I turned onto the icy street, as dusk dropped subtly down 
And a strangeness settled in, on this familiar part of town 
I stopped before an unlit house, and it returned my stare 
One lone sparrow perched its roof, but no one else was there. 

Reluctantly I headed through, the old, forbidding gate 
The same as I had done - too many times of late 
The sparrow never budged at all, but let the world unfold 
With sparkling eyes turned to the skies, it braved the cruel cold 

CHORUS 
Oh sparrow on the housetop, Why do you watch the sky? 
Can’t you move on? Your last friend’s gone, and only minutes fly by 
Oh sparrow, oh sparrow, why? 

Why did the sparrow sit and wait, with winter coming ‘round 
With the berry bush on empty, and snow piled on the ground? 
Why didn’t it realize, the other birds had flown?
Or did it wait for someone; wait for them and them alone? 

The only sound that met me was my key turning the lock 
Followed by my heart beat, like the ticking of a clock 
Why did I keep coming back, what was I waiting for? 
I reached my hands behind me . . . closed the door 

CHORUS
Oh sparrow on the housetop, Why do you watch the sky? 
Can’t you move on? Your last friend’s gone, and only minutes fly by 
Oh sparrow on the housetop, in the nighttime do you cry? 
Will you sit and wait till it’s too late, till only minutes fly by? 
Oh sparrow, oh sparrow, why? 

The silence lay unnatural, the paper lay unread 
There weren’t any wrinkles … on the bed  
The damp, unheated house offered more unspoken proof 
That no one else was here except the sparrow on the roof 

CHORUS
Oh sparrow on the housetop, in the nighttime do you cry? 
Will you sit and wait till it’s too late, till only minutes fly by? 
Or will you stay strong all winter long, till spring is in the air 
And fly away to a new dawning day fly away on a wing and a prayer 
Oh sparrow, oh sparrow, will you dare? 

(music and lyrics by M. James & J. James)