The key turns once, it locks the door,
You...you were here; I saw your signature,
I saw the moving leaves, I saw the closing door,
I saw the closing door.

Now the priest has called, dressed in his robes,
With memory eternal over the telephone,
I'll have no condolences - the meaning of it all,
The meaning of it all.

When I was alive, thoughtful and nice, I tried to do what's right,
When I was alive, not once but twice,
Should have used a knife, should have used a knife.

I read "The Four Quartets", "The Dry Salvages",
Wrote the words upon my wrist, wore the clothes upon my back,
Life spent in pursuit of it, life just spent,
A life just spent.

Now I am here on parade, I'm lying in state,
The flags are all half raised, Ave Maria plays,
It's a fading song; sing it on and on,
Sing it on and on.

When I was alive, thoughtful and nice, I tried to do what's right,
When I was alive, not once but twice,
Should have used a knife, should have used a knife,
Should have used a knife, should have used a knife.