Don't waste the days when I'm dead and I'm gone
Wind up the clocks, ring around, carry on
Don't gather flowers, dry your eyes, call your friends
For all I sang was a start, not an end

Catch your breath, feel the life in your bones
Enjoy what's to come, not the things that we've done
Save all your prayers, take the pain and the hurt
Add your chorus to my verse

By and by, by and by
Forget that glorious land above the sky
Don't you cry, don't you cry
By and by

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night
Alive as you and me
Says I, "But Joe, you're ten years dead"
"I never died," said he

By and by, by and by
Forget that glorious land above the sky
Don't you cry, don't you cry
By and by