"World on Fire" is a song by

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. It was released in June 2004 as the third single from her '' Afterglow'' album (2003).

Background and writing

McLachlan wrote the song in the wake of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

.Melancholy Songs, But Life Seems Swell; Sarah McLachlan Is Back in the Limelight After a Pause for Marriage and Motherhood
New York Times

Music video

The video was directed by Sophie Muller. It opens with the claim of having cost $150,000, despite the ensuing low-quality footage of a barefoot McLachlan in a plain room playing her guitar. The video continues to reveal it actually cost $15, then tracking (in animated and videotaped segments) how the remainder went to enriching lives all around the globe through charitable donations.

Track listing

CD MaxiSingle # "World on Fire" – 4:22 # "World on Fire" (Live Version) – 4:16 # "World on Fire" ( Junkie XL Radio Mix) – 3:46 # "World on Fire" (

Solarstone Richard Mowatt, commonly known by his stage name Solarstone (formerly spelled Solar Stone), is an Irish trance DJ and producer based in Wales. The music project Solarstone was founded as a trio, and also used the pseudonyms Young Parisians, Liq ...

"Afterhours" Mix) – 8:42 # "World on Fire" enhance video – 4:22 UK Promo # "World on Fire" – 4:22 # "World on Fire" ( Junkie XL Radio Mix) – 3:46 US Promo # "World on Fire" ( Junkie XL Radio Mix) – 3:46 # "World on Fire" (Radio Mix) – 4:28 # "World on Fire" – 4:23 # Call Out Hook – 0:10 US Promo (Vinyl) # "World on Fire" (JXL Club Mix) – 12:24 # "World on Fire" (JXL Club Mix Edit) – 6:28MusicBrainz.or

Accessed October 30, 2008. # "World on Fire" (Marius De Vries Mix) – 4:49 CAN Promo # "World on Fire" ( Junkie XL Radio Mix) – 3:46 # "World on Fire" (Tom Lord Alge Radio Mix) – 4:25 # "World on Fire" – 4:22 # "World on Fire" (Junkie XL Mix Show Edit) – 6:25 UK Promo (Vinyl) # "World on Fire" (JXL Club Mix) – 12:24 # "Stupid" (Hyper Mix)

Charts

Additional information

*The eleven charitable organizations McLachlan chose to donate the production costs of the ''World On Fire'' are

Carolina for Kibera Founded in 2001 by Rye Barcott, Salim Mohamed, and the late Tabitha Atieno Festo, CFK Africa (previously Carolina for Kibera) is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) based in the informal settlement of Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya. Re ...

, Comic Relief,

CARE USA CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, formerly Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe) is a major international humanitarian agency delivering emergency relief and long-term international development projects. Founded i ...

DORCAS Dorcas ( el, Δορκάς, Dorkás, used as a translated variant of the Aramaic name), or Tabitha ( arc, טביתא/ܛܒܝܬܐ, Ṭaḇīṯā, (female) gazelle), was an early disciple of Jesus mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (, see discussi ...

Engineers Without Borders (Canada) Engineers Without Borders Canada (), abbreviated EWB or ISF, is a non-governmental organization devoted to international development. Founded in 2000 by George Roter and Parker Mitchell, engineering graduates from the University of Waterloo, it ...

Help the Aged Help the Aged was a United Kingdom based international charity founded in 1961 by Cecil Jackson-Cole and Hugh Faulkner to help disadvantaged older people who were affected by poverty, isolation and neglect. It merged with Age Concern in 2009 to f ...

Film Aid A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, War Child, Heifer International,

ITDG Practical Action (previously known as the Intermediate Technology Development Group, ITDG) is a development charity registered in the United Kingdom which works directly in four regions of the developing world – Latin America, East Africa, Sou ...

, and

Action Aid ActionAid is an international non-governmental organization whose stated primary aim is to work against poverty and injustice worldwide. ActionAid is a federation of 45 country offices that works with communities, often via local partner organis ...

. *The video was inspired by a letter from an

volunteer.University of British Columbi

Accessed February 11, 2008. *A remix of the song by Junkie XL was featured on the soundtrack of ''

FIFA Soccer 2005 ''FIFA Football 2005'', also known as ''FIFA Soccer 2005'' in North America or simply ''FIFA 2005'', is a football simulation video game released in 2004. It was developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for the Play ...

''.

Notes

External links

*
Media That Matters page on the video
{{DEFAULTSORT:World On Fire (sOng) 2004 singles Music videos directed by Sophie Muller Sarah McLachlan songs Arista Records singles Nettwerk Records singles Songs written by Sarah McLachlan Songs written by Pierre Marchand 2003 songs