I'm Not Afraid to Die

I love this song ...

Nobody knows what waits ahead Beyond the earth and sky

sets the frame of this song.

then the refrain

Lie-d Lie-d Lie I'm not afraid to die

does she sing 'lie'? Or is it more like a carefree la-di-da?

And there the work of my own hand Be broken by and by

expands on the first verse in a personal way. Accepting personal insignificance.

Sometimes it finds me fast asleep And wakes me where I lie

what is this 'it' that finds her fast asleep? And why would it wake her 'where she lies'? Where else could it wake her? Is it 'lie' in the other sense, same question as for the refrain?

Forget my sins upon the wind My hobo soul will rise

Forgetting, not forgiving. This is not the regular Christian vocabulary. But it is in the same vein. Her sins keep her soul down, her plea is to forget them and her hobo soul will rise.

It is the refrain that has the key I feel. The four verses shine a light on that from different angles.

La-di-la I'm not afraid to die

It is like singing in the dark when you are afraid. It brings you courage.

Sometimes it finds me fast asleep And wakes me where I lie

[very personal interpretation] Where she lies and when she is fast asleep is where she is woken up. It is the end of lies and of unconciousness. 'I am not afraid to die' is not being afraid to face ones personal lies and delusions and let go of them. So as to free your soul to rise. That is something scary but worth going for.

it's about being at peace with everything