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King Of Birds Lyrics
A thumbnail sketch, a jeweler's stone
A mean idea to call my own
Old man don't lay so still you're not yet young
There's time to teach, point to point
Point observation, children carry reservations
Standing on the shoulders of giants leaves me cold
Leaves me cold.
A mean idea to call my own, a hundred million birds fly
Singer sing me a given, singer sing me a song
Standing on the shoulders of giants everybody's looking on
(Old man don't lay so still you're not yet young
There's time to teach, point to point
Point observation, children carry reservations)
Standing on the shoulders of giants leaves me cold
A mean idea to call my own
A hundred million birds fly away, away
I am king of all I see, my kingdom for a voice
Old man don't lay so still, you're not yet young
There's time to teach, point to point
Point observation, children carry reservations
Standing on the shoulders of giants leaves me cold
A mean idea to call my own, a hundred million birds fly away
Everybody hit the ground
Everybody hit the ground
A mean idea to call my own
Old man don't lay so still you're not yet young
There's time to teach, point to point
Point observation, children carry reservations
Standing on the shoulders of giants leaves me cold
Leaves me cold.
A mean idea to call my own, a hundred million birds fly
Standing on the shoulders of giants everybody's looking on
(Old man don't lay so still you're not yet young
There's time to teach, point to point
Point observation, children carry reservations)
Standing on the shoulders of giants leaves me cold
A mean idea to call my own
A hundred million birds fly away, away
Old man don't lay so still, you're not yet young
There's time to teach, point to point
Point observation, children carry reservations
Standing on the shoulders of giants leaves me cold
A mean idea to call my own, a hundred million birds fly away
Everybody hit the ground
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Talking about someone who thinks that they are so great and then realizes that all his followers have gone, or moved on to the next good thing.
As others have said, this strikes me as a song about the difficulty if not impossibility of finding your own "voice" as an artist, because we're all "standing on the shoulders of giants," which is to say, our perspectives are formed by the fact that we're lifted up by these monuments to the past, these influences of ours, and so what is truly "ours"? I strongly suspect it pays homage to Federico García Lorca's "El Niño Mudo,"
El niño busca su voz. (La tenía el rey de los grillos.) En una gota de agua buscaba su voz el niño.
No la quiero para hablar; me haré con ella un anillo que llevará mi silencio en su dedo pequeñito.
En una gota de agua buscaba su voz el niño.
(La voz cautiva, a lo lejos, se ponía un traje de grillo.)
The child was seeks his voice. (The king of the crickets had it.) In a droplet of water the child sought his voice.
I do not want it for speaking; I will make a ring of it so that my silence can wear it on its little finger
In a droplet of water the child sought his voice.
(The captive voice, far away, put on a cricket's clothes.)
What use has a cricket, much less a bird, for a human voice? He already has one of his own. So, this King of Birds, this pigeon sitting mute on the shoulder of a human statue in a park, is frustrated.
You are right about finding that voice. If a person saw this live back in the day there are some added lyrics that expand on this concept. In the ending between verses of 'everybody hit the ground', Stipe sings 'the water is evening out' 'the catacombs have been revealed' 'be sure. be strong be true.' A happy ending which is rare a thing from the mind of Michael Stipe!
You are right about finding that voice. If a person saw this live back in the day there are some added lyrics that expand on this concept. In the ending between verses of 'everybody hit the ground', Stipe sings 'the water is evening out' 'the catacombs have been revealed' 'be sure. be strong be true.' A happy ending which is rare a thing from the mind of Michael Stipe!
This song, to me, is obviously about Isaac Newton. While talking about his work, Isaac Newton famously said "Pigmaei gigantum humeris impositi plusquam ipsi gigantes vident" [If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.] By this he meant that his work built upon the work on other, often earlier, scientists. And "everybody hit the ground", I mean come on - Newton is considered the founder of gravity. So you tell me, considering the intellect of the band and their predeliction for such intellectual "easter eggs" in their songs/videos...doesn't that make the most sense? You don't have to agree with my opinion...I'm just sayin'.
@garbo215 I enjoyed reading your purely subjective interpretation of the song. You may make the Newton reference via Fall On Me. The actual meaning (c/o Stipe) is about the feud between Morton Downey Jr and Oprah Winfrey
@garbo215 I enjoyed reading your purely subjective interpretation of the song. You may make the Newton reference via Fall On Me. The actual meaning (c/o Stipe) is about the feud between Morton Downey Jr and Oprah Winfrey
@garbo215 The "shoulders" line is certainly quoting Newton, but is the song about him or only making that one reference? It also says "my kingdom for a…" is quoting Shakespeare, Richard III, so with one reference apiece, we could start guessing if it's about Newton, Shakespeare, Richard, or some fourth person.
@garbo215 The "shoulders" line is certainly quoting Newton, but is the song about him or only making that one reference? It also says "my kingdom for a…" is quoting Shakespeare, Richard III, so with one reference apiece, we could start guessing if it's about Newton, Shakespeare, Richard, or some fourth person.
What they all have in common is greatness (and being English). And as the first person says that standing on the shoulders of giants leaves him cold, he seems not to be Newton.
What they all have in common is greatness (and being English). And as the first person says that standing on the shoulders of giants leaves him cold, he seems not to be Newton.
I think as @heythere81201 suggested, it's about someone who wants to...
I think as @heythere81201 suggested, it's about someone who wants to have an original idea. And, as he wishes to have "a voice," it is perhaps in the realm of art, politics, or something else.
@garbo215 Close but it’s about the creation and use of the atomic bomb.
@garbo215 Close but it’s about the creation and use of the atomic bomb.
I think this song is about a guy who is desperate to get an original idea? i get this from the lines 'standing on the shoulders of giants leaves me cold' and 'a mean idea to call my own'
I'm pretty sure this and other REM songs aren't supposed to have a point- like, they start withone, and then lose it.
Or, 81201 above is right, and then the guy snaps and starts shooting people 'everybody hit the ground'...but the music doesn't audibly suggest that
Standing on the shoulders of giants leaves me cold - This to me sounds like "Being put on this pedistal, given this adoration, I don't deserve it.. I don't enjoy it. It leaves me numb.
As for the rest, i'm not sure. Perhaps it's about being worshipped but not actually listened to "My kingdom for a voice". People blindly follow but don't actually listen
^yes, finding the voice thank you, for your contribution dakini
also...
being a top a historical intellect makes one small and we desire to be important ...
by relativity we are self centered
despondency results so we bow to teach what is already know loosing the self
"Everybody hit the ground"... no matter how high you fly, you'll die :( ambiguous song, there's an optimistic dimension put in there, some people "fly away" to create a "giant"
watch pi. yes, this was before pi. same idea.
to clarify a little, it's a rejection of the professor's life. so much to study, yet so much beauty to experience. there was always a sort of an anti-intellectual streak running through REM. stipe was still exploring this theme way into the 90s ('sad professor' on up). the message is simply that he'd rather go out and have fun than sit in his room and read books and write theories.
to clarify a little, it's a rejection of the professor's life. so much to study, yet so much beauty to experience. there was always a sort of an anti-intellectual streak running through REM. stipe was still exploring this theme way into the 90s ('sad professor' on up). the message is simply that he'd rather go out and have fun than sit in his room and read books and write theories.
It's about trying not to copy other writers and finally finding your own voice as an writer/artist. Truly original ideas are hard to come by, and getting harder.