Along crags and sunless cracks I go
(Along crags and sunless cracks I go)
Up rib of rock, down spine of stone
(Down rib of rock, up spine of stone)
I dare not slumber where the night winds whistle
(I dare not slumber where the night winds whistle)
Lest her creeping-soul clutch this heart of thistle
(Lest her creeping-soul clutch home)

Oh, the same god that abandoned her
(Oh, the same god that abandoned her)
Has in turn abandoned me
(Has done gone abandoned me)
And softening the turf with my tears
(And softening the turf with my tears)
I dug a well of misery

And in that well of misery
And down that well of misery
Hangs a bucket full of sorrow
(Hangs a bucket full of sorrow)
And it swings slow and aching like a bell
(It swings slow like a bell)
Yeah, and its toll is dead and hollow
(And its toll is dead and hollow)

Oh, down that well lies the long-lost dress
(Oh, down the well lies the dress)
Of my little floating girl
(Of my little floating girl)
That muffles a tear that you let fall
(That deadens a tear that you let fall)
All down the well of misery

Put shoulder to the handle, if ya dare
(Go to the handle, if you dare)
And hoist the bucket, hither
(And hoist that bucket, hither)
Lord, crank then hoist, then hoist and crank
(Lord, crank and hoist and hoist and crank)
'Til your muscles waste and wither
('Til your muscles waste and wither)

And the same god that abandoned her
(The same god that abandoned her)
Has in turn abandoned me
(Has in turn abandoned me)
Deep in the desert of despair
(Deep in the desert of despair)
I wait at the well of misery