[Verse]
Well, I didn't tell anyone, but a bird flew by
Saw what I'd done, he set up a nest outside
And he sang about what I'd become
He sang so loud, sang so clear
I was afraid all the neighbours would hear
So I invited him in, just to reason with him
I promised I wouldn't do it again
But he sang louder and louder inside the house
And no I couldn't get him out
So I trapped him under a cardboard box
Stood on it to make him stop
I picked up the bird and above the din I said
"That's the last song you'll ever sing"
Held him down, broke his neck
Taught him a lesson he wouldn't forget
[Pre-Chorus]
But in my dreams began to creep
That old familiar tweet, tweet, tweet
[Chorus]
I opened my mouth to scream and shout
I waved my arms and flapped about
But I couldn't scream and I couldn't shout
Couldn't scream and I couldn't shout
I opened my mouth to scream and shout
I waved my arms and flapped about
But I couldn't scream and I couldn't shout
The song was coming from my mouth
Well, I didn't tell anyone, but a bird flew by
Saw what I'd done, he set up a nest outside
And he sang about what I'd become
He sang so loud, sang so clear
I was afraid all the neighbours would hear
So I invited him in, just to reason with him
I promised I wouldn't do it again
But he sang louder and louder inside the house
And no I couldn't get him out
So I trapped him under a cardboard box
Stood on it to make him stop
I picked up the bird and above the din I said
"That's the last song you'll ever sing"
Held him down, broke his neck
Taught him a lesson he wouldn't forget
[Pre-Chorus]
But in my dreams began to creep
That old familiar tweet, tweet, tweet
[Chorus]
I opened my mouth to scream and shout
I waved my arms and flapped about
But I couldn't scream and I couldn't shout
Couldn't scream and I couldn't shout
I opened my mouth to scream and shout
I waved my arms and flapped about
But I couldn't scream and I couldn't shout
The song was coming from my mouth
About
Genius Annotation
“Bird Song” was released by Florence + The Machine for the 2009 album ‘Lungs’. This song contains a similar plot as Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Tell Tale Heart”.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Translations:
Genius Answer
When was this song written?
Genius Answer
This song was written in the morning of July 7, 2007. Welch needed to write a new song for The Macbeth Record Launch concert, and she wrote this song. She couldn’t memorize all the lyrics before the concert so she read some lyrics from her notebook during her performance.
The live video can be found here.
- 4.Howl
- 9.Cosmic Love
- 11.Hurricane Drunk
- 12.Blinding
- 14.Bird Song
- 18.Hospital Beds
- 19.Falling
- 20.Ghosts (Demo)
- 22.Swimming
Credits
Producer
Writers
Vocals
Mixing Engineer
Assistant Recording Engineer
Drums
Harp
Guitar
Piano
Recorded At
The Diary Studios
Released on
July 3, 2009
Songs That Sample Bird Song
Bird Song Live Performances
Tags
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