Lyrics Man of Plenty - Daniel Kahn, the Painted Bird

Man of Plenty

There once was a good old man of plenty, man of plenty he
He built him a house on the edge of the town
High as the tallest tree
He built the roof of solid gold, the walls of solid clay
And in the basement, on the floor, his wife and children lay
«O why o why, our father dear, o why o why,» said they
«In such a manner must we be?
O why o why, we pray?
For such a goodly man as you to hold us here this way.»
But father was not even home, to an empty house spoke they
So there they were and there they are and there they’ll ever stay
Beneath the biggest house in town whose master is away
While all the riches of the world are locked away from all
We sit beneath the world of light and wait for the master’s call