[Oracle] Mercy fell on Nineveh; anger rose in the prophet, He knew God was gracious - that knowledge made him flee. [Refrain] A plant rose overnight and he loved its green shadow, A worm came at dawn and the shelter was gone. [Oracle] Better to die, Jonah prayed beneath silence, Then sat east of the city to watch what might be. The east wind burned and the question returned: [Refrain] A plant rose overnight and he loved its green shadow, A worm came at dawn and the shelter was gone. [People] Doest thou well to be angry for one day of shade? You pitied the plant you neither worked nor made, It came in a night and in one night decayed. Should not I spare Nineveh, great and confused, [Bridge] With multitudes living and cattle there too? The book leaves the prophet beneath the question, [Coda] Mercy has the final word, but Jonah must answer. A plant rose overnight and he loved its green shadow, A worm came at dawn and the shelter was gone.