It was late at night on the open road,
Speeding like a man on [bad word] 
lifetime spent preparing for the journey

He is closer now and the search is on,
Reading from a map in the mind,
Yes, there's the ragged hill,
And there's the boat on the river

And when the rain came down,
He heard a wild dog howl,
There were voices in the night - "Don't do it!"
Voices out of sight - "Don't do it!
Too many men have failed before,

Whatever you do
Don't pay the ferryman,
Don't even fix a price,
Don't pay the ferryman,
Until he gets you to the other side!

In the rolling mist'then he gets on board,
Now there'll be no turning back,
Beware that hooded old man at [bad word] 
And then the lightning flashed, and the thunder roared,
And people calling out his name,
And dancing bones that jabbered
And a-moaned on the water

And then the ferryman said,
"There is trouble ahead,
So you must pay me now," - "Don't do it!"
"You must pay me now," - "Don't do it!"
And still that voice came from beyond

Whatever you do
Don't pay the ferryman,
Don't even fix a price,
Don't pay the ferryman,
Until he gets you to the other side!