The Fire Down Below

Many friends have commented publicly and privately on my blog post of last week reflecting on Bob Seger and his Silver Bullet Band, and the interesting similarities between Seger and Bruce Springsteen (Was Bob Seger the Original Boss?) This engendered in yours truly an earworm of colossal proportion that has lasted the better part of a week. The song? My all-time favorite Seger tune, “The Fire Down Below,” a song so Springsteen-esque in its roll call of disparate American characters that it even includes a Rosie!

"The Fire Down Below"

Words and music by Bob Seger

Here comes old Rosie she's looking mighty fine
Here comes hot Nancy she's steppin' right on time
There go the street lights bringin on the night
Here come the men faces hidden from the light
All through the shadows they come and they go
With only one thing in common
They got the fire down below

Here comes the rich man in his big long limousine
Here comes the poor man all you got to have is green
Here comes the banker and the lawyer and the cop
One thing for certain it ain't never gonna stop
When it all gets too heavy
That's when they come and go
With only one thing in common
They got the fire down below

It happens out in Vegas happens in Moline
On the blue blood streets of Boston
Up in Berkeley and out in Queens
And it went on yesterday and it's going on tonight
Somewhere there's somebody ain't treatin' somebody right

And he's looking out for Rosie and she's looking mighty fine
And he's walking the streets for Nancy
And he'll find her everytime
When the street light flicker bringing on the night
Well they'll be slipping into darkness slipping out of sight
All through the midnight
Watch 'em come and watch 'em go
With only one thing in common
They got the fire down below

Portland, Oregon

February 9, 2019