words and music by Arlo Guthrie



When I was younger

She'd come to me in dreams

Her face was hidden

In the mountain streams

Her voice disguised

As the sound of the wind

The rustling of leaves

She would call from within



Chorus:



Wake up, wake up, wake up, she said

Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up dead



So many memories

Of those years have passed

Beyond the confusion

That [ thought would last forever

The countless veils

That I wore like clothes

Have been stripped away

Now [ stand here exposed



Chorus



In the night when the moon

Casts no shadows at all

We sat by the fire

As she started to call

Out to all who would hear

That the death of what's dead

Is the birth of what's living

And her words filled my head



Chorus



It's the life that lies sleeping

When you think you're awake

Forever is real

And the rest is just fake

And though volumes are written

On this subject alone

She used three simple words

And she brought it all home



Chorus