Ashes Ashes Ashes Ashes
Precious Ashes precious ashes
Ring around the rosies
A pocket full of posies
Ashes Ashes
We all fall down.
A city in mourning, a city in plague.
The houses are barred, lives are at stake.
The women are crying
and strong men are sighing
the rats are a-roaming and people are dying
The rich men have all fled the town –
Proud London is bound to go down.
A bakershop’s oven brings forth more than bread:
The fire burns on as the baker lies dead.
And no one is knowing
that embers are glowing
The flames have escaped and the red seed is growing
The fire will do as it must
This city will soon burn to dust.
O Fire am I, the Great Fire you’ll call me
I rage and I ravage, I reap and destroy
O Fire am I, all world falls before me
My lust is in killing, I’m burning with joy.
The fires of heaven, the fires of hell
No matter who sent them, the fires burn well
To kill and to plunder
tear houses asunder
with flames bright as lightning and roaring like thunder.
And when the cathedral is lost
Folks know that the threshold’s been crossed.
O Fire am I, the Great Fire you’ll call me
I rage and I ravage, I reap and destroy
O Fire am I, all world falls before me
My lust is in killing, I’m burning with joy.
For three days the fires push on, on, and on.
Till east wind drops down and the battle is won
With praying and fasting
And gunpowder blasting
They’ve saved the remains of the town everlasting
And when finally fires drop dead
Gone is but the very last rat.
O Fire am I, the Great Fire you’ll call me
I rage and I ravage, I reap and destroy
O Fire am I, all world falls before me
My lust is in killing, I’m burning with joy.
O Fire was I, the Great Fire you called me
I raged and I ravaged, I reaped and destroyed
O Fire was I, all world fell before me
I’ve ended the plague, though I’ve left naught but void.
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Lyrics and tune © 2025 by Thesilée