Like a bird on a wire Like a drunk in a midnight choir I have tried in my way to be free Like a fish on a hook Like a knight in some old fashioned book I have saved all my ribbons for thee And if I, if I have been unkind I just hope you will let it go by And if I, if I have been untrue I hope you know it was never to you Like a baby stillborn Like a beast with his horn I have torn everyone who reached out to me But I swear by this song And by all that I have done wrong I'll make it all up to thee I saw a young man leaning on his wooden crutch He called out to me, "Don't ask for so much" And a young woman leaning in her darkened door She cried out to me, "Why not ask for more" Like a bird on a wire Like a drunk in a midnight choir I have tried in my way to be free