2025 Competition Entry:

What the Heavens by Mark Firehammer

Genre

Folk

Co-writer(s)

no

Performer(s)

Mark Firehammer – Vocals
Mark Firehammer – Acoustic guitar
Casey Chester – Piano
Mary Wooten – Cello

Description

The common struggle of a young man trying to fit in not finding his place, but finding solace and advice from an elder that worked in the lunchroom.

Bio

Mark Firehammer, born in 1962, is a prolific singer-songwriter with over four decades of experience. He toured the eastern US extensively until 2000. Currently based in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Mark is a cofounder of MyFeelness.com & Fitstreams.club. Mark works as a marketing and business consultant specializing in the fitness industry. He harbors a strong passion for technology, particularly AI, and its profound influence on creativity and productivity.

Lyrics

Once there was a young man.
Going to school and trying to fit in,
But he didn’t wear the coolest clothes,
Didn’t have a perfect nose,
He wasn’t any good with girls,
Though one did set his heart awhirl.
Didn’t swim or run too fast,
He always seemed to come in last,

One day he’d had enough and went and found a place to hide,
Sat down on a crate behind the lunch room and he cried.
When an old man came upon him with a frown upon his face,
He sat down right beside him and he said….

Chorus:
As we make our way through all the years,
Fighting to hold back the tears,
That fill our eyes and wash our joys away.
By wishing we were someone else,
We constantly deny ourselves,
The chance to become all that we could be.
Whether rich man poor man beggar man or thief,
We all have the right to choose ‘tween happiness and grief,
If you leave it in the hands of fate,
You’ll end up at the pearly gates,
A bitter soul whose life has been denied.
So take a chance and be unique,
Find that inner joy you seek,
And you will walk the heavens filled with pride.

2nd Verse:
He went on to tell of
Many tales he knew of life and love.
How he’d become a champion,
Because he didn’t quite fit in,
The early age he had to fight,
For differences of black and white,
Had taught him how to look inside,
His heart to find the peace of pride.

When he’d finished speaking he got up from where they sat,
Helped the young man to his feet and gave his head a little pat.
He worked in the lunchroom always there to do his part,
That day he fed this young man’s hungry heart.

(Chorus:)
As we make our way through all the years,
Fighting to hold back the tears,
That fill our eyes and wash our joys away.
By wishing we were someone else,
We constantly deny ourselves,
The chance to become all that we could be.
Whether rich man poor man beggar man or thief,
We all have the right to choose ‘tween happiness and grief,
If you leave it in the hands of fate,
You’ll end up at the pearly gates,
A bitter soul whose life has been denied.
So take a chance and be unique,
Find that inner joy you seek,
And you will walk the heavens filled with pride.

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