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Written by Christine McVie.
Seldom can any song invoke the pure emotion that Songbird can. The call
for lyric interpretations also invoked quite a varied response as to
Songbird’s origins and meaning.
Songbird is most often believed to be about the members of the band, and
how the turmoil they were going through was affecting her life. There
were hard times between all of them, and the "songbirds" she sings about
are all the members of the band. The song shows how much these people
meant to her and how big a role they played in her life, and the need
for the members of the band to get along with each other and keep on
singing.
Others believe Songbird to be about lovers and friends in general. She
could have been listening to the birds chirping in the morning and she
looked down at the man she was with and thought how wonderful it was and
wonderful it was going to be -- and as she hears the birds singing they
sing the feelings and confirm them--its about love and how great it is.
It could also be a song made up of the kind of promises you pledge when
lying in the arms of a lover, late in the night. But these promises seem
sad, as though coming after a disagreement, with the songbirds as the
only witnesses. They are the kind of promises that come thoughtlessly
easy in love that is still new and shiny, but take a much deeper and
more sacred meaning after the love has been tested in the fire. It's
tarnished but in some way, stronger...like never before. It also openly
affirms one lover's sense of responsibility for the power they now feel
they have over the other's life. When you truly love someone you don't
want them to ever feel a moment of pain...especially pain that you have
caused, "but most of all I wish it from myself". This song gets it's
tinge of sadness from the fact that, despite your best intentions, you
never really have that much control over love at all.
Also, there is a bittersweet tone in the line "and the songbirds keep
singing, like they know the score." It just makes you realize that even
though there is happiness in a relationship, there will be sadness too.
And the lovers or friends don't know the "score", such as when the
sadness or tough times will come, what the trying and unhappy situations
will be, and what toll they will take on the relationship really are..
Maybe she was also remembering some tough times that they have already
been through. "For you there’ll be no more crying, for you the sun will
be shining" could be her remembering comforting her lover during those
times. The song may not relate to one specific relationship, but to
ALL relationships.
Most agree it is song of wishes, much like a lullaby that a mother
would sing to her young child. She wants the child to have all kinds of
opportunities that she never had, or didn't take advantage of. The
mother knows the child will grow up someday, but with this lullaby the
child will always know how much their mother loves them. Here, the
songbirds are like the watchers and the prophets.
It’s also felt that Songbird acts as a counterpoint to the anger of
some of the other Rumours songs such as 'Go Your Own Way'. It’s nice
and soothing to hear "It's alright, you know it's right," and " I love
you like never before". She may have meant it to have that soothing
effect, and maybe she knew that there would be tension on the record and
that it needed a song like Songbird to be a relief from that tension.
In Christine McVie’s own words, Songbird is "about nobody and
everybody…in retrospect, it’s like an anthem…a little prayer of sorts."
What words could more aptly describe this incredible song.
Transcribed to HTML by Marty Adelson.
All Rights Reserved.
