I know I've seen this place before   Lord can't you hear me screaming   As a young man long ago   When I was twenty-one      And I know I've seen this house before   With people all around it   With my baby cousin on the floor   And mama in the kitchen      And a woman lies upon the bed   I think she must be dying   And I recall the words she said   As she began to cry      She begged son please don't go to baltimore   And leave me where I'm lying   For you will son but I no more   Walk among the living      And if you go to baltimore   Then I'll see you in heaven   And as you breathe I'll breathe no more   And I will surely die      Well you know I went to baltimore   So confident and wise   And as I breathed she breathed no more   And she did surely die      And now as I lie upon my bed   I pray I must be dreaming   With faces all around my head   And strangers at my door      And a woman's voice calls out to me   Bring unto you your children   And let them see these things you see   And hear the words you say      Beg them to go to baltimore   And leave you where you're lying   Just like you did one time before   When you were twenty-one      And if they go to baltimore   Then I'll see you in heaven   And as they breathe you'll breathe no more   And you will surely die      And I know I've seen this place before   Lord can't you hear me screaming   And if I should awaken lord   Then answer me my plea      What makes the sun set in the west   And birds fly in the sky   And what makes a woman beat her breast   When her children start to cry      And what makes those little ones grow old   To find eternity   And what takes the wise   And leaves behind   A foolish one like me