Being a birder should come with a giant warning sign: Once you start birding, 聆棗喝r梗 . Even where there arent any birds around, youll find a way. These days I cant watch TV or a movie without having to identify all the birds I see and hear in the background.
The same goes for songs as well. Back in the days of yore, when people didnt always have their headphones in, when they actually paid attention to nature, lyricistspoets, mostlycould reference a birds song without stumping their readers. and both wrote poems about nightingales, honored the skylark, and chose the raven (though his vocalizations werent scientifically accurate).
These days, what have we got? This of songs with birds in their titles peters out after the year 2000the only real species mentioned on it is a mockingbird from the 2005 Eminem (!) song. But the Common Blackbird singing at the beginning of Radiohead's Burn the Witch (depicted as a bluebird in the video) has got me thinking about all the bird-y tunes I grew up with. Listening back on them, how do they hold up?
Rockin Robin - Bobby Day
This song was a staple in my elementary school music classes, and so growing up I assumed it was one of the most popular songs in the world. Over the years though, Ive talked to many people whove never heard it. Thanks a lot, Mrs. Cantor.
For a non-birder, its a pleasant enough little bubblegum ditty. As a birder? Its nonsense. Tweedly-tweedly-dee? Thats not what robins sound like! He rocks in the treetops all day long? According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, American Robins sing morning and night, and sing the least close to noon. I dont know who this Rockin Robin thinks he is, but hes rockin all wrong.
Maybe Im being too harsh. Phonetic translations of bird songs are tricky, and this lyricist could just have hated early mornings. Besides, any rock song that name checks chickadees and orioles is okay. I hope this song gets taught to the younguns forever.
Edge of Seventeen - Stevie Nicks / When Doves Cry - Prince
Edge of Seventeen starts with the lines: Just like the white-winged dove // Sings a song // Sounds like shes singing // Ooh ooh ooh. It got a lot of airplay in the 80s, but I was never really into the vibe and thought the song was cheesy. Prince, on the other hand, was (RIP) the most insanely cool person to ever have lived, and he shreds it with his love for doves.
But Nicks still wins the battle in a landslide (pun alert . . . totally worth it). Im not trying to knock Prince in these sad times, but doves simply dont cry. Yes, Mourning Doves do sound sadits where their name comes from, after allbut that aint sobbing. Birds do have tear ducts, and sometimes they produce tears to clear salt from the eyes, but they arent out there weeping over their and bad eggs. (Its whether birds grieve at all).
On the other hand, White-winged Doves do sorta go . Its not quite as melodic as Nicks makes it out to be, but its close. Plus, the White-winged Dove is a pretty under-the-radar species, so props to Nicks for digging deep into her Sibley and not going with something easy and common, like a mockingbird. Looking at you, Slim Shady.
Blackbird - The Beatles
Dont worry, Im not going to say anything bad about this song. Its the best. And, ornithologically speaking, its accurate. Common Blackbirds, like American Robins and other thrushes, do sing when its dark out (but, again, not so much during the day). Also, the bird song sampled in the track is an honest-to-goodness Common Blackbirdlifted from a sound-effects record. McCartney, ever the gentleman, on its performance, saying, He sings very well on that.
And I dont want to push my luck, but surely birds with broken wings cant learn to fly. A broken wing is a death sentence, right? Turns out, . Depending on the break, the treatment, and the bird, its possible for a bird with a broken wing to be re-released into the wild. Or maybe the Beatles were referencing that ground-nesting birds, such as Killdeer, sometimes use to distract predators or annoying humans. The birds will limp around and hold their wing out like its broken, hoping the predator will try to eat the injured adult instead of the chicks. When the adult has lured the dumb, hungry creature far enough away from the nest, its wing all of a sudden isn't hurt anymore, and the bird flies away.
The Beatles are the best for a reason, folks.
I Like Birds - Eels
I listened to the album Daisies of the Galaxy a lot in college. I always liked the track "I Like Birds," but I never thought much about it other than the fact that it was a catchy tune. Listening to it again though, it sounds like it was written exactly for me.
I can't look at the rocket launch // The trophy wives of the astronauts // And I won't listen to their words // 'Cause I like Birds. Hey, thats me! If I were at Cape Canaveral watching a space launch I would totally be looking the other way for Limpkin and Roseate Spoonbills.
I can't stand in line at the store // The mean little people are such a bore / But it's alright if you act like a turd // 'Cause I like . . . birds. Hey! Thats also me! I would definitely rather be out birding than talking to people. Come to think of it, this song might have subconsciously turned me into a birder. Music can be powerful like that, so listen carefully.