A social gathering at home
Ready to celebrate New Year's Eve
Disturbed by a call on the phone
That left us in disbelief
Catastrophe on North Prieur Street
The worst fire since 1973
Eight kids surprised in their sleep
None of them survived this tragedy
Perished in the fire
Like Icarus, lost so bitterly
Hearts filled with desire
Like Icarus, yearning for liberty, liberty
They never spoke of ambitions
No more than some troubled lost souls
But to others they were great musicians
Determined to reach their goals
Misfortune struck that day
And flames destroyed their special place
If some prince had burned up in the same way
Then nobody'd call it a civic disgrace
(That's a slap in the face)
Perished in the fire
Like Icarus, lost so bitterly
Hearts filled with desire
Like Icarus, yearning for liberty
Some of you may wonder
About the reasons of their flight
Some of you may wonder
About the reasons why they died
Why they died
Katie, an artist by heart
Nikki, brought us so much fun
John, a most generous guy
Sammy, like the sun
Anthonie, a free spirit
Justin, always in for a chat
Melissa, a fearless girl
Jeffrey, the king of six strings
They couldn't handle school
They couldn't handle work
They couldn't handle friends
They couldn't seem to do anything right
I've changed a lot since this tragedy
Some photographs I cherish now
Some pictures of my family
I started to place them now
'That's him,' I said to you
'I want to go back to before the fire'
You cried a bit and I cried too
That's what we all desire