bye bye, blackbird

as there are too many birds, sadly it's time to say:
bye bye, blackbird:


sung by Peggy Lee

"...Pack up all my cares and woe
Here I go, singing low
Bye bye, blackbird

Where somebody waits for me
Sugar sweet, so is he
Bye bye, blackbird

No-one here can love or understand me
All those hard luck stories they all hand me
Make my bed, light my light
I'll arrive late tonight
Blackbird, bye bye

A while ago, when I was young
I heard a song and heard it sung
(Bye bye, blackbird)

I dont know why it makes me sad
a happy song should make me glad
(Bye bye, blackbird)

Make my bed, light my light
I'll arrive late tonight
Blackbird, bye bye..."


"...When smoke stood up from Ludlow,
And mist blew off from Teme,
And blithe afield to ploughing
Against the morning beam
I strode beside my team,

The blackbird in the coppice
Looked out to see me stride,
And hearkened as I whistled
The trampling team beside,
And fluted and replied:

"Lie down, lie down, young yeoman;
What use to rise and rise?
Rise man a thousand mornings
Yet down at last he lies,
And then the man is wise."

I heard the tune he sang me,
And spied his yellow bill;
I picked a stone and aimed it
And threw it with a will:
Then the bird was still.

Then my soul within me
Took up the blackbird’s strain,
And still beside the horses
Along the dewy lane
It sang the song again:

"Lie down, lie down, young yeoman;
The sun moves always west;
The road one treads to labour
Will lead one home to rest,
And that will be the best..."

Poem VII from 'A Shropshire Lad'
by A. E. Housman

bye bye, blackbird