All the flowers in the meadows, and all the salt in the sea
tripped over three shadows all the way to Tennessee.
Pushed out by the hand of man, and carried by the lovely trades.
From the lucky Jack of Diamonds to the deadly Ace of Spades.

And you need it in the middle, when the needles in the red,
and it needles just a little with a buzzing in the head.
And you need it just a little, and it's more than you can take,
like a baby in the middle of a many layered cake.

Killed by sugar, killed by sparrows, fog wouldn't let 'em through.
And they tipped all of their arrows with poison drops of dew.
And you need it in the middle, when the needles in the red,
and it needles just a little with a buzzing in the head.

And you need it just a little, and it's more than you can take,
and it's more than you can fathom, and it's more than you can fake.
And you need it just a little, and it's more than you can say,
a canary in the coal mine, meets the needle in the hay.