[Verse 1]
Three days before autumn, a cold winter came
Blew in on a telephone call when my friend went away
And I swear I heard thunder at the sound of his name
And he never even knew me at all
But I loved him the same

[Pre-Chorus]
And it's easy enough to say "He's better off
Chalk it up to the luck of the draw
Life is tough, it was his time to go
And that's all," well, I don't know about that

[Chorus]
'Cause I'm broken and breathless and bent to the ground
And I'm listening, Lord, but I don't hear a sound
And the angels in Heaven are dancing around
To the music that I want to hear

[Post-Chorus]
And I'm watching and wishing and wondering why
This silence is louder the harder I try
No, I can't believe it, but I can't deny
That the winter came early this year
Yeah, the winter came early this year
[Verse 2]
And I stood in the kitchen, and I stared at the wall
And I prayed for some wisdom so I could make a little sense of it all
And I thought about the seasons and how quickly they pass
Now there's little to do but hope that the good ones will last

[Pre-Chorus]
And it's easy enough to say, "He's better off
Chalk it up to the luck of the draw
Life is tough, it was his time to go
And that's all," well, I don't know about that

[Chorus]
'Cause I'm broken and breathless and bent to the ground
And I'm listening, Lord, but I don't hear a sound
And though the angels in Heaven are dancing around
To the music that I want to hear

[Post-Chorus]
And I'm watching and wishing and wondering why
This silence is louder the harder I try
No, I can't believe it, but I can't deny
That the winter came early this year
Yeah, the winter came early this year

[Verse 3]
And this night is beautiful
I see the sky about to rain
And I think I hear the wild wind howling
Come to blow me away
[Outro]
And I take comfort in knowing that this ain't my home
And I know when I'm lonely that I ain't alone
And I know that he's singing at the foot of the throne
But that don't seem to matter down here
'Cause the winter came early this year
Three days before autumn