Dig for Fire

"Dig for Fire" was one of the few songs on Bossanova that Francis had written prior to coming into the studio.^[1] According to Pixies frontman Black Francis, the song was "a bad Talking Heads imitation."^[2]

Producer Gil Norton said of the song, "'Dig for Fire' was the first time we used a drum machine. The bass drum on that is a drum machine and Dave [Lovering] played on top of it. That was the first time we'd ever used any sample-type sounds on the album."^[1]

"Dig for Fire" was released as the second single from Bossanova. Among the B-sides was a version of Neil Young's "Winterlong."^[3] "Dig for Fire" reached number 11 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart^[4] and number 62 in the UK.

The single version of "Dig for Fire" is mixed differently from the album version and also contains some overdubs.^{[citation needed]}

The song was promoted with a music video that also featured another Bossanova track, the brief "Allison", a tribute to jazz musician Mose Allison. The combination of the two songs was a compromise, as Elektra wanted a video for "Dig for Fire," while Francis, in calling the song a "bad Talking Heads imitation," pushed for "Allison" instead.^[5]

The video featured the band riding in motorcycle sidecars during "Dig for Fire," only to cut to the band performing "Allison" live on the field of Amsterdam's Olympisch Stadion.^[5]

All songs written by Black Francis, except where otherwise noted.

1. "Dig for Fire" – 2:51
2. "Velvety Instrumental Version" – 2:04
3. "Winterlong" (Neil Young) – 3:07
4. "Santo" – 2:16