‘Price of the Fire’ is on the fantastic "Punch
the Big Guy" album, The Ship, 1987, CD release by Line Records, 1990.
Also on the cassette "The Secret Tapes ´86", Homecoming, 1986.
Very few notes necessary to play one of John´s most hypnotic songs.
Hypnotic music, hypnotic words.
This is a good poem.
Suggested picking pattern,
B stands for Bass string,
g for G-string, b for B-string and e for E-string:
B-g-b-e-b-g-b-e etc, take it from there; you´ll hear the rest.
John plays (Bb) (C) (Dm).
Art, who suggested the song, plays (C) (D) (Em).
I had an absolutely identical version, also (C) (D) (Em).
Charlie likes to play (F) (G) (Am) with a capo on the 5th fret.
(Bb) (C) (Dm) (Bb) (C) (Dm)
(Bb) (C) (Dm)
Oh, after the (Bb)flames (C)
When the fields are (Dm)cold,
And after the (Bb)pain (C)
When the heart is (Dm)gold,
(F) You will find a (Bb)brand new day (C)
With the birds upon the (Dm)wire,
And all you really had to (Bb)pay (C)
Was the price of the (Dm)fire.
(Bb) (C) (Dm) (Bb) (C) (Dm)
And in our younger (Bb)days (C)
You could say we were (Dm)wild,
In our hungry (Bb)ways (C)
The safety lines were (Dm)filed.
(F)We were running (Bb)on the rims, (C)
We were burning out the (Dm)tires,
And all we really had to (Bb)pay (C)
Was the price of the (Dm)fire.
Oh, all we really had to (Bb)pay (C)
Was the price of the (Dm)fire.
(Bb) (C) (Dm) (Bb) (C) (Dm)
And the breakers of (Bb)hearts, (C)
They don't escape the(Dm)pain,
And you know when it (Bb)starts (C)
As you dive into the (Dm)flames.
(F)And there's a voice that (Bb)tells you "run", (C)
But you call the voice a (Dm)liar,
For all you really had to (Bb)pay (C)
Was the price of the (Dm)fire.
Oh, all you really had to (Bb)pay (C) (F) (Dm)
Oh, all you really had to (Bb)pay (Gm) (C)
Was the price of the (Dm)fire.
(Bb) (C) (Dm)
(Bb) (C) (Dm)
(Bb) (C) (Dm) (fade..)
© John Stewart, All Rights Reserved
Art Faller, janhauenstein@gmx.de & Charlie Woodward
8/2003