This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
White bird with a black tail,
Eyes Dark and face so pale,
You know what your future holds over your side of the road,
White bird with a black tail,
You look like an open sail,
Made me look up from my shoes.
To show me what you stand to lose,
White Bird,
White Bird,
With your face so pale
White Bird
White bird
Where'd you get that tail
White Bird
White bird
With a black tail
White feathers dipped in tar,
It's hard to tell how old you are,
Wonderin' how much you know,
About all of us below,
Half of you is heavenly,
Showin off your purity
The rest of you is from the stream,
Like a land where they both meet
White Bird,
White Bird,
With your face so pale
White Bird
White bird
Where'd you get that tail
White Bird
White bird
With your face so pale,
White Bird
White Bird
With a black tail...
Eyes Dark and face so pale,
You know what your future holds over your side of the road,
White bird with a black tail,
You look like an open sail,
Made me look up from my shoes.
To show me what you stand to lose,
White Bird,
White Bird,
With your face so pale
White Bird
White bird
Where'd you get that tail
White Bird
White bird
With a black tail
White feathers dipped in tar,
It's hard to tell how old you are,
Wonderin' how much you know,
About all of us below,
Half of you is heavenly,
Showin off your purity
The rest of you is from the stream,
Like a land where they both meet
White Bird,
White Bird,
With your face so pale
White Bird
White bird
Where'd you get that tail
White Bird
White bird
With your face so pale,
White Bird
White Bird
With a black tail...
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Her voice is so beautiful in this song. KT Tunstall is an incredibly talented singer; definitely my favorite.
first comment!
I love how beautifully she contrasts the "white" and "black" parts of the white bird in this song!
Love this song.
Also, I think the line is "Like a lover, they both meet" (meaning the white and the black on the bird come together like a pair of lovers), rather than "Like to laugh where they both meet".
I thought the line was 'like a line where they both meet' and i also thought it was 'eyes dark' rather than half dark, but maybe thats just me. what it means i have no idea