I felt the Dixie Chicks' video captured the true meaning of this song. We see 3 generations of a family where mistreatment occurs. However, at the end, the daughter chooses to show her own child affection; even though her father lacked it with her growing up.
The "songbird" is the daughter, it's also the father when he was a young child. The woman singing is from her father's perspective, and the way he treated her and her mother. In the video we see the father's mistreatment by his own mother which leaks onto his inability to show true love and affection to his own child.
"I think I broke the wings off that little songbird, she's never going to fly to the top of the world.." He realizes that he's crushed the relationship with his daughter. He knows that his actions over the years has broken his daughter inside. "I wish i'd known you, wish i'd shown you, all that I was on the inside, But I'd pretend to be sleeping when you'd come in the morning, to whisper goodbye, go to work in the rain, I don't know why.."
The father is reflecting on how he wanted to show his daughter love and affection, but never could, mainly because he was never shown affection as a child either. If anyone knows the attachment theory, this song embodies the importance of early attachments and how the lack of secure attachments can affect someone throughout life. One of my favorite and most personal songs.
I felt the Dixie Chicks' video captured the true meaning of this song. We see 3 generations of a family where mistreatment occurs. However, at the end, the daughter chooses to show her own child affection; even though her father lacked it with her growing up.
The "songbird" is the daughter, it's also the father when he was a young child. The woman singing is from her father's perspective, and the way he treated her and her mother. In the video we see the father's mistreatment by his own mother which leaks onto his inability to show true love and affection to his own child. "I think I broke the wings off that little songbird, she's never going to fly to the top of the world.." He realizes that he's crushed the relationship with his daughter. He knows that his actions over the years has broken his daughter inside. "I wish i'd known you, wish i'd shown you, all that I was on the inside, But I'd pretend to be sleeping when you'd come in the morning, to whisper goodbye, go to work in the rain, I don't know why.." The father is reflecting on how he wanted to show his daughter love and affection, but never could, mainly because he was never shown affection as a child either. If anyone knows the attachment theory, this song embodies the importance of early attachments and how the lack of secure attachments can affect someone throughout life. One of my favorite and most personal songs.
@songbird1919 Something else I wanted to add:: I always wondered if patty griffin intended the "songbird" to refer to herself
@songbird1919 Something else I wanted to add:: I always wondered if patty griffin intended the "songbird" to refer to herself