Lyr Req/Add: The Bravest (Tom Paxton)

Subject: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Mike Regenstreif
Date: 10 Oct 01 - 08:49 AM

Tomorrow (Thursday Oct. 11) on Folk Roots/Folk Branches, I'll be playing "The Bravest," a brand new, unreleased song by Tom Paxton. Tom wrote the song on September 24 in tribute to the heroic firefighters in New York City. It's sung from the perspective of a survivor of the September 11 terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Centre.

Folk Roots/Folk Branches is heard Thursday mornings at 9:00 (Eastern) on CKUT, 90.3 FM in Montreal, or in RealAudio from the Folk Roots/Folk Branches website.

Mike Regenstreif

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: SharonA
Date: 10 Oct 01 - 10:11 AM

What a great, powerful song! I heard it last Sunday on WXPN-FM, Philadelphia, PA on Gene Shay's folk show.

I also highly recommend John Flynn's "I Will Not Fear". In this song, each verse is from a different person's perspective: firefighter, grandmother about to board a plane after the tragedy, Arab child being taunted at school, etc.

I'm less impressed with Julie Gold's "The Love Would Not Fall Down" (I'm not sure if that's the proper title, but it is the refrain); however, I'm sure others will be touched by it. Gold watched the WTC towers burn and fall from her Grennwich Village home. She's also the songwriter of "From a Distance".

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: SharonA
Date: 10 Oct 01 - 10:28 AM

Oops! Typo! Sorry; it should've read: "Greenwich Village".

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: GUEST,Ned Ludd
Date: 10 Oct 01 - 04:05 PM

If anyone can do it right Tom can! Hope he is singing it at concerts as I'll be seeing him soon.

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Tedham Porterhouse
Date: 11 Oct 01 - 02:36 PM

Mike,

Thanks so much for sharing Tom Paxton's new song this morning. I was very moved by it and by the songs you followed it with.

Altogether another great show. I'm really enjoying being within radio range of Montreal and getting your show over the air each week.

Thnaks again.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE BRAVEST (Tom Paxton)
From: Genie
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 04:26 AM

THE BRAVEST
(Tom Paxton)
Sung by Garrison Keillor (On PHC 10/14/01)

The first plane hit the other tower, right after I came in.
It left a gaping, fiery hole where offices had been.
We'd stood and watched in horror, as we saw the first ones fall,
Then someone yelled "Get out, get out! They're trying to kill us all!"

I grabbed the pictures from my desk and joined the flight for life.
With every step I called the names of my children and my wife,
And then we heard them coming, from several floors below,
A crowd of firefighters with their heavy gear in tow

Chorus:
Now every time I try to sleep, I'm haunted by the sound
Of firemen pounding up the stairs, while we were running down.

When we met them on the stairs, they said we were too slow.
"Get out, get out!" they yelled at us, "The whole thing's gonna go!"
They didn't have to tell us twice, we'd seen the world on fire.
We kept on running down the stairs, while they kept climbing higher.

Chorus

Thank God we made it to the street; we ran through ash and smoke.
I did not know which way to run; I thought that I would choke.
A fireman took me by the arm and pointed me uptown,
Then "Christ!" I heard him whisper, as the tower came pounding down.

Chorus

So now I go to funerals for men I never knew;
The pipers play "Amazing Grace", as the coffins come in view.
They must have seen it coming when they turned to face the fire.
They sent us down to safety, then they kept on climbing higher.

Chorus, (repeat last line)

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: GUEST,Greg F.
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 09:05 AM

I was fortunate to hear Tom Paxton perform this live yesterday evening- and he hasn't lost a bit of his touch. Truly a great evening- and a great talent!

Best, Greg

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Lanfranc
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 05:40 PM

Is this streamed anywhere? - tried Mike Regenstreif's CKUT site, but couldn't find it.

If ever a song deserved the widest currency, it's this.

Paxton has long been one of my heroes, this shows he has lost none of his genius.

Alan

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Mike Regenstreif
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 05:59 PM

Lanfranc,

Unfortunately, the RealAudio feed on my website is available in real time only. That's why I gave more than 24 hours notice when I knew I'd be playing the song.

Mike Regenstreif

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Charlie Baum
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 06:04 PM

Garrison Keillor's version is available as a RealAudio stream. Click here.

--Charlie Baum

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: CamiSu
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 06:06 PM

I heard it on PHC on Saturday night. My youngest came by and asked "Why is thee crying?" He said it so well! I was not at all surprised at who had written it...

CamiSu

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: BH
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 07:09 PM

It is a wonderful piece that I hope we will be able to air on our program on (TRADITIONS) on WFDU (www.wfdu.fm).

May I recommend two other truly moving pieces:

Follow The Light by John McCutcheon/Tom Chapin/Michael Mark

There Are No Words by Kitty Donahoe

Sad events produce moving songs it seems. Sadly.

Bill Hahn

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: ray bucknell
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 07:43 PM

Two of those firemen were friends of mine. I just knew that Paxton would have a song to honor them. He hasn't lost a step in over 35 years. Way to go, Tom!

Ray

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Amergin
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 07:46 PM

I hope I will have the honour of hearing him play it live in February...when he comes into town..

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 09:07 PM

Charlie, thanks so much for that link. What a song.

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Lanfranc
Date: 16 Oct 01 - 11:57 AM

Thanks for the link.

Song duly learned.

Alan

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 16 Oct 01 - 05:45 PM

Thanks for that. Another one that it'll be difficult getting through.

(And thanks for reminding me to bookmark Garrison Keillor again. I'd lost him one time my computer crashed.)

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: 53
Date: 16 Oct 01 - 10:25 PM

that sounds like a great song, and i'm sure he'll be doing it in all of his concerts. man that's great.

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 23 Oct 01 - 07:31 PM

Got my ticket for Edinburgh, the Pleasance (not the Pleasants!) on Nov 3rd. First heard Tom Paxton around 1968 when one of my flatmates went to Chicago and brought me back an LP: been a fan ever since! Tattie B

Subject: The Bravest
From: tremodt
Date: 31 Oct 01 - 08:11 PM

i would like the midi for the song by tom paxton The Bravest bout the fire men at the WTC

thanks

ron

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: tremodt
Date: 02 Nov 01 - 10:18 PM

can some one please tell me how to save the link for the bravest

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Amergin
Date: 02 Nov 01 - 10:28 PM

click on the link that says "Add Thread To Tracer" and it will be added to your personal page....

Subject: The Bravest
From: tremodt
Date: 14 Nov 01 - 09:31 PM

any one yet made a recording of Tom Paxtons song The Bravest and where may it be purchased from

is it possibe to list it in the song database

thanks

ro1sin

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Charlie Baum
Date: 15 Nov 01 - 09:22 AM

From the Washington Post.. of Tuesday, November 13, 2001. The Birchmere is the local folk music nightclub in Alexandria, Virginia (just across the river from Washington, DC).

Tom Paxton Pays Tribute to 'The Bravest'
By Lloyd Grove
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 13, 2001; 12:44 PM

Famous folksinger Tom Paxton Ð who created such popular standards as "Ramblin' Boy," "The Last Thing On My Mind" and "Bottle of Wine" Ð didn't want to write a song about Sept. 11.

"I'm sure you'll believe me when I say I really didn't want to," the 64-year-old Paxton told us this morning from his home in Alexandria. "When I was watching that horror, the furthest thing from my mind was to write anything about it. The first time the thought occurred to me to write something as I was going through my responses, I said to myself, 'No way! This is way over my head. It's too huge and awful. . . . I wouldn't know where to begin.' So I decided not to. But this same phrase kept going through my head, and I gave up resisting. I thought I'd better try."

That phrase ultimately became the refrain of "The Bravest," Paxton's tribute to the firefighters who gave their lives to save the victims of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center:

Now, every time I try to sleep
I'm haunted by the sound
Of firemen pounding up the stairs
While we were running down.

Paxton Ð who five years ago moved from East Hampton, N.Y., to Alexandria to escape the barbarian glitzoid invaders ("It's like Beverly Hills East," he complains) and to be close to two daughters and two grandsons who live in the Washington area Ð will perform "The Bravest" this Saturday at the Birchmere.

He said the song received its debut a few weeks ago from Garrison Keillor, after Paxton sent a demo tape to Keillor's public radio show, "A Prairie Home Companion." Paxton was away on tour in England when Keillor's musical director phoned to ask permission to perform the song at a slower tempo. His wife, Midge Paxton, gave the okay, saying: "I think 38 years of marriage gives me the right."

In fact, Paxton said he prefers the slower Keillor rendition of "The Bravest," and has adopted it as his own. He plans to record it for his next CD, due out sometime in 2002.

In the meantime, Paxton finds himself in the strange position of being a typically left-leaning folk singer who now not only plays a passionate game of golf Ð the sport of presidents, notably his old nemesis Richard Nixon Ð but also supports the American military action in Afghanistan.

"I think to be against it is very difficult for me," he said. "The outrage was so stupendous, the atrocity was so enormous and undeserved, I don't see how we have any choice." A longtime critic of U.S. foreign policy, especially during the Vietnam era, Paxton gave a surprising response when a German journalist asked during a recent interview: "What do you think of America's war?"

Paxton said he replied: "I don't think it's America's war. I think it's Osama's war."

© 2001 The Washington Post Company

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Mike Regenstreif
Date: 03 Dec 01 - 10:04 AM

Tom has made "The Bravest" available as a free MP3 download. You can find it by clicking here.

Mike Regenstreif

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: tremodt
Date: 29 Dec 01 - 06:05 PM

the best song yet

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Gillie
Date: 30 Dec 01 - 08:37 AM

Amazing song, thanks Mike

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: raredance
Date: 01 Jan 02 - 10:36 AM

Words and music to the "Bravest" can be found in the new issue of SingOut! that just arrived. A recording of it is also on the SingOut! CD for this issue.

rich r

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: GUEST,Scorpio
Date: 16 Jan 02 - 09:53 PM

If I recall correctly, the current "Sing Out" also has:
 Follow The Light  ( John McCutcheon/Tom Chapin/Michael Mark)
    and
 There Are No Words  ( Kitty Donahoe)

It has several songs related to 9-11.

 Scorpio

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Amergin
Date: 17 Jan 02 - 07:38 PM

i get to see him perform this in a couple of weeks...

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: GUEST,Unicorn
Date: 20 Jan 02 - 11:23 AM

I'd like to sing Tom's new song at my local folk club. Anyone know the chords Tom uses? I'd rather play the "right" ones if possible!

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: bflat
Date: 20 Jan 02 - 11:47 AM

Guest,Unicorn: You can find the chords and melody in the current Sing Out Magazine.

Ellen

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: GUEST,Unicorn
Date: 20 Jan 02 - 11:58 AM

Thanks Ellen - I'll try to get one. I don't have a retailer near me who sells the magazine. Does anyone know a retailer in England that sells "Sing Out" magazine that will post it to me?

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: mzkitty
Date: 20 Jan 02 - 06:23 PM

I have a recording of Tom Paxton singing this song at The Bitter End Nov 25th for the Dave Van Ronk Fundraiser...it's a live recording with Tom's intro expressing his thoughts on the whole matter.... I'll be glad to send it to Mudcat to let everyone have a listen ....let me know...

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: GUEST,muskrat
Date: 10 Feb 02 - 05:21 PM

Breaking news (Feb. 10) from the Associated Press (note that this thread started last Fall!)

Paxton Honors Firefighters With Song Email this Story

02/10/2002 4:40 PM EST

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Add Tom Paxton to the long list of artists who have written a tribute to the firefighters who answered the call at the World Trade Center.

"I didn't want to write a song about it," the folk singer-songwriter-author said. "I thought, 'No way. This is over my head.' And then I kept thinking about those firemen trapped in the towers and a phrase kept running through my head. I decided I could handle it and the phrase in my head became the chorus of 'The Bravest.'"

He performed it during a concert Saturday night.

"They must have seen it coming as they turned to face the fire/They sent us down to safety then they kept on climbing higher. Now every time I try to sleep I'm haunted by the sound/Of firemen bounding up the stairs while we were running down."

Paxton's songs include "The Marvelous Toy,""I Can't Help but Wonder Where I'm Bound,""The Last Thing on My Mind," and "Ramblin' Boy."

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Lane
Date: 10 Feb 02 - 09:53 PM

I would love to get the recording of Tom doing the song that was mentioned earlier.... where might I find it?

I just saw him last week in Portland, Or... .wonderful concert, even better than I expected. He did The Bravest, which, as a fire chief, stuck me close to the heart.....

He did all of my other favorites, of course... what a wonderful evening....

Lane

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From:
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 10:22 AM

You can also download an MP3 from http://www.efolkmusic.com/sounds/paxton_bravest.mp3

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Stephen L. Rich
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 11:50 AM

Wow!! That is an AMAZING song!!!

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Amergin
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 12:02 PM

Boy...I just saw that Lane was at the same show I was...wonderful show it was too....not sure if it was recorded onto an album yet....(save for the sampler Sing Out sends out)....does anyone else have any information when it may be released?

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: GUEST,aesop
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 01:23 PM

The song was published in Sing Out! last month or the month before, and if you have a subscription you get a CD with all the songs in the issue. I agree, its a good song.

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Bennet Zurofsky
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 01:53 PM

Sing Out's web page is www.singout.org.

The issue with this song is available for sale there, and you can also become a member. If you become a member you will receive a cd for each issue with every song in the issue recorded on it. The Sing Out cd was the first published recording of this song. I don't believe the cd for the issue is still available, but it might be.

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: GUEST,Kelly Clear
Date: 29 Jul 02 - 11:14 AM

Hello,

I heard Garrison Keillor perform this song back in October of last year, and I just heard Tom Paxton perform it via the MP3 file download. I was wondering if anyone has the Chording worked out for this song. It would be a great song to do for a September 11th, one year memorial. If anyone can help me out that would be great!

Kelly Clear [e-mail]

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Genie
Date: 29 Jul 02 - 05:03 PM

The issue of "Sing Out" magazine that contained this song printed the sheet music, not just the lyrics. If you don't subscribe to Sing Out, you can get a sample issue free from their website, and you can order back issues there, too.

Genie

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Genie
Date: 07 Sep 02 - 03:14 AM

Did anyone ever post the chords to this song along with the lyrics?

---

Messages from multiple threads combined (below).
-Joe Offer-

Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: THE BRAVEST (Tom Paxton)
From: Genie
Date: 07 Sep 02 - 04:26 PM

Someone had asked for the chords to this song in an earlier thread.     I arrived at this chord progression by playing along with the MP3 of the song that Tom Paxton was so generous as to share with everyone on the internet.  Let me know if you think there is any error in my "hearing" of the chords.
 

Genie
 

THE BRAVEST  (Tom Paxton ©2001)

   G                             Em                       C             D
The first plane hit the other tower, right after I came in.
    G               Em                      D
It left a fiery, gaping* hole where offices had been.
         C                            G                 C                        D
We stood and watched in horror, as we saw the first ones fall,
           C                    Em                                    G                   D
Then someone yelled "Get out!  Get out!  They're trying to kill us all!"

   G                              Em                   C                           D
I grabbed the pictures from my desk and joined the flight for life.
           G             Em                              D
With every step I called the names of my children and my wife,
       C                             G                      C                      D
And then we heard them coming up from several floors below,
    C                Em                       G                 D
A crowd of firefighters with their heavy gear in tow.

 Chorus:
              C               G                       C                   D
     Now every time I try to sleep, I'm haunted by the sound
            G                      Em                         C           D7         G
     Of firemen pounding up the stairs, while we were running down.

           G                     Em                          C                       D
And when we met them on the stairs, they said we were too slow.
         G                           Em                       D
"Get out!  Get out!" they yelled at us, "The whole thing's going to go!"
          C                   G                       C                          D
They didn't have to tell us twice; we'd seen the world on fire.
        C                      Em                             G                        D
We kept on running down the stairs, while they kept climbing higher.

 Chorus

            G                   Em                      C                             D
Thank God we made it to the street; we ran through ash and smoke.
   G                         Em                   D
I didn't know which way to run; I thought that I would choke.
     C                     G                       C                   D
A fireman took me by the arm and pointed me uptown,
            C                           Em                  G                            D
Then "Christ!" I heard him whisper, as the tower came rolling  down.

 Chorus

       G              Em             C                D
So now I go to funerals for men I never knew.
        G                Em                              D
The pipers play "Amazing Grace", as the coffins come in view.
           C                         G                   C                        D
They must have seen it coming as they turned to face the fire.
        C                       Em                     G                       D
They sent us down to safety, then they kept on climbing higher.

 Chorus:
              C               G                       C                   D
     Now every time I try to sleep, I'm haunted by the sound
            G                      Em                         C           D7         G
     Of firemen pounding up the stairs, while we were running down.
            G                      Em                         D           D7         G
     Of firemen pounding up the stairs, while we were running down.

*  The lyrics previously posted here say "gaping, fiery hole," but Paxton sings "fiery, gaping hole."  Previously posted lyrics also say  "pounding" down.  On Tom Paxton's MP3 of the song, he seems to be saying "roaming down," or "rolling down," but it's not real clear, and "rolling down" makes more sense.

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Genie
Date: 07 Sep 02 - 04:29 PM

I posted the (corrected*) lyrics with chords above, from listening and playing along with the MP3 of Tom Paxton doing the song.

Genie

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Bravest
From: Amergin
Date: 07 Sep 02 - 05:11 PM

i had the privilge of watching him sing this live.....last february...very emotional...keep hoping for a cd to come out with it on it....

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 09 Sep 02 - 06:29 PM

Heard him do it in Edinburgh last November, and again in Linlithgow in May. Got the words from here, and sat at the first concert putting notes down: confirmed the tune from the MP3. Have sung it twice this week. Tattie B

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: SharonA
Date: 11 Sep 02 - 03:17 PM

*refresh, for a Guest asking about the song*

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: SharonA
Date: 11 Sep 02 - 03:32 PM

Amergin: According to this page – http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=5040858&cart=126345271&style=music – Paxton will have a CD coming out on October 22, 2002 entitled "Looking for the Moon", and "The Bravest" is listed as being on the CD. Happy birthday!

Subject: Lyric Correction: Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: Genie
Date: 05 Jan 03 - 01:34 PM

There is an error in the  lyrics I posted above.  The last line of the 4th verse should read:  [boldface added]

             G                   Em                      C                             D
 Thank God we made it to the street; we ran through ash and smoke.
    G                         Em                   D
 I didn't know which way to run; I thought that I would choke.
      C                     G                       C                   D
 A fireman took me by the arm and pointed me uptown,
             C                           Em                  G                            D
 Then "Christ!" I heard him whisper, as the tower came roaring  down.

The line has been widely misprinted on the web as "...as the tower came pounding down."  I believe that error is even at Paxton's own website.
But if you listen to his free MP3 of the song, he is clearly not saying "pounding."  Initially I thought it sounded like "rolling," though that didn't seem like the best word.  Re-listening, I heard it as "...roaring."

I just looked up the song in my "Sing Out" magazine issue that was published not long after 9-11-01, and the line is printed there as "...roaring," just as it sounds on Tom's MP3.

Genie

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 10 Oct 04 - 10:21 AM

Refresh so I can produce an ABC version with the chords and lyrics.

Regards, John

Subject: RE: new Tom Paxton song: The Bravest
From: mack/misophist
Date: 11 Oct 04 - 09:14 PM

The download doesn't work for me. If you have trouble too, I suggest 'copy link to clipboard' then go to the site and search for Paxton or Bravest. There's no free download but there is a Realplayer stream.

Subject: Chords Add: THE BRAVEST(Tom Paxton)
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Dec 08 - 07:41 AM

This is what I hear. Tom has a way of making you believe he will change chords, and then he doesn´t.

Jan

The Bravest    Tom Paxton

The (G)first plane hit the other tower, right (C)after I came (G)in,
It left a fiery, gaping hole where (D)offices had been.
We (C)stood and watched in (G)horror as we (C)saw the first ones (G)fall,
Then (C)someone yelled, "Get (G)out, get out! They're trying to (A7short)kill us (D)all!"

I (G)grabbed the pictures from my desk and (C)joined the flight for (G)life,
With every step I called the names of my (D)children and my wife.
And (C)then we heard them (G)coming up, from (C)several floors be(G)low,
A (C)crowd of fire(G)fighters with their heavy (A7short)gear in (D)tow.

Now (C)every time I (G)try to sleep, I'm (C)haunted by the (G)sound
Of firemen pounding up the stairs, while (D)we were running (G)down. (D)

And (G)when we met them on the stairs, they (C)said we were too (G)slow.
"Get out, get out!" they yelled at us, "The (D)whole thing's gonna go!"
They (C)didn't have to (G)tell us twice, we'd (C)seen the world on (G)fire,
We (C)kept on running (G)down the stairs, while they kept (A7short)climbing (D)higher.

Now (C)every time I (G)try to sleep, I'm (C)haunted by the (G)sound
Of firemen pounding up the stairs, while (D)we were running (G)down. (D)

Thank (G)God we made it to the street, we (C)ran through ash and (G)smoke.
I did not know which way to run, I (D)thought that I would choke.
A (C)fireman took me (G)by the arm and he (C)pointed me up(G)town,
Then, (C)"Christ!" I heard him (G)whisper, as the tower came (A7short)roaring (D)down.

So (G)now I go to funerals for (C)men I never (G)knew,
The pipers play "Amazing Grace", as the (D)coffins come in view.
They (C)must have seen it (G)coming when they (C)turned to face the (G)fire,
They (C)sent us down to (G)safety, then they kept on (A7short)climbing (D)higher.

Now (C)every time I (G)try to sleep, I'm (C)haunted by the (G)sound
Of firemen pounding up the stairs, while (D)we were running (G)down,
Of firemen pounding up the stairs, while (D)we were running (G)down.

© Tom Paxton, All Rights Reserved

[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Bravest (Tom Paxton)
From: Rex
Date: 12 Sep 14 - 10:55 AM

I was thinking about Tom Paxton and this powerful song yesterday. So I posting something about it on his facebook page along with a link to an audio file of him singing it from his website. It still gets to me. It seems worth recalling here.

Rex