When the wind picked up
And the fire spread
And the grapevines seemed left for dead.
And the northern sky, looked like the end of day,
The end of days.

The wake up call to a rented room
Sounded like an alarm of impending doom.
To warn us it's only a matter of time.
Before we all burn
Before we all burn
Before we all burn
Before we all burn.

We bought some wine and some paper cups
Near your daughter's school when we picked her up
And drove to a cemetery on a hill,
On a hill.

Watched the plumes paint the sky gray
As she laughed and danced through the field of graves
There I knew it would be alright
That everything would be alright,
Would be alright
Would be alright
Would be alright
Would be alright.

And the news reports on the radio
Said it was getting worse
As the ocean air fanned the flames.
But I couldn't think of anywhere I would have rather been
To watch it all burn away,
To burn away.

The firemen worked in double shifts,
With prayers for rain on their lips,
And they knew it was only a matter of time.


Lyrics submitted by TDDx8, edited by indierox

Grapevine Fires Lyrics as written by Jason Mcgerr Benjamin Gibbard

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

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Grapevine Fires song meanings
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  • +2
    General Comment

    kind of obvious but yes this is about the grapevine fires in Cali this past year. Ben was there writing most likely, really great song. This and twin sized bed tie for my favorite

    Irishbball49on May 04, 2008   Link

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