the falcon

by Richard and Mimi Fariña

This song was written by Richard and Mimi Fariña in the 1960s. It’s an adaptation of the folk song “The Cuckoo” and is an anti-war protest song.
I have arranged it for 3 voices.

Oh, the falcon was a pretty bird

Wandered as she flew

     She danced around and pranced around

Wherever the warm winds blew

And the falcon was a pretty bird

Her voice was always still

But men with drums and men with guns

They taught her how to kill

Her eye was on the sparrow

Her mind was on the dove

But no one cared and no one dared

To speak to her of love

Her eyes are always hooded

Her claws are sharp as steel

We teach her not to see too much

We teach her not to feel

Go build you a log cabin

On a mountain so high

And hear the feathered war-bird's yell

As she goes screaming by

She'll tease you

She'll please you

She'll satisfy your needs

But someday she might turn around

And maul the hand that feeds

Your hours might be numbered

Your end might come someday

Go break her chain and free her brain

And send her on her way

And the falcon is a pretty bird

Wonders as she flies

She asks us easy questions

We tell her easy lies