Fire - David Mallett: Song Lyrics, Music Videos & Concerts

Fire

213

Singer/Songwriter

Fire was released on January 1, 1990 by Rounder Records as a part of the album Inches & Miles, 1977-1980

Song Details

AlbumInches & Miles, 1977-1980

Release DateJanuary 1, 1990

LabelRounder Records

LanguageEnglish

Melodicness

Acousticness

Valence

Danceability

Energy

BPM67

OVERVIEW

LYRICS

Credits

PERFORMING ARTISTS

David Mallett

Vocals

PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING

Noel Paul Stookey

Noel Paul Stookey

Producer

Lyrics

It's the last week in June at the first quarter moon

And the summer's coming down warm

And the corn's in the ground and the veins turning round

As it tells of an oncoming storm

And there's four of us home but we're not quite alone

There's a host of ghosts living upstairs

For a house does not shelter and then let you pass

After standing for two hundred years

Now the cows in the meadow sleep the eyed mother

Her cap stands at tether inside

And the barn swallows carry their bricks and their mortar

And the big door is swung open wide

And this place is like tinder, the timbers are dry

There's dust on the rafters and beams

But the buildings will stand, they've been graced by the hands

Of the ones who were building their dreams

Now up from the north there's a black cloud a-rolling

And another rolls in from the west

And oh Lord we need rain and we've planted them veins

Just quench us and we'll do the rest

Now the weeping old willow stands in the yard

It sways back and forth in the breeze

And there's a rumble of thunder and the rain falls so hard

Bringing the drought to its knees

And my grandfather worked here with his family beside him

And God knows how many before

And how many babies and how many brides

Their footsteps worn in the floor

And there's a silence that falls in the midst of the storm

As the elements wait and decide

To unleash their forces on mortals like me

Or to move on and let us survive

Now a crash like a sound I never have heard

Like a cannon from Uncle John's war

And my father and brother they head for the stairway

I shudder and I head for the door

Now off the back door steps the air has the odor

Of brimstone, the rain is gone round

And off to my right I am blind by the sight

Of the ark of the barn burning down

And there's fire, fire out in the barn, father

Fire in the chicken house too

And the flames run so high they are scorching the sky

And there's not a damn thing we can do

And now the sparks from the haymow they light on the cedar

Dry shingles that cover the shed

And nothing is sacred, no nothing is sacred

'Cause there's fire and there's flames to be fed

And the clock in the kitchen says quarter past three

As the gates have flung open from hell

But time here is frozen, the clock ticks no more

Just the ashes and the cinders and smell

And you just take what you can carry and leave all the rest

Leave grandmother's four-poster bed

'Cause it's too big to haul and the doorway's too small

And there's a black cloud of smoke overhead

Take some china, take some old things that can't be replaced

Take a chair, take the clothes on your backs

And now the roof crumbles in and there's a smudge on your chin

But you better stay outside, don't go back

'Cause there's fire, fire out in the barn, father

Fire in the main house too

And the flames run so high they are scorching the sky

And there's not a damn thing we can do

It's the last week in June at the first quarter moon

And the summer's coming down warm

And the corn's in the ground and the veins turning round

As it tells of an oncoming storm

Written by: David Mallett

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