I suppose you could lay me down to die in Illinois
Bury me beneath the rows of corn
Or in-between the maple trees I climbed on as a boy
Where in the Land of Lincoln I was born

Oh, and I recall, we rode the combines in the fall
And there comes a time for gathering the harvest after all

So when you lay me down to die
I'll miss my boys, I'll miss my girls
Lay me down and let me say goodbye to this world
You can lay me anywhere
But just remember this
When you lay me down to die
You lay me down to live

Well, I asked a girl to marry me on a dock out on the lake
Our babies came to life in Tennessee
And the music of the mountains is still keeping me awake
Yeah, but everything that rises falls asleep

We are not alone, we are more than flesh and bone
What is seen will pass away, what is not is going home

When you lay me down to die
I'll miss my boys, I'll miss my girls
Lay me down and let me say goodbye to this world
You can lay me anywhere
But just remember this
When you lay me down to die

I'll open up my eyes on the skies I've never known
In the place where I belong
And I'll realize His love is just another word for Home

I believe in the holy shores of un-created light
I believe there is power in the blood
And all of the death that ever was if you set it next to life
I believe it would barely fill a cup
'Cause I believe there's power in the blood

When you lay me down to die
So long, boys, so long, girls
Lay me down and let me say goodbye to this world
You can lay me anywhere
But just remember this
When you lay me down to die
You lay me down to live 
Oh, you lay me down to live 

You lay me down to live...