C   G   F   C

[Verse]
C
The house burned down on a stormy night
         G
And they never did find out why
       F
I just stood alone 'neath the silver maple
          C
Trying to keep my cigarettes dry
                           G
Waiting for the firemen, I couldn't save a thing
       F
Deep inside my home, above the roar of the flame
  C
I swore I heard the telephone ring

[Verse]
C
The rain let up and we worked till dawn
     G
Just me and the firemen
              F
And when they cut the power and the lines went dead
  C
I never got called again
    Am                    G
The house was gone by the break of dawn
    Em               F
The air was cold and grey
       C                G
I just set off down the road alone
         F                C
But it's always gone that way

[Verse]
             G
So young, so long ago
  C                    G
I thought I heard that train
F
Calling out my name
            C
At least it sounded like my name
C
Just a boy with no direction
  G
I left my home behind
        F
And the sky changed colour
       C
Once I crossed that town line

[Verse]
C
My good friends did the best they could
   G
To hold me down with them
      F
But I took one look and I packed my bags
      C
And I slipped around the bend
    Am                G
The lessons came from left and right
    Em                F
The first night out I found
    C                   G
The laws were not meant to protect
    F               C      G   F   C
The man from out of town

[Verse]
C
There was a cold street on the sea coast
  G
I once tried to call home
          F
Where the church steeples rose up
          C
Above the town like broken bones

Drinking whiskey with the Catholic priest
    G
One night in the rectory hall
        F
He just shook his head and said
           C
"You never know when Jesus calls"
         Am                   G
Then his eyes got wide and he looked around
       Em              F
But he just could not explain
               C                  G
It was like he heard the sound of Jesus' laugh
    F                C      G   F   C  G  C   G   F   C
The way I heard that train

[Verse]
C
Now the years and the faces blur
        G
Still I can remember some
           F
There were women washing windows
           C
There were salesgirls chewing gum

There were curses in the shapes of old men
G
Kneeling in the pews
          F
There are things in this life
           C
A man just does not get to choose

[Verse]
C
So, finally I found a home
     G
In a tiny mountain town
       F
Just a simple place to keep me dry
         C
When the rain came pouring down
  Am                  G
A place to sleep, the rent was cheap
      Em                    F
Brick walls and a new slate roof
        C                      G
Ah, the landlord said, "You'll be safe here
     F            C      G   F   C  G  C   G   F   C
This house is fireproof"