Paroles The fire The Avett Brothers

The fire

A young child sits quiet, the forest is dark
Possibilities overflow his unbroken heart
I ask him well after the brush takes the spark
What do you see in the fire?
I see light within color and color in?light
Trophies?I'll'take home and'battles I'll fight
A?bright blue horizon with no pain in sight
I'll be there and so will my parents and you're invited too

A life-sentence inmate in orange prisoner clothes
Who's been told his whole life that's just how it goes
Who came out swinging from poverty row
Sits a bit close to the dangerous glow
What do ya see in the fire?
I see rich people laughin' with food on their plates
And neighborhood bullies imprinted with hate
Moms and dads screaming at each other insane
And hard grey redemption a little too late
And I see myself as I might've been
I’m handsome, and capable, and funny

A young woman in college entranced by the flames is pondering silent how perfectly strange
A girl could be called by so many names and not one be the one she was given
What do you see in the fire?
I see myself in the mirror, not pretty enough
And digital images reducing love
My roommate enslaved by expectations above
And then I see the face of my mother

A first year preacher stands on his feet
His love for man kind is true and complete
While the frigid wind blows through the trees
I ask as he leans away from the heat
"What do you see in the fire?"
I see swirling confusion, question, and loss
And I know all about Christ and the cross
But I cannot explain the Holocaust
I stuttered when a young man asked me to
I just couldn’t find the words

A woman of ninety with wisdom in spades
Her mind still as sharp as her kitchen blades
I ask as her memory nonetheless fades
"What do you see in the fire?"
I see the touch of my husband who recently passed
Our hometown before the roads got so fast
And I see it now in an impatient blur
And I see how in love we were
I see the good Lord offering mercy
I see the good Lord offering mercy
I see the good Lord offering mercy

Someone I care for, she sits by my side
I can feel the past and the future collide
She leans in and whispers, “Don't think, just decide"
What do you see in the fire?
I see the faces of my victims whose hearts I once broke
Calm and alive in the curling smoke
All I can do is sit here and hope
They may find a way to forgive me

There's something unspoken there in your eyes
A pain or a love I don't recognize
I better ask you now before it dies
What do you see in the fire?