Greg Brown - Hey, Little Songbird lyrics

HADES Hey, little songbird, give me a song I'm a busy man and I can't stay long I got clients to call, I got orders to fill I got walls to build, I got riots to quell And they're giving me hell back in Hades Hey, little songbird, cat got your tongue? Always a pity for one so pretty and young When poverty comes to clip your wings And knock the wind right out of your lungs Hey, nobody sings on empty EURYDICE Strange is the call of this strange man I want to fly down and feed at his hand I want a nice soft place to land I want to lie down forever HADES Hey, little songbird, you got something fine You'd shine like a diamond down in the mine And the choice is yours if you're willing to choose Seeing as you've got nothing to lose And I could use a canary EURYDICE Suddenly nothing is as it was Where are you now, Orpheus? Wasn't it always the two of us Weren't we birds of a feather? HADES Hey, little songbird, let me guess He's some kind of poet and he's penniless Give him your hand, he'll give you his hand-to-mouth He'll write you a poem when the power's out Hey, why not fly south for the winter? Hey, little songbird, look all around you See how the vipers and vultures surround you They'll take you down, they'll pick you clean If you stick around such a desperate scene See people get mean when the chips are down