Hi,

Great fourm you guys have here. I've been enjoying it a lot the last few days.

I've been trying to decipher a line from Dick Justice's version of "Henry Lee" -- the one on Harry Smith's Anthology -- for awhile. Even tried to find it in the database here at Mudcat. All to no avail. The line's in the 4th stanza when Henry Lee is trying to coax the bird down into the well. The stanza starts: "Fly down, fly down you little bird and alight on my right knee.

Your cage will be your ??? in need of ???"

Anyone out there know this line? It's been bugging me because I can't figure out what Henry Lee's trying to do by luring the bird down into the well with him. Company? A means of escape? Seems like the answer's in that line, but those two or three words are alluding me. Sort of like having a crucial page or two missing from a novel. Anyway, any answers (hints) would be appreciated. Thanks.

Bryant