Fire

[Verse 1]
It's the last week in June near the first quarter moon
The summer is comin' down warm
And the corn's in the ground, and the vane's turnin' 'round
As it tells of an oncomin' storm

[Verse 2]
Now, there's four of us home but we're not quite alone
There's a host of ghosts livin' upstairs
For a house doesn't shelter and then let you pass
After standin' for two hundred years

[Verse 3]
Now, the cows in the meadow, a sleepy-eyed mother
Her calf stands at tether inside
And the barn swallows carry their bricks and their mortar
The big door is swung open wide

[Verse 4]
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 buildin' their dreams

[Verse 5]
Now, up from the north there's a black cloud a rollin'
And another rolls in from the west
And, oh Lord, we need rain, or we've planted in vain
So just quench us, and we'll do the rest

[Verse 6]
Now, the weepin' old willow that 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
Bringin' the drought to its knees

[Verse 7]
My grandfather worked here with his family beside him
And God knows how many before
And how many babies, and how many wives
Their footsteps are worn in the floor

[Verse 8]
And there's a silence that falls in the midst of a storm
As the elements wait and decide
To unleash their forces on mortals like me
Or to move on and let us survive

[Verse 9]
Now, crash like a sound like I never have heard
Like a cannon from Uncle John's war
My father and brother, they head for the stairway
I shudder and head for the door

[Verse 10]
Now, off the backdoor steps the air has an odor of brimstone
The rain is gone 'round
And off to my right, I am blind by the sight
Of the arc of the barn burnin' down

[Verse 11]
And there's fire, fire out in the barn, Father
Fire in the chicken house, too
And the flames run so high that they're scorchin' the sky
And there's not a damn thing we can do

[Verse 12]
Now, the sparks from the hay-mow
They light on the cedar, dry shingles that cover the shed
And nothing is sacred, no, nothing is saved
'Cause there's fire, and there's flames to be fed

[Verse 13]
Now, the clock in the kitchen says quarter past three
As the gates are flung open from Hell
But time here is frozen; the clock ticks no more
Just the ashes and the cinders and smell

[Interlude]

[Verse 14]
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

[Verse 15]
Take some china, some old things that can't be replaced
Take a chair and the clothes on our backs
The roof tumbles in, there's a smudge on your chin
You better stay outside, don't go back

[Verse 11]
And there's fire, fire out in the barn, Father
Fire in the main house, too
And the flames run so high that they're scorchin' the sky
And there's not a damn thing we can do

[Verse 1]
Now, it's the last week in June near the first quarter moon
And the summer is coming down warm
And the corn's in the ground, and the vane's turnin' round
As it tells of an oncomin' storm