When the clouds hang heavy and it looks like rain,
O Lord, how long?
Well, the sun's drawing water from every vein,
O Lord, how long?

About this time another year,
I may be gone,
Within some lonely graveyard
O Lord, how long?

If I had prayed when I was young,
O Lord, how long?
Well, I would not've had such a hard race to run,
O Lord, how long?