Lyrics

(M. James, J. James)


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?