I can smell the death on the sheets Covering me I can't believe this is the end
But this is my deathbed I lie here alone If I close my eyes tonight I know I'll be home
The year was nineteen forty one I was eight years old and Far far too young To know that the stories Of battles and glory Was a tale a kind mother Made up for her son You see Dad was a traveling preacher Teaching the words of the Teacher My mother left mourning Went off to the war And died there with honor Somewhere on a beach there But he left once to never return Which taught me that I should unlearn Whatever I thought a father should be I abandoned that thought Like he abandoned me
By forty seven I was fourteen I'd acquired a taste for liquor and nicotine I smoked until I threw up Yet I still lit 'em up for thirty more years Like a machine
So right there you have it That one filthy habit Is what got me where I am today
I can smell the death on the sheets Covering me I can't believe this is the end I can hear those sad memories Still haunting me So many things I'd do again
But this is my deathbed I lie here alone If I close my eyes tonight I know I'll be home
I got married on my twenty first Eight months before my wife would give birth It's easier to be sure you love someone When her father inquires with the barrel of a gun The union was far from harmonious No two people could have been more alone than us The years would go by and she'd love someone else And I realized I hadn't been loved yet myself
And there's your typical spiel Yeah if life was a highway I was drunk at the wheel I was seeing the loose ends All fall apart Yeah I swear I was destined to fail And fail from the start
I bowled about six times a week
The bottle of Beam kept the memories from me The marriage had taken a seven-ten split Along with my pride the ex-wife took the kids
I can smell the death on the sheets Covering me I can't believe this is the end I can hear those sad memories Still haunting me So many things I'd do again
But this is my deathbed I lie here alone If I close my eyes tonight I know I'll be home
I was so scared of Jesus But He sought me out Like the cancer in my lungs That's killing me now And I've given up hope On the days I have left But I cling to the hope Of my life in the next Then Jesus showed up Said "Before we go" "I thought that we might reminisce" "See one night in your life" "When you turned out the light" "You asked for and prayed for my forgiveness"
You cried wolf The tears they soaked your fur The blood dripped from your fangs You said, "What have I done?" You loved that lamb With every sinful bone And there you wept alone Your heart was so contrite
You said, "Jesus, please forgive me of my crimes Sanctify this withered heart of mine Stay with me until my life is through And on that day please take me home with you"
I can smell the death on the sheets Covering me I can't believe this is the end I can hear You whisper to me, "It's time to leave You'll never be lonely again"
But this was my deathbed I died there alone When I closed my eyes tonight You carried me home
[Jon Foreman of Switchfoot sings, as the voice of Jesus:] I am the Way Follow Me And take My hand And I am the Truth Embrace Me and you'll understand And I am the Light And for Me you'll live again For I am Love I am Love I, I am Love