Living isn't easy
Dying isn't hard
When the hungriest days of winter
Plays her wicked cards
I'll not be called a quitter
'Cause I chose to take a knee
For the ice won't e'er be broken
Not by no man, not by me
Laying down to perish
God knows where I'll go
Laying down to perish
I just wanted you to know
I'll make my wife a widow
But I won't have her trace the shore
With a candle in the window
And foolish hope above the door
I've got no time for haunting
The ones I've held so dear
So I'll carve the crudest message now
Before I disappear
Laying down to perish
God knows where I'll go
Laying down to perish
I just wanted you to know
I am not so sad to pass
To what lies beyond the snow
But to have you think I left you
Would break my heart and soul
Let there be a warm hereafter
In the sweetest by and by
Let my house be filled with laughter
Should I ever cross your mind, now I'm
Laying down to perish
God knows where I'll go
Laying down to perish
I just wanted you to know
