Snowbird Lyrics
The unborn grass lies waiting for its coat to turn to green
The snowbird sings a song he always sings
And speaks to me of flowers
that will bloom again in spring When I was young my heart was young then too
Anything that it would tell me, that's the thing that I would do
But now I feel such emptiness within
For the thing that I want most in life
Is the thing I can't win
Spread your tiny wings and fly away
And take the snow back with you
Where it came from on that day
The one I love forever is untrue
And if I could you know that I would fly away with you
The breeze along the river seems to say
That he'll only break my heart again should I decide to stay
So little snowbird take me with you when you go
To that land of gentle breezes
where the peaceful waters flow
And take the snow back with you
Where it came from on that day
The one I love forever is untrue
And if I could you know that I would fly away with you
Yeah, if I could, you know that I would fly away with you
It seems to me about someone who fell deeply in love and trusted that person. That trust was broken and while the innocent partner wants to get back together, they realise it will only happen again if they do.
They now feel such emptiness inside now they are apart because the love and faithfulness they crave so much from that person will never happen. They just wish they could fly away with a carefree bird and put this sadness behind them.
First time giving my interpretation and based on my own personal thoughts, also based on what i think the true writer may have thought, being a rather unhappy man. so here goes: (By each section of the song) i believe the first paragraph of the song describes an individual who's been told all his life ( and is continually told) by others who have it that "love will find you." With faith that this would be true, this person has waited for what seems like a good portion of his/her life, through good times and bad.
2nd: Now i believe it's a bit of a fast-forward. It's been ages of holding onto this hope, they're getting older and still nothing has come to reinforce what so many others claim(ed) to be true. the younger years have come and gone, the chances of having that young or passionate love are gone forever, at least they so desperately fear. Something they've faithfully longed for and have tried to have, has eluded them for all this time. Begins to wonder and believe it's just something they cant win/doesnt exist for them. Have they foolishly believed in some unrealistic ideal all this time? been seeing relationships incorrectly? or was it that they were correct, its just that a "right/fitting person" has never come along? Asking these questions and more to yourself would (to me) make you feel empty and drained.
3: The chorus, is telling the snow bird to leave. The same snowbird who has been chirping and trying give the singer hope that "spring" will come, eventually*. It cant promise a thing to the singer. Based on the history/mentality of the singer at this point: they just have a hard time holding onto this so self-convincingly empty hope. They're jaded, perhaps even cynical about the concept. They wish they could be able to fly and be carefree, not have to worry about it anymore, however they are reminded/grounded and boy do they know it.
Finally, looking at they're own state. they know they are going to really break their heart/themselves if they stay in this frozen tundra for much longer. And they plead the snowbird to take them to the land it (the others) speak of since they know where it is. Where they can be happy and flourish. Yet at the same time the snowbird can't help them when it comes to their own heart, it cant tell them who they can love or how they do it. Perhaps the singer knows this and again tells the bird to be on his way, since its well-intended chirps are just a reminder of something they never really had nor looks like they can* have.
Hahaha, Sorry for the read if this seems dark, edgy, or angsty. Well, no matter how you spin it, it is a sad and rather bleak song so i guess i revoke that statement
I heard the song when I was barely in my twenties that was the 1970s, it was a little frightening for old age and death would!
And yet it had its allure, which has stayed with me and I guess it will stay with me.
Sorry this is what happens when your fingers start jumping on the keyboard.
What I meant was that when I first heard the song I was young and the loss of a lover, and of youth was not my experience!
The song however had its fascination for me that has stayed with me.
Sorry for the glitch!
It seems to me that she just wants to be free to go and do what she wants. Maybe I am just to simplistic but the song words "fly away with you" is saying FREEDOM!
I always thought it was about a person who goes somewhere south for the winter if they're from the north.