When I kissed you by the bed I could not imagine this
We were only newly wed; all I knew of you was bliss
We met behind the music stage at the summer county fair
Now if I didn’t need this wage, I’d have never left you there
Six weeks in Chicago, I write you every day
But I miss you more than I can say
Now this love is like a fire, it glows with pure desire
It can only take me higher it’s true
But every day we spend apart burns in this man’s heavy heart
You ask me why I burn, I burn for you.
When we began the show today it was just like all the rest
Another sold out matinee; it was vaudeville at its best.
Watching from the pit below we laughed with such surprise
We never saw the sparks; I know I was imagining your eyes
The merriment continued, the heat began to build
We played as if our hearts were filled
Now this love is like a fire, it glows with pure desire
It can only take me higher it’s true
And when the music starts to soar, I want you even more
You ask me why I burn, I burn for you.
The Iroquois was “fireproof,” but saying doesn’t make it so.
The inferno blazed the room, there was no place left to go
Every woman’s frightened face I was thinking could be yours
So I stayed and played with grace as they pushed closer to the doors
Yards of burning scenery rained down upon our heads
In a moment’s time six hundred dead.
Now this love is like a fire, it glows with pure desire
It can only take me higher it’s true
And as I feel us come apart in the ashes of my heart
You ask me why I burn, I burn for you
No, we will never be apart if you keep me in your heart
You ask me why I burn, I burn for you.
