According to long-time Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, Radiohead worked on "Burn the Witch" during the sessions for their albums Kid A (2000), Hail to the Thief (2003), and In Rainbows (2007). The phrase "burn the witch" appears in the Hail to the Thief album artwork. Singer Thom Yorke mentioned the song in a 2005 blog entry on Radiohead's website and posted lyrics in 2007. It was briefly teased in performances in 2006 and 2008, but never played in full.