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 I have done wrong
I'll make it all up to be

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

Copyright: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Writer(s): Leonard Cohen