The Gift of Fire

Peter Hammill

[Part I: The Gift of Fire (Precursed)]

[Instrumental]

[Part II: The Gift of Fire (Talk Turkey)]

[Verse 1]
Like a wind in the wilderness
Like a swell on the ocean...
Would the spell be unbroken if it was never phrased?

[Verse 2]
She was always the precious child
She was always a strange one
A derangement runs deep down through her innocent gaze...

[Chorus]
The gift of fire and the gift of tongues
The gift to see what Goddess Fortune held in store
Pretty soon there were whisperings of witchcraft from the couple next door
She had the gift of talk turkey
The gift of talk turkey

[Verse 3]
She had no message for the marketplace
She was inflamed by each moment
She had the silver spoon of soothsay for destiny
She was always coming on with

[Chorus]
The gift of fire and the gift of tongues
Family affair, it was a fortune that they'd got
Pretty soon they were cooking up a story for the communal pot
On the prime time slot they shot the gift of talk turkey

[Bridge]
Oh now she can't stop talking about the way she sees it is
And she can't stop talking about her prescience
Oh now she can't stop talking, how dangerous that is
And she can't stop talking, no, she can't stop talking...

[Chorus]
It's the curse of the fire and she's burning up before us
In the talk of tongues, flames that lick around the dross
The gift of fire, if she's burning up before us it's our communal loss
The inevitable cost of the gift of talk turkey

[Verse 4]
What a windfall of wickedness
When truth gets warped to perversion
In the official version they'll always make it quite plain
What we're really not meant to see

[Pre-Chorus]
The gift of fire consumes all those who touch it
And the gift of tongues is always double-edged
They grew aware that she would take them to the ledge
So pretty soon they were working up a story 'bout the bets they could hedge

[Chorus]
The gift of fire and the gift of tongues...
They take her name and they grind it in the dust
All at once they've got alibis to cover any possible bust
Oh yes and she's gagged, bound and trussed
By the gift of talk turkey

[Bridge]
But she can't stop talking, though her audience disappears
And she can't stop talking about her prescience
Oh now she can't stop talking, though she knows that no-one hears
Yeah, she can't stop talking, she can't stop talking
She can't stop talking - how miraculous this is!
And she can't stop talking, just like Bernadette
Oh now she can't stop talking, how dangerous that is
And she can't stop talking, no, she can't stop talking
No, she can't stop talking about the way she sees it is
And she can't stop talking, just like Joan of Arc
Oh now she can't stop talking - man, how dangerous she is
Yeah, she can't stop talking, she can't stop talking
She can't stop talking, she can't stop the gift of talk turkey
The gift of talk turkey
The gift of talk turkey

[Outro]
No, she can't stop talking
Can't stop the gift of talk turkey
No, she can't stop talking
Can't stop the gift of talk turkey

Trivia about the song The Gift of Fire by Peter Hammill

When was the song “The Gift of Fire” released by Peter Hammill?
The song The Gift of Fire was released in 1996, on the album “Past Go: Collected”.

Most popular songs of Peter Hammill

Other artists of Funk