Chosen by The Hobbit director Peter Jackson, Sheeran saw the film, wrote the song, and recorded most of it on the same day. The song was released as a digital download on 5 November 2013. Its music video was released on the same day. The song has also since been nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Original Song.
Peter Jackson discovered Sheeran through his daughter Katie in early 2013, and then met him while he was touring in New Zealand. When searching for an artist to record the end-credit of The Desolation of Smaug, Peter Jackson and producer/co-writer Fran Walsh decided, following the advice of their daughter, to ask him to write and perform the song. The Hobbit was the first book Sheeran ever read, and he was a fan of both Tolkien's and Jackson's work.
In only one day, Sheeran watched the film at Park Road Post, immediately went to a room to write the song, and recorded most of it. Despite having never played the violin, he chose to perform it himself via overdubbing. Sheeran commented on the production stating, "I got the chance to produce and play all the instruments on it apart from the cello (... and I) managed to learn (the) violin for a day". Flight of the Conchords' touring cellist Nigel Collins added cello parts, dictated by Sheeran. Pete Cobbin from Abbey Road Studios, responsible for mixing the musical score of The Desolation of Smaug by Howard Shore, was at Park Road at the same time and mixed "I See Fire", with Jackson being present during the whole recording
I See Fire
Ed Sheeran Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls
And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke
Keep watching over Durin's sons
If this is to end in fire
Then we should all burn together
Watch the flames climb high into the night
Watch the flames burn auburn on the mountainside high
And if we should die tonight
We should all die together
Raise a glass of wine for the last time
Calling out, Father, oh, prepare as we will
Watch the flames burn auburn on the mountainside
Desolation comes upon the sky
Now, I see fire inside the mountain
I see fire burning the trees
And I see fire hollowing souls
I see fire, blood in the breeze
And I hope that you'll remember me
Oh, should my people fall, then surely I'll do the same
Confined in mountain halls, we got too close to the flame
Calling out, Father, oh, hold fast and we will
Watch the flames burn auburn on the mountainside high
Desolation comes upon the sky
Now, I see fire inside the mountain
I see fire burning the trees
And I see fire hollowing souls
I see fire, blood in the breeze
And I hope that you'll remember me
And if the night is burning, I will cover my eyes
For if the dark returns, then my brothers will die
And as the sky's falling down, it crashed into this lonely town
And with that shadow upon the ground, I hear my people screaming out
And I see fire inside the mountain
I see fire burning the trees
I see fire hollowing souls
I see fire, blood in the breeze
I see fire, oh, you know I saw a city burning (fire)
And I see fire, feel the heat upon my skin (fire)
And I see fire, ooh-ooh-ooh (fire)
And I see fire burn auburn on the mountainside
In "I See Fire," Ed Sheeran sings about a troubled world, where destruction and chaos reign, and there seem to be no signs of hope. He speaks to a misty-eyed mountain to watch over the souls of Durin's sons, presumably dwarves that Sheeran's character feels responsible for. The song speaks about the dangers and uncertainties that come with encroaching disasters, metaphorically represented as fire, as Sheeran urges the listeners to come together in the face of the world's imminent end.
The song begins with a somber opening verse that raises tension, as Sheeran shows concern for his brothers' souls. He begs the misty-eyed mountain to keep watch over them in case the sky is filled with smoke and fire. The chorus of the song reveals Sheeran's fatalistic approach to the situation. He says that if it ends in fire, they should all burn together, and they should prepare to die as one. In the second verse, Sheeran sings about the fire that he sees inside the mountain, and how it is burning the trees, hollowing souls, and leaving blood in the breeze. The song then ends with a somber outro, where Sheeran comes to terms with his fate and expresses one last hope that he will be remembered.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, misty eye of the mountain below
I am looking at the mountain with a misty eye
Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls
Please take care of my brothers' souls
And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke
If the sky is filled with fire and smoke
Keep watching over Durin's sons
Please keep an eye on Durin's sons
If this is to end in fire
If everything ends in flames
Then we should all burn together
Then we will burn together
Watch the flames climb high into the night
Observe the flames rising high at night
Calling out, Father, oh, stand by and we will
Calling Father and asking him to help us
Watch the flames burn auburn on the mountainside high
Observe the red flames that are destroying the mountainside
And if we should die tonight
If we die tonight
We should all die together
We will die as one
Raise a glass of wine for the last time
Let's have a last drink of wine
Calling out, Father, oh, prepare as we will
Calling Father and asking him to be ready
Watch the flames burn auburn on the mountainside
Observe the red flames that are destroying the mountainside
Desolation comes upon the sky
The sky is becoming desolate
Now, I see fire inside the mountain
I can see the fire burning inside the mountain
I see fire burning the trees
I can see the fire burning the trees
And I see fire hollowing souls
I can see the fire taking people's souls
I see fire, blood in the breeze
The fire has spread and we can feel it on our skin
And I hope that you'll remember me
I hope that you won't forget me
Oh, should my people fall, then surely I'll do the same
If my people fall, I will also fall with them
Confined in mountain halls, we got too close to the flame
We were too close to the flame in the mountain halls
Calling out, Father, oh, hold fast and we will
Calling Father and asking him to hang on tight with us
Watch the flames burn auburn on the mountainside high
Observe the red flames that are destroying the mountainside
Now, I see fire inside the mountain
I can see the fire burning inside the mountain
I see fire burning the trees
I can see the fire burning the trees
And I see fire hollowing souls
I can see the fire taking people's souls
I see fire, blood in the breeze
The fire has spread and we can feel it on our skin
And I hope that you'll remember me
I hope that you won't forget me
And if the night is burning, I will cover my eyes
If the night is on fire, I will close my eyes
For if the dark returns, then my brothers will die
If the darkness returns, my brothers will die
And as the sky's falling down, it crashed into this lonely town
The sky is falling and it has hit a lonely town
And with that shadow upon the ground, I hear my people screaming out
With a shadow cast upon the ground, I hear my people screaming
And I see fire inside the mountain
I can see the fire burning inside the mountain
I see fire burning the trees
I can see the fire burning the trees
I see fire hollowing souls
I can see the fire taking people's souls
I see fire, blood in the breeze
The fire has spread and we can feel it on our skin
I see fire, oh, you know I saw a city burning (fire)
I saw a city burning in flames
And I see fire, feel the heat upon my skin (fire)
I can feel the fire's heat on my skin
And I see fire, ooh-ooh-ooh (fire)
I can see the fire burning strongly
And I see fire burn auburn on the mountainside
I can see the red flames burning on the mountainside
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Ed Sheeran
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Eldredge Aton Almanzor
Ang cool ng mga songs dito and hindi nagba-buffer...
Ricardo Barrachino
fantastic sound niceeeee
@gisa8111
Ed Sheeran - I See Fire ( LYRICS )
Oh, misty eye of the mountain below
Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls
And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke
Keep watching over Durin's sons
If this is to end in fire, then we should all burn together
Watch the flames climb high into the night
Callin' out, Father, oh, stand by and we will
Watch the flames burn auburn on the mountainside high
And if we should die tonight, we should all die together
Raise a glass of wine for the last time
Callin' out, Father, oh, prepare as we will
Watch the flames burn auburn on the mountainside
Desolation comes upon the sky
Now, I see fire inside the mountain
I see fire burnin' the trees
And I see fire hollowin' souls
I see fire, blood in the breeze
And I hope that you'll remember me
Oh, should my people fall then surely, I'll do the same
Confined in mountain halls, we got too close to the flame
Callin' out, Father, oh, hold fast and we will
Watch the flames burn auburn on the mountainside
Desolation comes upon the sky
Now, I see fire inside the mountain
I see fire burnin' the trees
And I see fire hollowin' souls
I see fire, blood in the breeze
And I hope that you'll remember me
And if the night is burning, I will cover my eyes
For if the dark returns, then my brothers will die
And as the sky's fallin' down, it crashed into this lonely town
And with that shadow upon the ground, I hear my people screamin' out
Now, I see fire inside the mountains
I see fire burnin' the trees
I see fire hollowin' souls
I see fire, blood in the breeze
I see fire (Oh, you know I saw a city burnin' out)
And I see fire (Feel the heat upon my skin)
And I see fire
And I see fire burn auburn on the mountain side
@Duxies
Probably one of the most beautiful songs written for a movie
@NoBody-dr5fu
Duxie Doogie the name of the movie please
@emperormajorian112
The Hobbit 😐
@grayish3262
* the most beautiful song ;)
@heyheyheyheyheyhey76
His voice was perfection for the movie. Emotional, woody and mysterious.
@robertcorcoran6220
@@NoBody-dr5fu bro come on. Less of that please.
@Spooky_Cat
After hearing this song, I instantly grew long hair, a beard and a longsword appeared in my hands.
@mglkeiser1532
+Morgan Wolfskin ROFL