Bird on a Wire
Like 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 choir I have tried in my way to be free.
Bird on a Wire - context Summary
Written 1968, Published 1969
Leonard Cohen's "Bird on a Wire" was written in 1968 and published in 1969 on the Songs From a Room album. It reads as a confessional song-poem in which the speaker admits failings, seeks forgiveness, and struggles with a desire for freedom. The work reflects recurring themes in Cohen's early output: guilt, apology, and the personal cost of his lifestyle. Its autobiographical tone makes the poem feel rooted in Cohen's own conflicts over relationships and liberty during this period.
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