And death shall have no dominion
Dead men naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone
They shall have stars at elbow and foot
Though they go mad they shall be sane
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again
Though lovers be lost love shall not
And death shall have no dominion.


Alcoholism and Death

Thomas liked to boast about his drinking.
He was known to comment, "An alcoholic is someone
you don't like who drinks as much as you do." During an incident on November 3, 1953,
Thomas returned to the Chelsea Hotel in New York
and exclaimed "I've had 18 straight whiskies; I think this is a record."

He collapsed on November 9, 1953 at the White Horse Tavern, in Greenwich Village, Manhattan after drinking heavily while on a promotional speaking tour; Thomas later died at St. Vincent's Hospital. The primary cause of his death is recorded as pneumonia, with pressure on the brain and a fatty liver given as contributing factors. His last words, according to Jack Heliker, were: "After 39 years, this is all I've done." Following his death, his body was brought back to Wales for burial in the village churchyard at Laugharne. His wife, Caitlin, died in 1994, and was buried alongside him. It is said that Mr. Thomas's favorite drink was the Whiskey Sour, which, on several occasions, he referred to as "jolly good nosh, this."