C
A poor orphan girl named Maria
C
Was walking the market one day.
G
She stopped for to rest by the road side
G7
Where a bird with a broken wing lay.
C
A few moments passed till she saw it
C
For it's feathers were covered with sand.
G
And soon clean and wrapped it was traveling
G
In the warmth of Maria's small hand.
F
She happily gave her last peso
C
For a cage made of rushes and twine.
F
She fed it loose corn from the market,
C
And watched it grow stronger with time.
C
Now the gift giving service was coming,
C
And the church shone with tinsel and lights,
G
And all of the town folk brought presents,
G7
To lay by the manger that night.
C
There were diamonds and incense and perfume
C G
In packages fit for a king.
G
But for one ragged bird in a small cage,
G7 C
Maria had nothing to bring.
F
She waited till just before midnight,
C
So no one would see her go in.
F
And crying she knelt be the manger,
C
For her gift was unworthy of him.
D
Then a voice spoke to her through the darkness:
D A
"Maria what brings you to me?
A
If the bird in the cage is your offering,
A7 D
Then open the door let me see."
D
So she trembled and did as he asked her
D
And out of the cage the bird flew,
A
Soaring up into the rafters
A7
On a wing that had healed good as new.
G
And just as the midnight bells rang out,
D
The little bird started to sing
G
A song that no words could recapture,
D
For it's beauty was fit for a king.
D
Now Maria felt blessed just to listen
D
To the cascade of notes sweet and long
A
As her offering was lifted to heaven,
A7
By the very first nightingale's song.
