Chant II (Live)

Echoed his refrain. (Laughs) When I was a young man like you Son, I held a woman too Held her in my naked hands When I was a young man Now you know how it feels Women are as slick as eels Woman, quicker than the asp Always slipping from your grasp Take it from a man no longer young If you want to hold a woman, son Hang a chain around her throat Made of many carat gold Shackle her from wrist to wrist With sterling silver bracelets Fill her pockets full of stones Precious ones, diamonds, Bind her with a golden band Take it from an old man Low, keep your head, keep your head low Oh, you gotta keep your head low If you wanna keep your head La la la la la la la... Oh, he said he'd shelter us He said he'd harbor me He said we'd build them up And then the walls would set us free I'm gonna count to three And then I'll raise my head singing, One, two, is it true? Is it true, what he said? When I was a young girl like you Sister, I was hungry too Hungry for the underworld When I was a young girl Now you know how it tastes The fruit of Mr. Hades' ways Sister, it's a bitter wine-- Spit it out while you still have time Take it from a woman of my age Love is not a gilded cage All the wealth within these walls Will never buy the thing called love Love was when he came to me Begging on his bended knees To please have pity on his heart And let him lay me in the dirt... I felt his arms around me then We didn't need a wedding bed Dark seeds scattered on the ground The wild birds were flying around That's when I became his wife But that was in another life That was in another world When I was a young girl! La la la la la la la... Low, keep your head, keep your head low Oh, you gotta keep your head low If you wanna keep your head Oh, he said he'd shelter us He said he'd harbor me He said we'd soldier on And then the war would bring us peace We're gonna count to three And then we'll raise our heads, singing One, two, is it true? Is it true, what he said? Young man, I was young once too I once sang the young man's blues Women come and women go Get you high and get you low One day she's hot, the next she's cold Women are so seasonal Women leave again and again Take it from an old man Now I sing a different song One I can depend upon The simple tune, the steady beat The music of machinery Do you hear that heavy metal sound? The symphony of Hadestown And in this symphony of mine Of power chords and power lines Young man, you can strum your lyre, I have strung the world in wire Young man, you can sing your ditty I CONDUCT THE ELECTRIC CITY! I'll tell you what, young man Since my wife is such a fan, And since I'm going to count to three, And put you out of your misery One!-- give me one more song One more song before I send you Two!-- to the great beyond Where nobody can hear you singing Three!-- sing a song for me Make me laugh, make me weep Make the king feel young again Sing for an old man!