The air is gettin' hotter, there's a rumblin' in the skies.
I've been wadin' through the high muddy waters, 
But the heat riseth in my eyes.
Everyday your memory goes dimmer, 
It doesn't haunt me like it did before.
I've been walkin' through the middle of nowhere,
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 walkin' that lonesome valley,
Tryin' to get to heaven before they close the door.

People on the platforms, waitin' for the trains.
I can hear their hearts a-beatin', like pendulum swingin' on chains.
When you think that you've lost everything,
You find out you can always lose a little more.
I'm just going down the road feelin' bad,
Tryin' to get to heaven before they close the door.

I'm goin' 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 ridin' in a buggy with Miss Mary Jane, 
Miss Mary Jane got a house in Baltimore.
I've been all around the world boys,
I'm tryin' to get to heaven before they close the door.

Gotta sleep down in the parlor, and relive my dreams.
I close my eyes and I wonder, if everything is as hollow as it seems.
Some trains don't pull no gamblers, 
No midnight/midlife? ramblers like they did before.
I've been to Sugartown, I shook the sugar down,
Now I'm tryin' to get to heaven before they close the door