They’re gonna lay me low (Lay me low)
They’re gonna sink me in the snow
They’re gonna throw back
their heads and crow
When I go

They’re gonna jump and shout (Lay me low)
They’re gonna wave their arms about
All the stories will come out
When I go

All the stars will glow bright (Lay me low)
My friends will give up the fight
They’ll see my work in a different light
When I go

They’ll try telephoning my
mother (Lay me low)
They’ll end up getting my brother
Who’ll spill the story on some
long-gone lover
That I hardly know

Hats off to the man
On top of the world
Come crawl up here, baby
And I’ll show you how it works
If you wanna be my friend
And you wanna repent
And you want it all to end
And you wanna know when
Then take a bow
Do it now Do it any old how
Make a stand Take my hand
And blow it all to hell

They’ll inform the police chief (Lay me low)
Who will breathe a sigh of relief
He’ll say I was a malanderer,
a badlander, and a thief
When I go

They will interview my teachers (Lay me low)
Who’ll say I was one of God’s
sorrier creatures
There’ll be informative six-page features
When I go

They’ll bang a big old gong (Lay me low)
The motorcade will be ten miles long
The world will join together for a
farewell song
When they put me down below

They’ll sound a flugelhorn (Lay me low)
The sea will rage, the sky will storm
All man and beast will mourn
When I go

Hats off to the man
On top of the world
Crawl over here, baby
And we can watch this damn thing turn
If you wanna be my friend
And you wanna repent
And you want it all to end
And you wanna know when
Well do it now
Don’t care how Do it any old how
Take my hand Make a stand
And blow it all to hell

–Nick Cave, Let Love In, Lay Me Low