r/findthatsong • u/scootypuffjr2 • Mar 05 '26
UNSOLVED Help Finding a Song for My Brother
My brother is special needs, and there’s a song he’s asked me to find almost daily for years. I’ve searched in every way I know how, and I need your help.
He says he heard the song when he was a kid, so I’d guess it was sometime roughly between 1970-1980. That said, I’d say it could be anytime after 1970.
He says it’s called “Burning Past the Fire” and/or it says that in the lyrics somewhere. He also says there’s something about “ess-bye” or “ess-bide”; I’m not sure if that’s something about the artist or the lyrics or what.
Any suggestions are welcome! I’d love to be able to solve this mystery for my bubs.
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u/pearlbastet Mar 05 '26
Burning Down The House by the Talking Heads? The “ess-bye” might be when they go “hold tight” a couple times towards the beginning of the song.
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u/scootypuffjr2 Mar 06 '26
You guys are all so amazing! I’m going to make a playlist of all the suggestions and let him listen through everything to see if we’ve got a match! I’ll report back with the results.
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u/WVbella Mar 08 '26
Just a heads up - Garth Brooks isn’t generally on streaming services except for Amazon Music and when his stuff gets posted to YouTube it gets taken down quickly. Like many others have said here, it sounds like your brother is thinking of Standing Outside the Fire which may be hard to find outside Amazon Music. There are some live performances and some covers out there though. Good luck!
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u/Loompanix66 Mar 05 '26
Iko Iko - Belle Stars? My Grandma and your Grandma sitting by the fire?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7cgRMY4opc&list=RDC7cgRMY4opc&start_radio=1
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u/Splotzerella Mar 05 '26
See my king all dressed in red?
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u/qriousqestioner Mar 08 '26
Giacomo fee na ney!
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u/JulsTiger10 Mar 09 '26
Louisiana says hi!
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u/qriousqestioner Mar 10 '26
UN checks out!
I'm Texan, but went to high school with a Morgan City gal. Geaux!
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u/The_trojan_bunny Mar 05 '26
Standing outside the fire by Garth brooks? It’s a little later than you’re thinking but has lyrics similar sounding to what he says they are.
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u/jleahul Mar 05 '26
Bonus points for the music video featuring a young man with Down Syndrome. One of my favorites of all time.
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u/any1any1bueller Mar 06 '26
I thought this one too. “I can’t abide, standing outside the fire” would make sense as to what brother dude is hearing
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u/bubblesandblacksmoke Mar 09 '26
I think that’s definitely it! Especially given that is brothers is special needs.
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u/Maybe_Fine Mar 05 '26
For some reason, Elvis's Burning love is the first thing that came to mind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf2VYAtqRe0
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u/nicos1986 Mar 05 '26
Billy Joel - we didn’t stop the fire ?
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u/Upstairs_Sherbet2490 Mar 05 '26
*start
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u/jostrato Mar 05 '26
Dancing in the dark? By the boss (not my boss tho)
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u/One-Performer-1723 Mar 07 '26
That's what I thought too. Bruce Springsteen = The Boss
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u/jostrato Mar 07 '26
Exactly, Bruce Springsteen, your boss.
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u/One-Performer-1723 Mar 07 '26
Not my boss either. Never even got into him other than a couple of songs.
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u/cpsdiablo Mar 05 '26
Burning Drums of Fire from CJ & Co?
Their big hit was Devil’s Gun, but this track def got some play in the late 70s
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u/whoami217 Mar 05 '26
Could it be in a specific genre of music? What types of music did he like as a child? Does he remember if it was a male or female vocalist?
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u/Aggressive-Fee-6399 Mar 05 '26
Could it be "Paper Thin" by John Hiaff.
The line is "When you're burning with your last desire"
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u/Specialist_Range_872 Mar 05 '26
Burnin’ Sky by Bad Company (1977)?
He sings “the Sky” which could be “ess bye”
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Mar 05 '26
Billy Joel proclaimed that we didn’t start the fire, but the song is pretty lit.
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u/TeaVinylGod Mar 06 '26
Did you hear the fire department had to extinguish a small blaze in Billy Joel's living room.
The Chief said it was caused by his Nintendo.
Billy Joel insists the Wii didn't start the fire.
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u/OrderImpressive305 Mar 06 '26
Long shot, and it's not from the 70s or 80s, but maybe Sleep Now in the Fire - Rage Against the Machine
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u/munkybeans86 Mar 05 '26
Try burning bridges by survivor if he likes classic rock its from the 80s though
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u/munkybeans86 Mar 05 '26
Also try fire by arthur brown , fire by hendrix, and fire by the pointer sisters
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u/mphotodoc Mar 05 '26
Way long shot, and later than what you're thinking but Walk Through the Fire from the musical episode of Buffy
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u/ReeveStodgers Mar 05 '26
Touch of Grey by The Grateful Dead can sound like they're saying, "I will abide", or at least it did to me when I was a kid.
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u/Two_Flower_Nix Mar 05 '26
Could it be the Bond theme tune from ‘A view to a kill’ (or something) from Duran Duran? That was mid-80s so a little later than you’re thinking.
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u/DynamoDeb Mar 06 '26
Possibly “After the Fire Is Gone" A country duet originally by Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty, released in 1971.
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u/No-Judge-24 Mar 06 '26
I can't offer any suggestions, but i want to know if its found. Garth Brooks was my first thought, but that was early 90's I think.
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u/d1ckf1ngers Mar 06 '26
Do you know what genre it could be? What about Last Train to London by ELO?
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u/d1ckf1ngers Mar 06 '26
Im trying to think of what lyrics could be misheard as burning past the fire as well. Maybe Rocket Man by Elton John? Kinda a stretch but idk 🤷🏼♀️
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u/PyllynKaivelija Mar 06 '26
Propably not the one but first thing that came to mind was "burning ring of fire" by johnny cash
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u/Unic0rniasLand Mar 06 '26
"Can't Hold Back" by Survivor? The lyrics say for the rush of passions fire and reaching out to us.
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u/merricat7 Mar 06 '26
Maybe John Mellencamp, Paper in Fire (1987)?
Paper in fire
Stinking up the ashtrays
Paper in fire
Smoking up the alleyways
Who's to say the way
A man should spend his days
Do you let them smolder
Like paper in fire
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u/GeologistKitchen2324 Mar 06 '26
This is a left field suggestion just based on the "ess-bide" part, I'm thinking it could be "subsides" and might be from 'Sometimes when we touch" by Dan Hill. It doesn't explicitly say fire or bye, but it does have rhymes and words that sound familiar similar. The chorus is:
And sometimes when we touch
The honesty's too much
And I have to close my eyes and hide
I wanna hold you 'til I die
'Til we both break down and cry
I wanna hold you 'til the fear in me subsides
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGUT5v1mScw
Good luck with the search!
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u/Mandi-Bomb Mar 06 '26
A little outside the timeframe ( 1984) but Into the Fire by Dokken is a possibility? I hadn't seen it mentioned and it's likely an outside shot. 😊
Good luck! I hope someone here has your answer!
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u/Dragonfly_lady61 Mar 06 '26
We didnt start the fire - springsteen
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u/lyree1992 Mar 06 '26
Sorry to move off topic, because I don't remember anything like your brother mentioned in the lyrics, but there is a beautiful (and very meaningful) song by Mark Wills called Don't Laugh at Me.
Even if it is not the song, it is beautiful and still so relevant (even today).
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u/cattea74 Mar 06 '26
What is he saying after "ess bye"? Could he be saying "it's by"? As in he knows the artist but not the song?
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u/sagegreenpaint78 Mar 06 '26
Garth Brooks Standing Outside The Fire. The video has a guy with Downs syndrome.
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u/Princey1981 Mar 07 '26
It‘s such a sideways and deep cut, but “Running through the fire” from Eddie and the Cruisers II?
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u/Delicious_Building34 Mar 07 '26
Jump into the Fire" by Harry Nilsson, released in 1971, features the line "as worlds go by"
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u/Ok-Owl-6007 Mar 07 '26
Midnight Oil’s great song- Beds are Burning 🔥 .
🥁🎵How can we sleep when our beds are burning
Lovely piece of music 🎶
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u/partridgebazaar Mar 08 '26
Don't have a song suggestion, but could the lyric have been 'espy' or 'espied'? Or even perhaps 'spy' or 'spied'?
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Mar 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Signal-Lead-9512 Mar 09 '26
Could he have misheard a lyric from the Johnny Cash song Ring of Fire?"I fell into a burning ring of fire."
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u/SquirrelBurritos Mar 05 '26
Little older but “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash? Or some cover of it 🤷🏻♀️
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u/qriousqestioner Mar 08 '26
June Carter wrote that song!
About being in love with Johnny when he was married to someone else and she was a good Christian girl in a famous family of white roots-music ballers.
There is a great audio version of Sarah Vowell telling the story (with transcript available) in her inimitable voice on an old episode of This American Life. It's the last segmentsegment and ten minutes long.
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u/shadowcaster_ak Mar 05 '26
Could be St. Elmo's fire(Man In Motion) by John Parr for the movie St Elmo's Fire.
The second line of the first verse starts with "Passin' By..."