There was a house half way round the world
And I was invited in for a small taste of gin
There was a hall with a thousand birds long
But the biggest one of them all was in a cage too small
I asked the caretaker 'cause he was the Maker
He looked at me and laughed, took another sip from his glass and said
Open up your ears and hearts
You put a big bird in a small cage and he'll sing you a song
That we all love to sing along
To the sound of the bird that mourns
Well we rolled into town into sweet New Orleans
To the Apple Bell bar there was a hole in the wall
The ceilings weren't tall, the floors weren't grand
But the sound they made just warmed your heart
Well it was a quarter to twelve when the boys walked in
They got their black suits on and the songs would begin
You open up your ears and hearts
You put a big bird in a small cage and he'll sing you a song
That we all love to sing along
To the sound of the bird that mourns (x4)
You put a big bird in a small cage and he'll sing you a song (x5)