Who By Fire?

And who by fire, who by water,

who in the sunshine, who in the night time,

who by high ordeal, who by common trial,

who in your merry merry month of may,

who by very slow decay,

and who shall I say is calling?

And who in her lonely slip, who by barbiturate,

who in these realms of love, who by something blunt,

and who by avalanche, who by powder,

who for his greed, who for his hunger,

and who shall I say is calling?

And who by brave assent, who by accident,

who in solitude, who in this mirror,

who by his lady’s command, who by his own hand,

who in mortal chains, who in power,

and who shall I say is calling?

Included on both New Skin For The Old Ceremony (1974) and Live In Concert (1994), this song is based on the Jewish prayer ‘Mi Bamayin, Mi Ba Esh’ sung at Yom Kippur. “And who shall I say is calling?” – you do not need me to tell you it is Death.