Cage the Songbird

Sober in the mornin' light Things look so much different To how they looked last night A pale face pressed to an unmade bed Like flags of many nations Flyin' high above her head The cellophane still on the flowers The telegram still in her hand As whispers circulate all day Their back-stage baby princess passed away And you can cage the songbird But you can't make her sing And you can trap the free bird But you'll have to clip her wings 'Cause she'll soar like a hawk when she flies But she'll dive like an eagle when she dies Promises of no more lies Fell flat upon an empty stage Before the audience arrived A return in time to the cheaper seats She never knew what lay beneath Just a dated handbill they found between the sheets Let down before the final curtain A shallow heart that left her cold She left in rouge upon the mirror A circled kiss oh, to the faithful fans who'd miss her And you can cage the songbird But you can't make her sing And you can trap the free bird But you'll have to clip her wings 'Cause she'll soar like a hawk when she flies But she'll dive like an eagle when she dies