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 have been unkind
I just hope that you will let it go by
And 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 for me
But I swear by this song
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