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Version 1The Fire - The Avett Brothers Tuning: Standard Capo VII C Riff: E|------------------------------------| B|-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0------| G|-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0------| D|--2-----0-----------0---------------| A|--------------2-----------2-----0---| E|------------------------------------| [Intro] C Riff, Em, C, G [Verse 1] C G Bm C A young child sits quiet, the forest is dark C G Em Possibilities overflow his unbroken heart C G Bm C I ask him well after the brush takes the spark C Em What do you see in the fire? G/C G I see light within color and color in light Bm Em C Trophies I'll take home and battles I'll fight C G Bm C A bright blue horizon with no pain in sight C Em G/C G I'll be there and so will my parents and you're invited too [Verse 2] C G A life-sentence inmate in orange prisoner clothes Bm Em C Who's been told his whole life that's just how it goes C G Bm C Who came out swinging from poverty row C Bm Sits a bit close to the dangerous glow C Em What do ya see in the fire? C G I see rich people laughin' with food on their plates Bm Em C And neighborhood bullies imprinted with hate C G Bm C Moms and dads screaming at each other insane C Bm And hard grey redemption a little too late Em Am And I see myself as I might've been C D C G I’m handsome, and capable, and funny [Verse 3] C G A young woman in college entranced by the flames Bm Em C Is pondering silent how perfectly strange C G Bm C Em A girl could be called by so many names and not one be the one she was given C G What do you see in the fire? C G I see myself in the mirror, not pretty enough Bm Em C And digital images reducing love C G Bm C My roommate enslaved by expectations above C Em Em And then I see the face of my mother [Verse 4] C G A first-year preacher stands on his feet Bm Em C His love for mankind is true and complete C G Bm C While the frigid wind blows through the trees C Bm I ask as he leans away from the heat C Em "What do you see in the fire?" C G I see swirling confusion, question, and loss Bm Em C And I know all about Christ and the cross C Bm But I cannot explain the Holocaust Em Am I stuttered when a young man asked me to C G I just couldn’t find the words [Verse 5] C G A woman of ninety with wisdom in spades Bm Em C Her mind still as sharp as her kitchen blades C G Bm C I ask as her memory nonetheless fades C Em "What do you see in the fire?" C G I see the touch of my husband who recently passed Bm Em C Our hometown before the roads got so fast C G Bm C And I see it now in an impatient blur G C And I see how in love we were Em Bm I see the good Lord offering mercy Em Bm I see the good Lord offering mercy C D7 I see the good Lord offering mercy [Verse 6] C G Someone I care for, she sits by my side Bm Em C I can feel the past and the future collide C G Bm C She leans in and whispers, “Don't think, just decide" C Em What do you see in the fire? C G I see the faces of my victims whose hearts I once broke Bm Em C Calm and alive in the curling smoke C G Bm C All I can do is sit here and hope C Em Em They may find a way to forgive me [Outro] C G There's something unspoken there in your eyes Bm Em C A pain or a love I don't recognize C G Bm C I better ask you now before it dies C G What do you see in the fire?