Wake up,
John, it's time to go.
Come along,
John, don't be slow.
Wake up,
John, it's time to go.
A breeze joins the procession
just to help me kneel
With a hoarder at my elbow and
another at my heel
Marching in the morning down
a path I've lately seen
I was sleeping in this garden,
am I still within my dream?
The echo of my heartbeat is
the beating of a drum
And all the earth is singing
with life's sweet hum
We filed in solemn silence,
shuffled through a door
The place where life is taken for
the letter of the law
Shake the holy water,
summon up the guard
Dying's very easy, waiting's very hard
A rose is hanging from the roof,
a sign which bustles me
I thought a gibbet and a card
would make gallows three
But now all is revealed,
scant air is the command
My feet are on the trapdoor
with a rope around my hand
An d now the executioner
is shaking hands with me
My duty I must carry out,
you poor fellow, says he
A strap tied around my feet
and a bag upon my head
And then the noose which separates
the living from the dead
Shake the holy water,
summon up the gods
Night's very easy,
waiting's very hard
Fairy whispers to me,
have you anything to say?
My mouth is dry, my throat is tight,
I answer, drop away
Silence now surrounds me,
my heart is beating on
The trap door hardly moves at all,
my life is still my own
They stand me in a corner with my
hands and feet still bound
While a carpenter is called for
and an explanation found
The rain has warped the timbers,
I hear the hangman say
It's funny but it worked well,
I tried it yesterday
All is ended,
now they say your ordeal's nearly over
Your life's as good as ended,
but I hear their voices waver
Once more the malt is showing,
and again I hang in limbo
Other guards jump on the trapdoor
and my body stands on tiptoe
Shake the holy water,
summon up the guard
Dying's very easy,
waiting's very hard
They stand me in a corner with
my hands and feet still tied
A warder holds on to the noose,
the trapdoor opens wide
Is it magic or coincidence
that keeps me on the brink?
It seems to work without me,
well it killed me now I think
Please I'm tired of living
and I really want to die
I was taken to the scaffold an
d I heard the hangman cry
Lee, I'm truly sorry,
forgive these hands of mine
He drew the bolt and I felt the
jolt for the and final time
My life was spared that morning
cos it wasn't fair to take
The breeze, the boat,
the door requires a man to feel the stain
Shake the holy water,
summon up the gods
Dying's very easy,
waiting's very hard
Shake the holy water,
summon up the gods
Dying's very easy,
waiting's very hard
Shake the holy water,
summon up the guard
Dying's very easy,
waiting's very hard
Shake the holy water,
summon up the guard
Dying's very easy,
waiting's very hard
Shed your holy water,
summon up the dark.
Life's very easy, waiting's very hard.
Fairport Convention 
