"the fire sermon (acoustic version)" genre: AAA/Adult Alternative
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	the first several verses of this are a poem, recited over a driving piano vamp with bass, drums, and saxophone accompaniment. The final section is the song "burning woman," which is a distillation of the preceeding poetry.
	Credits: words and music by Martin Holsinger
	Story Behind the Song this song was inspired by growing older and feeling/seeing youth slip away in myself and others. This is the third time the final section has appeared on this website; it was written a few years after the initial sections, which were not particularly intended to be set to music--but i think what i did with them works. Lyrics I. After the fire of youth, The fire of age: Flesh withers and sags, Joint-grease melts away Dark hair burns through grey To white ash. Still, a subtler fire shines in your eyes: Alchemical, inviting: Solve et coagulo; Distill, if we dare, a gem That will gleam undiminished When time has had its way With our transient bones. II. We meet And however close we become, for however long We’re always going to be leaving again so very soon. That’s why it’s good To make a virtue of the necessity Of letting you go These bodies we think we are-- I can’t tell if they’re melting or burning Or just drying up and blowing away. And still--surprise and delight To feel so healed In the shelter of your crumbling arms III. Making love by the dying embers of our youth-- glowing, hot, but not to be rekindled: it’s all to ashes from here. You stand before me strong, naked and beautiful-- I blink, watch as you wither from maiden to crone, and I remember: All too soon our eyes will grow dull, our flesh rot and sag from crumbling bones. Let us drink deep from our pleasure while we can, even as every joy tastes of pain, every gentle touch burns and freezes, each tender kiss, the kiss of death. And when death does come as my lover and yours, we shall shrink the less from his embrace, having yielded with such vision and loving grace to each other. BURNING WOMAN I love a woman she’s a burning woman I’m gonna love her just as long as I can And she loves me, my burning woman She loves me, I’m her burning man I love her body though her body’s burnin I love her soul though it’s only passin’ through I love her heart, love her heart that holds me I love to hear her say “I love you” Some days the heat just drives us crazy Some days it’s a white-hot glow We love to mingle in the heat of the moment Catch a little fire and let it go (break) Some days the heat just drives us crazy Some day we gonna lie so cold Dance in the fire, in the embers in the ashes Dance the slowin’ rhythm of growin’ old Bye, bye, bye, my burnin’ woman We’re here together and we’re already gone Bless your, bless your, heart for holdin’ me Bless the fire for burnin' strong Flesh gonna sag, gonna fold, gonna wrinkle Flesh gonna melt in the twinkle of an eye Bones gonna shatter, gonna burn down to ashes Ashes gonna scatter in the wind, in the sky

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