The Fire chords by The Avett Brothers

Chords with lyrics

• Capo on 7th

Tuning: Standard (E MajorE A augmentedA D MajorD G+G BB E MajorE)

C majorC Riff:
E MajorE|------------------------------------|
BB|-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0------|
G+G|-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0------|
D MajorD|--2-----0-----------0---------------|
A augmentedA|--------------2-----------2-----0---|
E MajorE|------------------------------------|


Intro:
C majorC Riff, Em, C, G+G

Verse 1:
C majorC         G+G     B minorBm      C majorC
A augmentedA young child sits quiet, the forest is dark
C majorC       G+G      E minorEm
Possibilities overflow his unbroken heart
C majorC       G+G     B minorBm       C majorC
I ask him well after the brush takes the spark
C majorC            E minorEm
What do you see in the fire?
G/C             G+G
I see light within color and color in light
B minorBm      E minorEm      C majorC
Trophies I'll take home and battles I'll fight
C majorC       G+G      B minorBm     C majorC
A augmentedA bright blue horizon with no pain in sight
C majorC              E minorEm   G/C     G+G
I'll be there and so will my parents and you're invited too

Verse 2:
C majorC             G+G
A augmentedA life-sentence inmate in orange prisoner clothes
B minorBm         E minorEm         C majorC
Who's been told his whole life that's just how it goes
C majorC      G+G       B minorBm   C majorC
Who came out swinging from poverty row
C majorC            B minorBm
Sits a bit close to the dangerous glow
C majorC           E minorEm
What do ya see in the fire?
C majorC                G+G
I see rich people laughin' with food on their plates
B minorBm        E minorEm     C majorC
And neighborhood bullies imprinted with hate
C majorC       G+G      B minorBm     C majorC
Moms and dads screaming at each other insane
C majorC             B minorBm
And hard grey redemption a little too late
E minorEm          A minorAm
And I see myself as I might've been
C majorC         D MajorD       C majorC        G+G
I’m handsome, and capable, and funny

Verse 3:
    C majorC         G+G
A augmentedA young woman in college entranced by the flames
  B minorBm    E minorEm     C majorC
Is pondering silent how perfectly strange
C majorC        G+G     B minorBm   C majorC                   E minorEm
A augmentedA girl could be called by so many names and not one be the one she was given
C majorC           G+G
What do you see in the fire?
C majorC              G+G
I see myself in the mirror, not pretty enough
B minorBm     E minorEm    C majorC
And digital images reducing love
C majorC        G+G      B minorBm    C majorC
My roommate enslaved by expectations above
C majorC                E minorEm       E minorEm
And then I see the face of my mother

Verse 4:
C majorC           G+G
A augmentedA first-year preacher stands on his feet
B minorBm       E minorEm    C majorC
His love for mankind is true and complete
C majorC     G+G     B minorBm        C majorC
While the frigid wind blows through the trees
C majorC         B minorBm
I ask as he leans away from the heat
C majorC            E minorEm
"What do you see in the fire?"
C majorC             G+G
I see swirling confusion, question, and loss
B minorBm       E minorEm  C majorC
And I know all about Christ and the cross
C majorC            B minorBm
But I cannot explain the Holocaust
E minorEm              A minorAm
I stuttered when a young man asked me to
C majorC           G+G
I just couldn’t find the words

Verse 5:
C majorC           G+G
A augmentedA woman of ninety with wisdom in spades
B minorBm        E minorEm      C majorC
Her mind still as sharp as her kitchen blades
C majorC      G+G   B minorBm     C majorC
I ask as her memory nonetheless fades
C majorC            E minorEm
"What do you see in the fire?"
     C majorC            G+G
I see the touch of my husband who recently passed
  B minorBm    E minorEm       C majorC
Our hometown before the roads got so fast
C majorC      G+G     B minorBm    C majorC
And I see it now in an inpatient blur
G+G     G+G
And I see how in love we were
E minorEm              B minorBm
I see the good Lord offering mercy
E minorEm              B minorBm
I see the good Lord offering mercy
C majorC              D7D7
I see the good Lord offering mercy

Verse 6:
C majorC            G+G
Someone I care for, she sits by my side
B minorBm       E minorEm      C majorC
I can feel the past and the future collide
C majorC         G+G     B minorBm        C majorC
She leans in and whispers, “Don't think, just decide"
C majorC           E minorEm
What do you see in the fire?
     C majorC             G+G
I see the faces of my victims whose hearts I once broke
B minorBm    E minorEm      C majorC
Calm and alive in the curling smoke
C majorC     G+G  B minorBm      C majorC
All I can do is sit here and hope
C majorC            E minorEm           E minorEm
They may find a way to forgive me

Outro:
C majorC              G+G
There's something unspoken there in your eyes
B minorBm      E minorEm      C majorC
A augmentedA pain or a love I don't recognize
C majorC        G+G B minorBm    C majorC
I better ask you now before it dies
C majorC          G+G
What do you see in the fire?