Somewhere high in the desert near a curtain of a blue
  the sane man skirts under the wind
  but down here in the city of the lime lights
  the fans of santa ana are witherin'
  and you can’t deny that living is easy
  if you never look behind the scenery
  it's showtime for drag lines
  and bedlam is dreamin' of rain
  
  when the hills of los angeles are burnin'
  palm trees are candles in the murder wind
  so many lives are on the breeze
  even the stars are ill at ease
  and los angeles is burnin'
  
  this is not a test
  of the emergency broadcast system
  when malibu fires and radio towers
  conspire to dance again
  and I cannot believe the media Mecca
  they're only trying to battle reality, catch it on prime time, story at nine
  the whole world is goin' insane
  
  when the hills of los angeles are burnin'
  palm trees are candles in the murder wind
  so many lives are on the breeze
  even the stars are ill at ease
  and los angeles is burnin'
  
  a clock that reads
  the end of days
  shotgun roundabouts are bending in the haze
  
  more a question than a curse
  how could hell be any worse?
  
  the flames are startin'
  the cameras runnin'
  so take warnin'
  
  when the hills of los angeles are burnin
  palm trees are candles in the murder wind
  so many lives are on the breeze
  even the stars are ill at ease
  and los angeles is burnin'