I had a dream the other night
Of children in a field
And they all tried to take flight
Not knowing they'd be killed
And my job was to keep them from losing innocence
And my job was to hold them safe until their youth was spent
Lai-la-lai
Lai-la-lai
Comin' through the rye, poor body, comin' through the rye,
Gon' a body meet a body, comin' through the rye,
And if a body save a body as she tries to fly
With her wings too young and her shoes undone
Falling through the sky
Lai-la-lai
Lai-la-lai
And they call me the Catcher in the Rye
Oh yes they call me the Catcher in the Rye.

I had a dream the other night
Of walking through the park
And the air was cold as ice
As I stumbled through the dark
And I couldn't find the places that I used to know
And I couldn't find the old duck pond where I used to go
Lai-la-lai
Lai-la-lai
Comin' through the rye, poor body, comin' through the rye,
Gon' a body meet a body, comin' through the rye,
And if a body tries to find a body lost and in the night
With his frozen hair and his fingers bare
Cursing at the sky
Lai-la-lai
Lai-la-lai
And they call me the Catcher in the Rye
Oh yes they call me the Catcher in the Rye.

I closed my eyes the other night
And thought of dreams I'd met
And I tried and tried with all my might
But I couldn't forget
And I'm doing just fine they say as they all go on their way
And I'm going to be okay in joust a couple days
Lai-la-lai
Lai-la-lai
Comin' through the rye, poor body, comin' through the rye
Gon' a body meet a body, comin' through the rye
And if a body lose a body
A body full of lies
Trading dreams now old for a grown-up soul
Underneath the sky
Lai-la-lai
Lai-la-lai
Comin' through the rye, poor body, comin' through the rye
Gon' a body meet a body, comin' through the rye
And they called me the Catcher in the Rye
That night they called me the Catcher in the Rye.