The air is getting hotter There's a rumbling in the skies I've been wading through the high muddy water With the heat rising in my eyes Every day your memory grows dimmer It doesn't haunt me like it did before I've been walking through the middle of nowhere Just tryin' to get to heaven before they close the door
When I was in Missouri They would not let me be I had to leave there in a hurry I only saw what they let me see You broke a heart that loved you Now you can seal up the book and not write anymore I've been walking that lonesome valley Just tryin' to get to heaven before they close the door
People on the platforms Waiting for the trains I can hear their hearts a-beatin' Like pendulums swinging on chains When you think that you lost everything You find out you can always lose a little more I'm just going down the road feeling bad Tryin' to get to heaven before they close the door I'm going down the river Down to New Orleans They tell me everything is gonna be all right But I don't know what "all right" even means I was riding in a buggy with Miss Mary-Jane Miss Mary-Jane got a house in Baltimore I been all around the world, boys Now I'm tryin' to get to heaven before they close the door