Ah, the news of my impending death
Came at a really bad time for me
Yeah, the news of my impending death
Any other day might have been ok

I was starting to track with my inner guide
I was getting in touch with my feminine side
But when the doctor starts whistling 'Happy Trails'
Tends to take a bit of wind out of the old sails

chorus:
Desi Ray, if I may be so blunt
Galahad, bag your agnostic front
Underwood, hire a good undertaker
Freddie, get ready to meet your maker

Ah, the news of my impending death
Came at a really bad time for me
I was far too young to depreciate
When they read me my expiration date

I'd built Iron Man stalls in the northern wild
I'd played Cabbage Patch dolls with my inner child
Now I'm getting sealed bids for a granite vault
And I'm pretty sure this is my parents' fault

(chorus)

Ah, the news of my impending death
Came at a really bad time for me
When they cancel your breathing policy
Tends to steal a bit of the old joie de vivre

I'd just found the lost key to my mythic life
So I bravely shook free of my kids and wife
I had seminars booked as a second career
Until a still, small voice screamed loud and clear

(chorus)

© 1993 Warner Bros. Records Inc.

Behind the Song:
'Yeah, the Lament is a song about a guy who has sort of spent all his time in various self-help movements trying to find his inner self, and then he finds out he's gonna die. And it's sorta like, 'Wow, so I spent all this time trying to find myself and now I'm gonna die. I wonder if I made a big mistake here.' And the chorus is like the voice of God coming back and reminding him, 'Get ready, because this is it.' Sort of a dialogue between a poor sap and God.

'Ultimately a lot of these things just become replacements for God, and of course, they don't work. And so it's taking a little fun at those guys that beat on drums and take their shirts off in the woods. Sure, why not. I think they're idiots. [laughter]' - Steve Taylor (from Sockheaven.org)