Susan Indest, Dusty Hughes - The UpStairs Lounge Fire Lyrics

It was another hot New Orleans night in the summer of '73
I climbed the stairs to my favorite place where I was free to be me
Sundays have a special sadness for church-bred boy like me
But the UpStairs Lounge was a haven with my chosen family

My friends full of cheer, tipsy from dollar beer
Were gathered 'round the white baby grand
Piano Man Dave played our favorite songs
We all sang "United We Stand"

Sunday nights at the UpStairs Lounge
We sang our favorite songs
Gathered around the piano we'd feel united and strong
"United we stand, divided we fall" and "Brandy" we'd sing really loud
When I'd sing along with my family, I'd feel so free and so proud

Bartender Buddy mixed my Jack and Coke, Rev. Bill waved from the stage
Where his church fundraiser was getting just underway
My friends George and Louis danced as they held each other close
They've loved each other for such a long time, their devotion gives me hope

The doorbell buzzed behind me, Buddy sent Luther downstairs to the door
The stench of gas in the air, a fireball shot up the stairs
And knocked Luther down to the floor.
Fire roared up the old wooden staircase and spread through the old wooden walls
I couldn't squeeze through the bars on the windows, some did and died from the fall

Sunday nights at the UpStairs Lounge
We sang our favorite songs
Gathered around the piano we'd feel united and strong
"United we stand, divided we fall" and "Brandy" we'd sing really loud
When I'd sing along with my family, I'd feel so free and so proud

Flames devoured the old building, the soldier in Buddy came alive
He grabbed me and 18 others, thanks to him we all survived.
George escaped but went back in to find Louis, the love of his life
George and Louis were found with the dead, still clutching each other tight

In just 16-minutes of horror, the fire took 32 lives
Eighteen others were injured, thousands were scarred for life
Firefighters and medics said they'll never forget the horror they witnessed that night
There was just one short news story, the church and politicians were quiet

Sunday nights at the UpStairs Lounge
We sang our favorite songs
Gathered around the piano we'd feel united and strong
"United we stand, divided we fall" and "Brandy" we'd sing really loud
When I'd sing along with my family, I'd feel so free and so proud

Silence speaks loudly and clearly when a horror like this is ignored
No public outcry of sympathy came to mourn the lives that were lost
The one priest who showed compassion and performed the funeral rites
Was vilified for honoring the souls of these "sodomites"

I lost my chosen family and friends, I saw so much apathy
The jokes and cruel comments about the dead still scare and sicken me

Decades have passed since this tragedy but it seems like just yesterday
Sometimes I wake up in a panic and the nightmares won't go away
I still hear the piano playing as my friends and I sing along
"United we stand, divided we fall," it was our favorite song.

Sunday nights at the UpStairs Lounge
We sang our favorite songs
Gathered around the piano we felt united and strong
"United we stand, divided we fall" and "Brandy" we sang really loud
Until the flames and smoke from the fire cut all of us down