He Was In Heaven Before He Died Lyrics by John Prine
Album : Common Sense
Clean Lyric
Paragraph Lyric
There's a rainbow of babies
Draped over the graveyard
Where all the dead sailors
Wait for their brides

And the cold bitter snow
Has strangled each grass blade
Where the salt from their tears
Washed out with the tide

And I smiled on the Wabash
The last time I passed it
Yes, I gave her a wink
From the passenger side

And my foot fell asleep
As I swallowed my candy
Knowing he was in Heaven
Before he died

Now a harbor's on fire
With the dreams and desires
Of a thousand young poets
Who failed 'cause they tried

For a rhyme without reason
Floats down to the bottom
Where the scavengers eat 'em
And wash in with the tide

And I smiled on the Wabash
The last time I passed it
Yes, I gave her a wink
From the passenger side

And my foot fell asleep
As I swallowed my candy
Knowing he was in Heaven
Before he died

The sun can play tricks
With your eyes on the highway
The moon can lay sideways
Till the ocean stands still

But a person can't tell
His best friend he loves him
Till time has stopped breathing
You're alone on the hill

And I smiled on the Wabash
The last time I passed it
Yes, I gave her a wink
From the passenger side

And my foot fell asleep
As I swallowed my candy
Knowing he was in Heaven
Before he died
There's a rainbow of babies   Draped over the graveyard   Where all the dead sailors   Wait for their brides      And the cold bitter snow   Has strangled each grass blade   Where the salt from their tears   Washed out with the tide      And I smiled on the Wabash   The last time I passed it   Yes, I gave her a wink   From the passenger side      And my foot fell asleep   As I swallowed my candy   Knowing he was in Heaven   Before he died      Now a harbor's on fire   With the dreams and desires   Of a thousand young poets   Who failed 'cause they tried      For a rhyme without reason   Floats down to the bottom   Where the scavengers eat 'em   And wash in with the tide      And I smiled on the Wabash   The last time I passed it   Yes, I gave her a wink   From the passenger side      And my foot fell asleep   As I swallowed my candy   Knowing he was in Heaven   Before he died      The sun can play tricks   With your eyes on the highway   The moon can lay sideways   Till the ocean stands still      But a person can't tell   His best friend he loves him   Till time has stopped breathing   You're alone on the hill      And I smiled on the Wabash   The last time I passed it   Yes, I gave her a wink   From the passenger side      And my foot fell asleep   As I swallowed my candy   Knowing he was in Heaven   Before he died