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 