In "Drink By Fires," Jonah Kagen traces the quiet pull of home through phone calls with his sister, father, and mother, each conversation reviving a specific warmth: magic tricks for a niece, invented bar games, the childhood safety of a mother’s voice. He realizes love never eluded him; it was always in the exhale, scattered like sunflowers around his ordinary life. Missing family becomes the ache that clarifies how fully he is held, and returning home feels like the only honest answer.
Drink By Fires Lyrics by Jonah Kagen
I’ve been talking to my sister
On the phone for the whole morning
About Mom and Dad and friendship
About making our own stories
And we didn’t use to talk much
But we’ve been best friends since college
And I do magic for her daughter
Couldn’t lose her if I wanted
And I love to come home
I’ve been talking to my daddy
He’s been trying to retire
Just so he can come and see me
Play some shows and drink by fires
We’ve been playing games that he made up
For as long as I have known him
And I promise we’ll keep playing
Till this bar says they’re closing
And I love to come home
I’ve been talking to my mama
She’s been stressed about the kitchen
If she ever missed a phone call
I’d be sure she wasn’t living
When I speak to her, I’m nothing
But feet swinging in the back seat
I know everything is okay
I am certain that she has me
And I love to come home
I’ve been talking about love
To anybody who will listen
Like it’s something that eludes me
Like it’s something that I’m missing
But it’s in the way I exhale
I’ve always had it all around me
Sunflowers are everywhere
I really miss my family
And I love to come home
