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White Bird Lyrics
White bird
In a golden cage
On a winter's day
In the rain
White bird
In a golden cage
Alone
The leaves blow
Across the long, black road
To the darkened skies
In its rage
But the white bird
Just sits in her cage
Unknown
White bird must fly
Or she will die
White bird
Dreams of the aspen trees
With their dying leaves
Turning gold
But the white bird
Just sits in her cage
Growing old
White bird must fly
Or she will die
White bird must fly
Or she will die
The sunsets come
The sunsets go
The clouds roll by
And the earth turns slow
And the young bird's eyes
Do always glow
She must fly
She must fly
She must fly
White bird
In a golden cage
On a winter's day
In the rain
White bird
In a golden cage
Alone
White bird must fly
Or she will die
White bird must fly
Or she will die
White bird must fly
Or she will die
In a golden cage
On a winter's day
In the rain
In a golden cage
Alone
Across the long, black road
To the darkened skies
In its rage
Just sits in her cage
Unknown
Or she will die
Dreams of the aspen trees
With their dying leaves
Turning gold
Just sits in her cage
Growing old
Or she will die
White bird must fly
Or she will die
The sunsets go
The clouds roll by
And the earth turns slow
And the young bird's eyes
Do always glow
She must fly
She must fly
In a golden cage
On a winter's day
In the rain
In a golden cage
Alone
Or she will die
White bird must fly
Or she will die
White bird must fly
Or she will die
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Am I the 1st one to comment on such a great tune? Well, here's my take on it. The white bird represents someone who is surrounded by wealth. But she is lonely, unhappy, possibly in an abusive situation & feels trapped (a golden cage). She feels she must escape for the sake of her sanity, even her life (White bird must fly or she will die.). Kind of sad, but a beautiful song. Does anyone have a different take on it?
I think that is exactly what it means!
I think that is exactly what it means!
This is from Wikipedia - kind of makes sense. Songwriters often write about their experiences, not necessarily with any "meaning" in mind. But meaning can be what the listener "gets" or feels...
The band's signature song "White Bird" was inspired by the experiences David and Linda LaFlamme had while living in Seattle. In an ironic twist on the band's name, the sad song was partly inspired by Seattle's rainy winter weather. In a later interview, David LaFlamme said:
"Where the 'white bird' thing came from ... We were like caged birds in that attic. We had no money, no transportation, the weather was miserable. We were just barely getting by on a very small food allowance provided to us. It was quite an experience, but it was very creative in a way."
This song came out in 1968 - so the meaning must be about the events of that time. Racial strife Vietnam war ect. White bird typically represents the bird of peace - in a golden cage - America has peace caged and is in and fully engaged in war. She only flies when she dies......as I think we all do when the spirit leaves the body. Beautiful song with a very sad setting.
You just can’t beat stuff like this. I could listen to this, Light my Fire, some Jefferson Airplane tracks, and a few Byrds numbers songs for the rest of my life and be alright