The Men Who Kept The Fire Burning
View chords used in this chart
{Spoken Intro}
G
My granddad never called himself a hero.
D
He was just another miner...
Em C
working ten-hour shifts where the sun never reached.
G D Em
I walked these tunnels hoping I'd understand his life.
I didn't.
C D
Because you can't understand a lifetime...
Am
just by walking through the darkness.
C
You have to remember the men...
D
who stayed there."
{Solo}
G D Em C G. D Em D C
[Verso 1]
G
Before the break of morning,
D
Before the rooster cried,
Em
My granddad walked that gravel road
C
With his dinner by his side.
G
Ten long hours underground,
D Em
Where the sun would never shine,
C
Swinging steel through walls of coal,
D G
Leaving daylight far behind.
[Pré-Refrão]
Em
Forty minutes of clean air...
Bm
Then you breathed the dust.
C
You learned real quick
D
To pray and trust.
[Refrão]
G
They kept the fires burning,
D Em
While they burned their lives away.
C G
They dug the coal beneath our feet,
Am
So we could face another day.
G
They gave their backs,
They gave their years.
D
Some came home...
Some disappeared.
Em
No statues stand to honor them,
C G
No headlines spoke their names.
Am
But every fire that's burning still...
D G
Remembers why they came.
{Solo}
G D Em C
[Verso 2]
G
The tunnels shook,
The roof would groan.
D
Every man knew
Em Dm
He might not make it home.
G
Heavy machines,
Broken stone.
D
One wrong step...
G
Another soul was gone.
G
Masks ran out
D
In forty minutes flat.
Em
So they chewed tobacco
C
Just to fight it back.
G
Keeping their mouths from drying out,
D
Holding courage near.
Em
Every shift beneath that mountain
C G
Could be their last down here.
[Ponte]
G
My granddad lived
D
Long beyond those mines.
Em
Never carried bitterness.
C
Only memories.
G
Sometimes he'd stop,
D
Bow his head.
C
Speaking softly
D G
Of the friends he'd lost instead.
Em
I walked those tunnels
Bm
Years too late.
C
Trying to carry
G
Just a little of his weight.
Am
I left with coal dust
Gm C
On my boots...
D
And a heart
G
Full of respect.
[Refrão]
G
They kept the fires burning,
D Em
While they burned their lives away.
C G
They dug the coal beneath our feet,
Am D
So we could face another day.
G
Now every train,
Every flame,
D
Every winter
Em
Speaks their names.
C
Some men chase fortune.
G
Some men chase fame.
D
Mine went underground...
G
So the whole world stayed the same.
Outro
G
Forty minutes of clean air...
D Em
A lifetime full of pride.
D C
He never asked for glory.
D G
He just did what was right.
Am
And every time
D
I hear a whistle blow...
C
I think about the men
D G
Who never made it home.
G G D Em D C D C G
How to play The Men Who Kept The Fire Burning
Use the controls above to change the key and text size. Follow the highlighted chords while listening, then practice each section slowly before playing at the original tempo.
What is the starting chord?
The first identified chord is G. You can transpose without leaving the page.
Can I play it on guitar or keyboard?
Yes. The chord progression works on acoustic guitar, electric guitar and keyboard. Adapt the voicings to your instrument and level.