Once there was a maiden called Balisa
Who had a lovely voice and she could sing
One day her mother sent her off for water
That came down from the lonely mountain spring

And on her way she sang as she was walking
And the giant jumped from out behind a tree
And he said because you sing so very sweetly
From now on you're gonna belong to me

Sing for your life little Balisa
Sing like a honeybee
Sing for your life little Balisa
Sing girl and you'll go free

So into a sack he put Balisa
And he tied it so tightly up with string
And from village to village her went and told the people
That if they gave him food the sack would sing

So the villagers all thought that it was magic
And they gave him all the food that he could eat
But poor little Balisa, she got nothing
She sang and sang although she was so weak

Sing for your life little Balisa
Sing like a honeybee
Sing for your life little Balisa
Sing girl and you'll go free

So they came upon a village in the mountains
But the villagers were suspicious of what he said
So they put a sleeping potion in his porridge
And soon he was a-snoring in his bed

Then they opened up the bag and found Balisa
She was so weak and fell down to her knees
So the villagers, they hid her in the forest
And they filled the sack up with a hive of bees

O the giant he awoke and he said thank you
And he went off to find another town
With the sack upon his back went on his journey
But on the way he heard a funny sound

So he put his head into the sack to find out
For it sounded like the bag was full of flies
And the bees got wild and suddenly they stung him
And for miles around they heard his mournful cries

Sing for your life little Balisa
Sing like a honeybee
Sing for your life little Balisa
Sing girl and you'll go free

Sing for your life little Balisa
Sing like a honeybee
Sing for your life little Balisa
Sing girl and you'll go free