Joe will you my buddy be?
Stay with me when I fall and die
Always thought you'd come rushing in
Clear the shit out of my eye
Joe will you my buddy be?
Lay my enemies out in lines
Come in close now I'll wash your feet
With my hair I'll mop them dry
With my hair I'll mop them dry
Something over there I do not like
There's no use in wondering
Joe will you be my buddy please?
In this hell and dead-locked time
When I'm trusting a heavy tree
Coming down with your silver knife
Coming down with your silver knife
Something over there i do not like
There's no use in wonderingLike a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Like a worm on a hook,
like a knight from some old fashioned book
I have saved all my ribbons for thee.
If I, if I have been unkind,
I hope that you can just let it go by.
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 for me.
But I swear by this song
and by all that I have done wrong
I will make it all up to thee.
I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch,
he said to me, "You must not ask for so much."
And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door,
she cried to me, "Hey, why not ask for more?"
Oh like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choirhave tried in my way to be free.