Lyrics His Kiss the Riot - Anaïs Mitchell

His Kiss the Riot

The devil take this Orpheus
And his belladonna kiss
Beautiful, poisonous, lovely, deadly
Dangerous this jack of hearts
With his kiss, the riot starts
All my children came here poor
Clamoring for bed and board
Now, what do they clamor for?
Freedom
Freedom
Have I made myself their lord
Just to fall upon the sword
Of some pauper’s minor chord?
Who will lead them?
Who lays all our best-laid plans?
Who makes work for idle hands?
Only one thing to be done
Let them go but let there be some term to be agreed upon
Some condition
Orpheus the undersigned shall not turn to look behind
She’s out of sight and he’s out of his mind
Every coward seems courageous in the safety of a crowd
Bravery can be contagious when the band is playing loud
Nothing makes a man so bold
As a woman’s smile and a hand to hold
But all alone his blood runs thin
And doubt comes- doubt comes in