Tryin' to Get to Heaven (Version 1)

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 Trying 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, you don't have to write anymore I've been walking through that lonesome valley Trying 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've lost everything You find out you can always lose a little more I'm going down the road feeling bad Trying to get to heaven before they close the door I'm going down the river Down towards New Orleans They tell me everything's gonna be alright in a little while But I don't know what "Alright" 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 trying to get to heaven before they close the door Gonna sleep down in the parlour And relive my dream I'll close my eyes and wonder If everything is as hollow as it seems Some trains don't pull no gamblers No midnight ramblers like they did before I been to Sugar Town, I shook the sugar down Now I'm trying to get to heaven before they close the door