[Voice: Male bari-tenor, warm Appalachian storyteller. Traditional sections relaxed and melodic; rap sections conversational, nimble, and rhythmically precise.] [Intro] The cuckoo, she's a pretty bird, She sings as she flies, She brings us glad tidings And she tells no lies. [Verse 1] She sucks all the flowers To make her voice clear, And the more that she sings The more I draw near. She builds no nest And she settles nowhere, Just follows the summer And rides on the air. [Rap 1] That bird don't punch a clock, Don't worry about the rent, She don't make a five-year plan Or wonder where the money went. She wakes up with the sunrise, Lets the daylight pick the road, Never carries yesterday Like some heavy farmer's load. I've spent too many miles Trying to make a moment stay, Putting locks on open doors And calling that a better way. Then I hear that cuckoo calling From somewhere in the green, And she reminds me freedom Don't always look like what you mean. [Refrain] The cuckoo, she's a pretty bird, She sings as she flies, She brings us glad tidings And she tells no lies. [Verse 2] Come all you pretty fair maids, Come walk in the sun, For the summer is coming And winter is gone. The cuckoo sings sweetly From the greenwood tree, And every time she calls She calls back to me. [Rap 2] Maybe that's the lesson I've been too damn slow to learn: You can't keep the river By building up the burn. You can't hold a sunrise In the palm of your hand, Can't make a wild heart Stay just because you planned. Love ain't a wagon You can hitch to the door, Sometimes it comes singing, Sometimes it don't come anymore. So I'll leave one window open And a light beside the bed, Let the bird choose her direction, Let the road choose where it ends. [Verse 3] The cuckoo comes in April, She sings again in May, And in the middle of June She sings both night and day. In July she grows silent, August comes around, But I'll wait for her singing When spring comes back around. [Bridge] Oh, the cuckoo never tells me Where she's going when she flies, She just leaves me with her music And a question in the skies. [Rap 3] Maybe we were never meant To know where every road goes, Maybe every leaving Plants a seed nobody knows. The mountain doesn't chase the cloud, The creek don't chase the rain, And the cuckoo doesn't promise She'll be back the same. So if she calls next springtime, I'll be waiting where I've been, Not to catch her in a cage, Just to hear that song again. [Final Refrain] The cuckoo, she's a pretty bird, She sings as she flies, She brings us glad tidings And she tells no lies. The cuckoo, she's a pretty bird, She sings as she flies, And I'll wait for her singing When spring comes back around. [Outro] When spring comes back around... I'll hear her in the trees.
