The Balladsof Songbirds and Snakes

Gem of Panem,
Mighty city,
Through the ages, you shine anew.
We humbly kneel
To your ideal,
And pledge our love to you!

Gem of Panem,
Heart of justice,
Wisdom crowns your marble brow.
You give us light.
You reunite.
To you we make our vow.

Gem of Panem,
Seat of power,
Strength in peacetime, shield in strife.
Protect our land
With armored hand,
Our Capitol, our life!

You can’t take my past.
You can’t take my history.
You could take my pa,
But his name’s a mystery.
Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping.

You can’t take my charm.
You can’t take my humor.
You can’t take my wealth,
'Cause it’s just a rumor.
Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping.

Thinking you’re so fine.
Thinking you can have mine.
Thinking you’re in control.
Thinking you’ll change me, maybe rearrange me.
Think again, if that’s your goal,
'Cause…

You can’t take my sass.
You can’t take my talking.
You can kiss my ass
And then keep on walking.
Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping.

No, sir,
Nothing you can take from me is worth dirt.
Take it, 'cause I’d give it free. It won’t hurt.
Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping!

Down in the valley, valley so low,
Late in the evening, hear the train blow.
The train, love, hear the train blow.
Late in the evening, hear the train blow.

Go build me a mansion, build it so high,
So I can see my true love go by.
See him go by, love, see him go by.
So I can see my true love go by.

Go write me a letter, send it by mail.
Bake it and stamp it to the Capitol jail.
Capitol jail, love, to the Capitol jail.
Bake it and stamp it to the Capitol jail.

Roses are red, love; violets are blue.
Birds in the heavens know I love you.
Know I love you, oh, know I love you,
Birds in the heavens know I love you.

When I was a babe I fell down in the holler.
When I was a girl I fell into your arms.
We fell on hard times and we lost our bright color.
You went to the dogs and I lived by my charms.

I danced for my dinner, spread kisses like honey.
You stole and you gambled and I said you should.
We sang for our suppers, we drank up our money.
Then one day you left, saying I was no good.

Well, all right, I’m bad, but then, you’re no prize either.
All right, I’m bad, but then, that’s nothing new.
You say you won’t love me, I won’t love you neither.
Just let me remind you who I am to you.

'Cause I am the one who looks out when you’re leaping.
I am the one who knows how you were brave.
And I am the one who heard what you said sleeping.
I’ll take that and more when I go to my grave.

It’s sooner than later that I’m six feet under.
It’s sooner than later that you’ll be alone.
So who will you turn to tomorrow, I wonder?
For when the bell rings, lover, you’re on your own.

And I am the one who you let see you weeping.
I know the soul that you struggle to save.
Too bad I’m the bet that you lost in the reaping.
Now what will you do when I go to my grave?

You’re headed for heaven,
The sweet old hereafter,
And I’ve got one foot in the door.
But before I can fly up,
I’ve loose ends to tie up,
Right here in
The old therebefore.

I’ll be along
When I’ve finished my song,
When I’ve shut down the band,
When I’ve played out my hand,
When I’ve paid all my debts,
When I have no regrets,
Right here in
The old therebefore,
When nothing
Is left anymore.

I’ll catch you up
When I’ve emptied my cup,
When I’ve worn out my friends,
When I’ve burned out both ends,
When I’ve cried all my tears,
When I’ve conquered my fears,
Right here in
The old therebefore,
When nothing
Is left anymore.

I’ll bring the news
When I’ve danced off my shoes,
When my body’s closed down,
When my boat’s run aground,
When I’ve tallied the score,
And I’m flat on the floor,
Right here in
The old therebefore,
When nothing
Is left anymore

When I’m pure like a dove,
When I’ve learned how to love,
Right here in
The old therebefore,
When nothing
Is left anymore.

My heart’s stupid and that’s not maybe.
Can’t blame Cupid, he’s just a baby.
Shoot it, boot it, execute it,
Still comes a-crawling to you-hoo.

Heart’s gone funny, it won’t hear reason.
You’re like honey, you bring the bees in.
Sting it, wring it, give it a fling, it
Still comes a-crawling to you.

I wish it mattered that
You chose to smash it up.
How come you shattered that
Thing I love with?

Did you feel flattered that
You could just trash it up?
That’s why you battered that
Thing I love with.

Trapped my ticker but haven’t freed it.
People snicker at how you treat it.
Snare it, tear it, strip it bare, it
Still comes a-crawling to you-hoo.

Heart’s been jumping just like a rabbit.
Blood keeps pumping but that’s just habit.
Drain it, pain it, I’m insane, it
Still comes a-crawling to you.

Burn it, spurn it, don’t return it,
Break it, bake it, overtake it,
Wreck it, deck it, what the heck, it
Still comes a-crawling to you.

In a cavern, in a canyon,
Excavating for a mine,
Dwelt a miner, forty-niner
And his daughter, Clementine.

Light she was and like a fairy,
And her shoes were number nine.
Herring boxes, without topses,
Sandals were for Clementine.

Oh, my darling, oh, my darling,
Oh, my darling, Clementine,
You are lost and gone forever.
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where they strung up a man they say murdered three?
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where the dead man called out for his love to flee?
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where I told you to run, so we’d both be free?
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

Oft I had heard of Lucy Gray:
And, when I crossed the wild,
I chanced to see at break of day
The solitary child.

No mate, no comrade Lucy knew;
She dwelt where none abide,
— The sweetest thing that ever grew
Upon the mountainside!

You yet may spy the fawn at play
The hare among the green;
But the sweet face of Lucy Gray
Will never more be seen.

“To-night will be a stormy night —
You to the town must go;
And take a lantern, Child, to light
Your mother through the snow.”

“That, Father! Will I gladly do:
'Tis scarcely afternoon —
The village clock has just struck two,
And yonder is the moon!”

At this the Father turned his hook,
To kindling for the day;
He plied his work; — and Lucy took
The lantern on her way.

As carefree as a mountain doe:
A fresh, new path she broke
Her feet dispersed the powdery snow,
That rose up just like smoke.

The storm came on before its time:
She wandered up and down;
And many a hill did Lucy climb:
But never reached the town.

The wretched parents all that night
Went shouting far and wide;
But there was neither sound nor sight
To serve them as a guide.

At daybreak on a hill they stood
That overlooked the scene;
And thence they saw the bridge of wood,
That spanned a deep ravine.

They wept — and, turning homeward, cried,
“In heaven we all shall meet”;
— When in the snow the mother spied
The print of Lucy’s feet.

Then downwards from the steep hill’s edge
They tracked the footmarks small;
And through the broken hawthorn hedge,
And by the long stone-wall;

And then an open field they crossed:
The marks were still the same;
They tracked them on, not ever lost;
And to the bridge they came.

They followed from the snowy bank
Those footmarks, one by one,
Into the middle of the plank;
And further there were none!

— Yet some maintain that to this day
She is a living child;
That you may see sweet Lucy Gray
Upon the lonesome wild.

O’er rough and smooth she trips along,
And never looks behind;
And sings a solitary song
That whistles in the wind.

Deep in the meadow, under the willow
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes
And when again they open, the sun will rise.

Here it’s safe, here it’s warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings
them true
Here is the place where I love you.

Deep in the meadow, hidden far away
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay
And when again it’s morning, they’ll wash away.

Here it’s safe, here it’s warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings
them true
Here is the place where I love you.

You come home late,
Fall on your cot.
You smell like something that money bought.
We don’t have cash, or so you say.
So where did you get it and how’d you pay?

The sun don’t rise and set for you.
You think so, but you’re wrong.
You tell me lies, I can’t stay true —
I’ll sell you for a song.

You get up late,
Won’t say a word.
You been with her, that’s what I’ve heard.
I don’t own you, so I’ve been told.
But what do I do when the nights get cold?

The moon don’t wane and wax for you.
You think so, but you’re wrong.
You cause me pain, you make me blue —
I’ll sell you for a song.

You’re here, you’re not.
It’s more than me,
It’s more than you, it’s more like we.
They’re young and soft, they worry so.
You coming or going, they need to know.

The stars don’t shine and shoot for you.
You think so, but you’re wrong.
You mess with mine, I’ll hurt you, too —
I’ll sell you for a song.

Well, there’s a dark and a troubled side of life.
There’s a bright and a sunny side, too.

Let us greet with a song of hope each day,
Though the moments be cloudy or fair.

Let us trust in tomorrow always
To keep us, one and all, in its care.

Keep on the sunny side, always the sunny side,
Keep on the sunny side of life.
It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way,
If we keep on the sunny side of life.
Yessir, keep on the sunny side of life.

Happy birthday
To someone special!
And we wish you many more!
Once a year
We give a cheer
To you, Commander Hoff!
Happy birthday!

Everyone’s born as clean as a whistle —
As fresh as a daisy
And not a bit crazy.
Staying that way’s a hard row for hoeing —
As rough as a briar,
Like walking through fire.

This world, it’s dark,
And this world, it’s scary.
I’ve taken some hits, so
No wonder I’m wary.
It’s why I
Need you —
You’re pure as the driven snow.

Everyone wants to be like a hero —
The cake with the cream, or
The doer not dreamer.
Doing’s hard work,
It takes some to change things —
Like goat’s milk to butter,
Like ice blocks to water.

This world goes blind
When children are dying.
I turn into dust, but
You never stop trying.
It’s why I
Love you —
You’re pure as the driven snow.

Cold and clean,
Swirling over my skin,
You cloak me.
You soak right in,
Down to my heart.

Everyone thinks they know all about me.
They slap me with labels.
They spit out their fables.
You came along, you knew it was lying.
You saw the ideal me,
And yes, that’s the real me.

This world, it’s cruel,
With troubles aplenty.
You asked for a reason —
I’ve got three and twenty
For why I
Trust you —
You’re pure as the driven snow.

That’s why I
Trust you —
You’re pure as the driven snow.