Talking Heads - Burning Down the House Lyrics Meaning

I think if you're looking for the meaning of this song, you're reading something into it that just isn't there. Remember this is from a band whose next album was Stop Making Sense.

But if you really want to read something interesting into this anyway, what makes sense to me is this: David Byrne chose a variation of the P-Funk audience chant "Burn down the house" which fit the meter, but that phrase itself is interesting because it is possibly informed by the centuries old idea of burning or tearing down your "house", which in the case of Rumi is a metaphor for the ego that separates you from unity with the universe:

The Ship Sunk In Love

Should Love's heart rejoice unless I burn?
For my heart is Love's dwelling.
If You will burn Your house, burn it, Love!
Who will say, 'It's not allowed'?
Burn this house thoroughly!
The lover's house improves with fire.
From now on I will make burning my aim,
From now on I will make burning my aim,
for I am like the candle: burning only makes me brighter.
Abandon sleep tonight; traverse fro one night
the region of the sleepless.
Look upon these lovers who have become distraught
and like moths have died in union with the One Beloved.
Look upon this ship of God's creatures
and see how it is sunk in Love.

Tear Down This House

Tear down this house. A hundred thousand new houses can be built from the transparent yellow gemstone buried underneath it. The only way to get to that is to do the work of demolishing and then digging under the foundation. With that value in hand all the new construction will be done without effort. And anyway, sooner or later this house will fall on its own. The jewel treasure will be uncovered but it won’t be yours then. The buried wealth is your pay for doing the demolition, the pick and shovel work.. If you wait and just let it happen, you’ll bite your hand and say “I didn’t do as I knew I should have.” This is a rented house. You don’t own the deed. You have a lease and you’ve make your living sewing patches on torn clothing. Yet only a few feet underneath are two veins of pure red and bright gold gemstone. Take the pickaxe and pry the foundation . You’ve go to quit this seamstress work. What does the patch-sewing mean, you ask? Eating and drinking. The heavy cloak of the body is always getting torn. You patch it with food and other restless ego satisfactions. Rip up one board from the shop floor and look into the basement. You’ll see two glints in the dirt.

Rumi, 1250