[Verse 1]
When I was a child, my mother
Would tuck me into bed
And each night as she kissed me
These are the words that she said
She said, "Don't go to bed with strangers
Don't play with the dead
Always keep your wits sharp
Like the axe inside the shed"

[Hook]
Yay diri-diri-day diri-diri-day
Yay diri-diri-day day da-day
Yiri day-day-day yiri-di day-day-day
Day-day day-day day-day

[Verse 2]
When I was just a schoolboy
My father, he spoke unto me
He said, "Boychik, my son
Don't trust anyone
And remember that nothing is free
And the world is full of strangers
The world is full of dread
The world is full of sharpened wits
And millions of tears you will shed"
[Hook]
Yay diri-diri-day diri-diri-day
Yay diri-diri-day day da-day
Yiri day-day-day yiri-di day-day-day
Day-day day-day day-day

[Verse 3]
Well, when I was a young man
My professor at university
Said, "Advice is corrupting
Don't ever be trusting
Don't show your emotion
Human suffering is an ocean
And it's dark at the bottom of the sea
And there's no such thing as a stranger
They're all equally backwards and wrong
Sharpen axes, not wits
Bones are broken by sticks
And you never be free till you're strong"

[Hook]
Yay diri-diri-day diri-diri-day
Yay diri-diri-day day da-day
Yiri day-day-day yiri-di day-day-day
Day-day day-day day-day
[Bridge]
Well, young men grow older
And the world, it gets colder
Though it never was warm to begin
Don't let down your guard
For the reaper works hard
And he will not take pause till you're dead

[Verse 3]
Now I'm old and I'm rusty
My troubles like sand on a beach
They can't be calculated
I always have waited
For something just out of reach
And I to myself am a stranger
My heart is an island of lead
My world is resounding
With miseries unbounding
There's only one thing to be said:

[Hook]
I'll say hay diri-diri-day diri-diri-day
Yay diri-diri day da-day
Yiri day-day-day yiri-di day-day-day
Day-day day-day day-day