Earth Intruders includes a metallic industrial beat produced by North American hip hop composer/producer Timbaland and tribal percussion by the African group Konono No 1.

According to an interview Bjork did with Pitchfork, the song was inspired by a 2005 trip to post-tsunami Indonesia. She was inspired to think about the human race as “a tribe” marching to a universal beat. Bjork met with Timbaland straight after her time in Indonesia.

“‘Earth Intruders’ was the first beat he (Timbaland) put on, and it just all came up, that sort of fantasy that maybe a tsunami of people would just come and hit the White House and scrape it off the ground and do some justice and spread these people all around the planet… I could see all these people in Indonesia that lost everything just kind of coming up, and everybody in Africa– because they were asking me to go there and fight, to be one of the people to address AIDS– just seeing those people, one sees pictures, but then meeting them is something else. Just a wave of people.”

Bjork approached Michel Ocelot, inspired by his work in the 1998 hit Kirikou et la sorcière (Kirikou and the Sorceress) set in an African village. In a little village somewhere in Africa, a boy named Kirikou is born. But he’s not a normal boy, because he knows what he wants and can already speak and walk. His mother tells him how an evil sorceress has dried up their spring and devoured all the males of the village except for one last warrior. Kirikou decides to accompany the warrior to the spring to challenge the sorceress.

The single can be downloaded at iTunes, Wippit, Bleep, Napster, Virgin, HMV | Grapewire and 7 Digital

Lyrics for Earth Intruders

We are the earth intruders
We are the earth intruders
Muddy with twigs and branches
A-haaaaaa!

Turmoil! Carnaaaaa-ge!

Here come the earth intruders
We are the paratroopers
The beat of sharpshooters
Comes straight from voodoo

With our feet thumping
With our feet marching
Grinding the skeptics into the soil

Shower of goodness coming to end the doubt—pouring over
Shower of goodness coming to end

We are the earth intruders
We are the sharpshooters
Flock of parachuters
Necessary voodoo

I have guided my bones through some voltage
And love them still
And love them too

Metallic
Carnage
Furiousity
Feel the speed!

We are the earth intruders
We are the sharpshooters,
Flock of parachuters
Necessary voodoo

There is turmoil out there
Carnage! Rambling!
What is to do but dig
Dig bones out of earth

Mud graves

Timber
Morbid trenches

Here come the earth intruders
There’ll be no resistance
We are the cannoneers
Necessary voodoo

And the beast with many heads and arms rolling
Steamroller!

We are the earth intruders
We are the earth intruders
Muddy with twigs and branches

Forgive this tribe!

We are the earth intruders
We are the earth intruders
Muddy with twigs and branches

We are the earth intruders
Muddy with twigs and branches

We are the earth intruders
A-haaaaa!

We are the earth intruders
Muddy with twigs and branches
Marching!

We are the earth intruders
Muddy with twigs and branches
Marching!

March
March
March

We are the earth intruders
Muddy with twigs and branches
Marching voodoo!