The air is getting hotter, there's a rumblin' in the skies I've been wading through the high muddy water With the heat risin' in my eyes Every day your memory grows dimmer It dosn't haunt me like it did before I've been walking through the mirror to 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 pendulums swinging on chains When you think that you've lost everything You find out you can always lose a little more I'm just goin' down the road feeling 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 And I'm tryin' to get to heaven before they close the door. Gonna 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 ramblers, like they did before I've been to sugar town, I shook the sugar down Now I'm tryin' to get to heaven before they close the door.