Fires In The Ribs

Verse

Said the block was poison, but I needed a fix for my soul

Bought a bottle of something that tasted like gold

Poured it down my throat when the sirens started to ring

Felt the embers ignite right where the cold had been hiding

Uncle used to say 'a fire in your belly's what keeps you whole','I never understood till I lost all control

Every shadow on the wall became a burning coal

Watched the city catch fire, and my heart turned gold

Pre-Chorus

Hold me down right here where the streetlights don't shine

I'm trying to keep this flame lit, but it's hard to define

The weight of all these hopes got me feeling lost in time

Tell me I ain't crazy for thinking I can rise above the grind

Fires in my ribs, burning like a wildfire out of control

Chorus

Fires in the ribs, never letting go

Fires in the ribs, watch the whole block glow

I'm made of ashes and smoke, but I won't let it go out

Fires in the ribs, that's what I found

Verse 2

Every night I'd sneak past my mom's kitchen door

Borrowed sugar from her jar to mix with gas before

Dad used to take me fishing when the sun would finally set

Taught me how to reel in the quiet moments you forget

Said a fire like this one only comes around every ten years

I didn't believe him till I saw it burning through my tears

Police said they'd never let us live past the age of twenty-five

But I turned twenty-nine, still standing with the flames alive

Pre-Chorus

Hold me down right here where the streetlights don't shine

I'm trying to keep this flame lit, but it's hard to define

The weight of all these hopes got me feeling lost in time

Tell me I ain't crazy for thinking I can rise above the grind

Fires in my ribs, burning like a wildfire out of control

Chorus

Fires in the ribs, never letting go

Fires in the ribs, watch the whole block glow

I'm made of ashes and smoke, but I won't let it go out

Fires in the ribs, that's what I found

Bridge

Maybe this fire don't burn bright like I thought it would

But maybe that just means it's burning for me instead

No more hiding behind windows while the whole world sleeps

I'm trading my last secret for a lighted streetlamp's beams

I'll keep on burning till the smoke clears up and shows my name

Till this fire in my chest turns into something real, not flame

Chorus

Fires in the ribs, never letting go

Fires in the ribs, watch the whole block glow

I'm made of ashes and smoke, but I won't let it go out

Fires in the ribs, that's what I found