The Fire

Capo 7 C C Riff, Em, C, G G D F#m G A young child sits quiet, the forest is dark G D Bm Possibilities overflow his unbroken heart G D F#m G I ask him well after the brush takes the spark G Bm What do you see in the fire? D/G D I see light within color and color in light F#m Bm G Trophies I'll take home and battles I'll fight G D F#m G A bright blue horizon with no pain in sight G Bm D/G D I'll be there and so will my parents and you're invited too G D A life-sentence inmate in orange prisoner clothes F#m Bm G Who's been told his whole life that's just how it goes G D F#m G Who came out swinging from poverty row G F#m Sits a bit close to the dangerous glow G Bm What do ya see in the fire? G D I see rich people laughin' with food on their plates F#m Bm G And neighborhood bullies imprinted with hate G D F#m G Moms and dads screaming at each other insane G F#m And hard grey redemption a little too late Bm Em And I see myself as I might've been G A G D I’m handsome, and capable, and funny G D A young woman in college entranced by the flames F#m Bm G Is pondering silent how perfectly strange G D F#m G Bm A girl could be called by so many names and not one be the one she was given G D What do you see in the fire? G D I see myself in the mirror, not pretty enough F#m Bm G And digital images reducing love G D F#m G My roommate enslaved by expectations above G Bm Bm And then I see the face of my mother G D A first-year preacher stands on his feet F#m Bm G His love for mankind is true and complete G D F#m G While the frigid wind blows through the trees G F#m I ask as he leans away from the heat G Bm "What do you see in the fire?" G D I see swirling confusion, question, and loss F#m Bm G And I know all about Christ and the cross G F#m But I cannot explain the Holocaust Bm Em I stuttered when a young man asked me to G D I just couldn’t find the words G D A woman of ninety with wisdom in spades F#m Bm G Her mind still as sharp as her kitchen blades G D F#m G I ask as her memory nonetheless fades G Bm "What do you see in the fire?" G D I see the touch of my husband who recently passed F#m Bm G Our hometown before the roads got so fast G D F#m G And I see it now in an impatient blur D G And I see how in love we were Bm F#m I see the good Lord offering mercy Bm F#m I see the good Lord offering mercy G A7 I see the good Lord offering mercy G D Someone I care for, she sits by my side F#m Bm G I can feel the past and the future collide G D F#m G She leans in and whispers, “Don't think, just decide" G Bm What do you see in the fire? G D I see the faces of my victims whose hearts I once broke F#m Bm G Calm and alive in the curling smoke G D F#m G All I can do is sit here and hope G Bm Bm They may find a way to forgive me G D There's something unspoken there in your eyes F#m Bm G A pain or a love I don't recognize G D F#m G I better ask you now before it dies G D What do you see in the fire?