Music is the universal language of Homo sapiens. As a species, we’re moved both emotionally and physically by the sounds we make. Pressure waves in the air, no more substantial than the flutter of a hummingbird’s wings, can elicit anything from tears to tapping feet.
And that brings me to birds. They show up plenty in popular music, as a lyrical and lovely metaphor for reverie, escape, freedom and spiritual ascent.
Eels, “I Like Birds”
If you’re small and on a search/I’ve got a feeder for you to perch on. Mark Everett, the brains behind the indie band Eels, thinks birds are tops. (Also check out his original version from the terrific album, Daisies of the Galaxy.)
Paul McCartney, “Blackbird”
One of Big Mac’s finest pieces, from the Beatles 1968 White Album. McCartney has said that the lyrics were inspired by hearing the call of a blackbird during the group’s legendary trip to India, and by racial tensions in the Southern United States.
Silver Convention, “Fly Robin Fly”
Remember this one? If so, you may even be older than me. Three glamorous birds from the German disco group Silver Convention flutter about as they lip-synch their No.1 disco hit from 1975.
Robbie Williams, “Straighten Up and Fly Right”
A buzzard took a monkey for a ride in the air / The monkey thought that everything was on the square / The buzzard tried to throw the monkey off his back / The monkey grabbed his neck and said, "Now listen, Jack..." In 2001, the British singer Robbie Williams performed a kinetic version of Nat King Cole’s legendary song about a cross-species dysfunctional relationship.
Lene Lovich, “Bird Song”
Not sure how much of late seventies singer Lene Lovich’s New Wave weirdness was performative and how much came naturally. A combination of both, I would think. Here she is doing the lead track from her overlooked second album from 1980, Flex. Great high notes.
Blondie, “T-Birds”
This song from Blondie’s 1980 album, Automerican, isn’t about the Thunderbird car, but rather the Thunderbird of MesoAmerican mythology. No music video was ever made to accompany this appealing non-hit, so I imagine one in my head: Debbie Harry in a skimpy Aztec outfit flying over ancient temples in the Yucatan. That would be cultural appropriation, of course. I apologize for the impure thought.
Rig Veda Full Chanting
In Kerala, India, the chants of Brahmin priests mystify experts. They supposedly bear no resemblance to any known language or music, but only to patterns found in birdsong. Some believe these chants are part of an oral tradition that may predate language, going back beyond the first Indo-European peoples.
It doesn’t exactly sound like birdsong to me, but if you’re up for it, here’s ten straight hours of Vedic chanting for ya. If you’re five hours in and the chanting hasn’t dissolved your ego like epson salts in a hot bath, squeegeed your third eye clean, or turned you part phoenix, I suggest you move on to the other videos here. (Two minutes was enough for me. Just sayin’. I mean just chirpin’.)
Snowball the Parrot, “Edge of Seventeen”
Let’s take a break for an actual bird!
Heard of Snowball the parrot? Here’s the legendary cockatoo bopping along to Stevie Nicks’ Edge of Seventeen. The screeching Snowball shakes his head back and forth, sticks out his crest and kicks his legs out. Hey, it’s not like the bird wrote the song, but there are plenty of humans who can’t even dance this well.
Fun fact: at least one scientist examining footage of Snowball concluded he wasn‘t ‘parroting,’ but actually dancing - if we define the latter as rhythmic body movements performed in time to music. It’s hard to witness the cockatoo’s antics without imagining some bird-based joy. He’s obviously enchanted with the music and thrilled with own legwork. (His other fave musical acts include Backstreet Boys and Queen.)
I don’t know about cockatoos, but music can temporarily lock the attention of humans in an “eternal present” that’s comparable to sexual ecstasy or mystical states. This naturally segues to this bird…
Kate Bush, “Aerial”
“What kind of language is this?” Kate Bush euphorically asks of birdsong in the title song from her underrated 2005 album Aerial, which is built around themes of birds, the sea, the sky and signals. This final track on the album appears to be primarily about ascent, with Kate’s ecstatic welcome of sunrise in the refrain, “I need to get up on the roof...in the sun.”
The video won’t play here on Substack, you have to click to watch on YouTube…but you won’t be disappointed. It appears to be a fan’s tribute to the British musical genius, expertly spooling in clips from her early music videos, in perfect time to the song.
Stravinsky, “Suite from The Firebird, finale”
The Finale from this ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky is one of my favourite pieces of classical music. Luckily, if fits in here ‘cause it’s got the word ‘bird’ in it.
Eels, “Little Bird”
Mark Everett again - the guy from Eels with a thing for birds. In this song from the 2010 Eels album End Times, the aching singer finds comfort in confessing to a small, oblivious outdoor companion.
BONUS VIDEO
Wings, “Bluebird”
The masterfully melodic Paul McCartney again. A lovely ballad from his best post-Beatles album, Band On The Run, performed on his legendary mid-seventies world tour with Wings.
Thanks Geoff! My personal fave is Nicks and that crazy dancing parrot Snowball...if that doesn't cheer you up then you're officially depressed ...
A real nice line up of songs, especially appreciate you giving a nod to the truly original Lene lovich, and also really liked the more recent Kate Bush song. Paul McCartney you can't fault, and the Wings song was a great blast from the past. All of it though was a lovely musical journey. But for the Silver Convention; could you right the lyrics down for that one?