There’s a high flyin’ bird way up in the sky And I wonder does she look down as she flies on by just floatin’ so free and easy in the sky But look at me here I’m just rooted like a tree here I got them sit down, can’t fly Oh, lord I'm gonna die blues Sun comes along and she lights up the day And when she gets tired she flies along on her way From the East to the West she goes down every day But look at me here I’m just rooted like a tree here I got them sit down, can’t fly Oh, lord I’m gonna die blues I once knew a man. He worked in a mine Well he never saw the sun but then he never stopped tryin’ And then one day that old man he up and died He up and he died yeah he up and he died Well he wanted to fly And the only way to fly was to die