perfect and impress people that you just start giving yourself the same routine over and over again still worn out but you’ve stopped trying to make it go away

[@MartinEscola]

I just wanna hug this song

[@Agrarius24]

this song is what it feels like to love (or want to love) someone when you have anxiety.