[Verse 1: David Bowie]
The air is getting hotter
There's a rumbling in the sky
I've been wading through the high muddy water
With heat rising through my eyes
Every day, your memory grows dimmer
It doesn't hurt me like it did before
I've been walking through the middle of nowhere
Tryin' to get to Heaven before they close the door
Oh, hey, yeah

[Verse 2: David Bowie]
Oh, when I was in Missouri
They would not let me be
I had to leave there in a hurry
I only saw what they let me see
They broke the heart that loved you
Now you can seal up the book and not write anymore
I've been walking that lonesome valley
Tryin' to get to Heaven before they close the door
Oh, oh, yeah

[Chorus: David Bowie & Gail Ann Dorsey]
Ooh, tryin' to get to Heaven
Before they close the door
Ooh, tryin' to get to Heaven
Before they close the door
[Verse 3: David Bowie]
Oh, people on the platforms
Waiting for the trains
I can hear their hearts are beatin'
Like pendulums swingin' on a chain
When you think you lost everything
You find out you can lose a little more
I, I'm just going down the, that road feeling bad
Tryin' hard to get to Heaven before they close the door

[Chorus: David Bowie & Gail Ann Dorsey]
Ooh, tryin' to get to Heaven
Before they close the door
Ooh, tryin' to get to Heaven
Before they close the door

[Bridge: David Bowie & Gail Ann Dorsey]
Ooh
Oh-oh-oh

[Chorus: David Bowie & Gail Ann Dorsey]
Ooh, tryin' to get to Heaven
Before they close the door
Ooh, tryin' to get to Heaven
Before they close the door
[Verse 4: David Bowie]
I'm going down the river
Going down to New Orleans
They tell me everything's gonna be alright
But I don't know what alright even means
I close my eyes and I wonder, boys
If everything is as hollow as it seems
I've been to Sugar Town, oh, shook the sugar down
Tryin' to get to Heaven before they close the door, hey

[Chorus: David Bowie & Gail Ann Dorsey, David Bowie]
Ooh, tryin' to get to Heaven (Tryin' to get there)
Before they close the door (Woo, door)
Ooh, tryin' to get to Heaven (Tryin' to get to Heaven)
Before they close the door (And relive my dreams there)
Ooh, tryin' to get to Heaven
Before they close the door (I've been all around the world, boys)
Ooh, tryin' to get to Heaven
Before they close the door