[Chorus]
When the fire comes down (When the fire comes down)
When the fire comes down (When the fire comes down)
It will wash my sins away (It will wash my sins away, my sins away)
When the fire comes down (When the fire comes down)
When the fire comes down (When the fire comes down)
And the rich man's made to pay
[Verse 1]
There's a reckonin' that's comin'
There'll be lightnin' in the sky
When thе thunder starts a-drummin'
And we're hеaded to the by and by
And on that Judgement mornin'
Tell me where you stand
With the scabs and the police
Or here beside your fellow man?
[Chorus]
When the fire comes down (When the fire comes down)
When the fire comes down (When the fire comes down)
It will wash my sins away (It will wash my sins away, my sins away)
When the fire comes down (When the fire comes down)
When the fire comes down (When the fire comes down)
And the rich man's made to pay
[Verse 2]
We're in the mill a-workin'
Unpackin' all the cotton bales
To the sound of looms and spindles
And weighin' them upon the scales
When Saint Michael comes in glory
For the weighin' of the souls
Where the rich man hangs in the balance
Will weigh upon his soul
[Chorus]
When the fire comes down (When the fire comes down)
When the fire comes down (When the fire comes down)
It will wash my sins away (It will wash my sins away, my sins away)
When the fire comes down (When the fire comes down)
When the fire comes down (When the fire comes down)
And the rich man's made to pay
[Verse 3]
On the 14th of September in 1929
In Bessemer City, they held that picket line
The shots rang out from nowhere
They could feel the bullet's heat
And Ella May Wiggins lay dead upon the street
[Chorus]
When the fire comes down (When the fire comes down)
When the fire comes down (When the fire comes down)
It will wash my sins away (It will wash my sins away, my sins away)
When the fire comes down (When the fire comes down)
When the fire comes down (When the fire comes down)
And the rich man's made to pay
Lil Andy released When the Fire Comes Down (Wire recorder version) on Fri Apr 22 2022.