Like a bird on a wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free
Like a worm on the hook
Like a knight from some old-fashioned book
I have saved all my ribbons for thee

And if I have been unkind
I hope that you will just let it go by
And if I have been untrue
I hope you know it was never to you

Like a babe stillborn
Like a beast with his horn
I have torn everyone who reached out for me
But I swear by this song
And by all that I have done wrong
I will make it all up to thee

I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch
He said to me: "You must not ask for so much"
And the pretty woman leaning
In her darkened door
She cried to me: "Hey, why not ask for more?"

Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free