Florence + the Machine: Bird Song Meaning

Bird Song Lyrics

Well I didn't tell anyone,
But a bird flew by.
Saw what I'd done.
He set up a nest outside,
And he sang about
What I'd become.
He sang so loud,
Sang so clear.
I was afraid all the
Neighbours would hear,
So I invited him in,
Just...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Oct 20th 2016 !⃝

   It's a song about guilt.
   Put yourself in the place of the person singing. You've done something horrible, or something you're ashamed of, and someone (the bird) hears/sees you do that particular thing. I believe it's adding onto the saying "A little bird told me". You try to reason with the bird, asking them not to tell anyone, but they just sing louder. Desperate, you kill the bird, hoping that not only will it stop singing, but the guilt will go away. But later on, you realize that there really was no bird. Just yourself. You're the one singing about your own guilt. You're mostly ashamed of yourself.
2. anonymous

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   Mar 13th 2023 !⃝

   Similar to a lot of people, I believe that the bird is your own guilt or shame. Wether it be a huge moment or tons of small mistakes you look down upon, and the singer/person is your own mind.
   
   Later on in the lyrics it mentions how the person has a nightmare, describing how the person is in the view or voice of the bird. Unable to stop singing said song,
   
   for me this means unable to stop repeating a past mistake, minor ones or just any negative experience. Unable to let go of that, repeating itself again of blocking out it, trying to ignore it but It’ll always come back again.
3. anonymous

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   Dec 14th 2020 !⃝

   I at first thought of it as a person being guilty about murdering someone, but as i thought about it, it could also be self harm. The person harmed them self and they feel guilty, because they promised them self they wouldn’t.
   Either way its a great song. It reminds me a lot of The Tell-Tale Heart, by Edgar Allen Poe, accept more so about guilt than insanity-
   Still gives me those vibes though.
4. anonymous

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   Nov 13th 2020 !⃝

   For me,the bird is your mind.so when you did something bad and you just realized it,you start to feel guilty.you try to tell yourself some lies and you wouldn't repeat it just to shut ur guilt, but it just grow more and more (he sang louder and louder inside the house) somehow, someone found out what you did,starting to blame you and it all go just worst.you try to kill it to make it stop.by the time,you found that this someone it's just the bird knowing as your mind .or basically is just you tired of the guilt
5. anonymous

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   Nov 1st 2020 !⃝

   the song is(maybe?) about how there is this 'bird' on your tree(outside of your house), telling and seeing your secrets, you plan to ask for forgiveness, but the 'bird' doesn't forgive you, and yells/sings louder, so you kill the bird. it ends up being your innocence in a sense, your hope, and you destroyed it all, just because you felt too guilty from what you've done
6. anonymous

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   Jun 17th 2020 !⃝

   I consider this song a companion song to "Girl With One Eye", although it fits so well with the theme of the whole album. The way that I interpret this song is that someone did something 'bad', and the witness just mirrors what the POV character did. They are so angry that what they have done is being 'kept alive' by the bird, that they kill the bird to try to keep the reality of what they've done quiet. Except, killing the bird doesn't change what's already been done- it merely adds to the harm caused.
   I see it as someone reckoning with the many layers of something horrible they've done, and that a reactionary way to deal with something can escalate it. I interpret POV as a similar type of character as the man who "cut [her] little heart out, cause [she] made [him] cry" in Girl With One Eye.
7. anonymous

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   Jun 2nd 2020 !⃝

   The song to me is about guilt. Possibly over a mother abusing her child or a woman who has murdered her husband. The bird represents her guilt, telling her what she has done is horrible and threatens to tell everyone else. Desperate, the woman kills the bird (aka tries to stifle her guilt) but the song is too much and she feels so horrible about what she did that she ends up telling the world. She has bottled up so much guilt over the situation and it just explodes from her.
8. anonymous

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   Nov 6th 2018 !⃝

   I believe that it is about guilt from murder. Think about it, "Saw what I'd done", "That's the last song you'll ever sing"? sounds kinda murderous to me.
9. anonymous

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   May 28th 2018 !⃝

   I believe that the bird is a constant throbbing reminder of what the person has done to themselves. Perhaps they are struggling through addiction, emotional pain, lack of motivation, or whatever it may be that is damaging this person. Then she just wants this guilty conscious to shut up but it won't shut up because it's all inside of her.
10. anonymous

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    Jun 16th 2017 !⃝

    I, honestly, think that this song is about self injury. That's all I can ever think of when I listen to it.
11. anonymous

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    Aug 26th 2014 !⃝

    the song is about guilty consciense.one does something wrong and no one notices but keep it bottoled inside.the bird is the conscience and so one tries to supress it and it drives them crazy to thee point were they lose controlband just start blabbering it all out
12. anonymous

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    Jul 2nd 2014 !⃝

    I believe the song speaks about guilt. She's done something wrong and is blamed by someone (the bird). Furious, she kills the bird in hopes that the guilt will end too. But it continues, in spite of her efforts, and she realizes the one who blamed her the most was herself. The song coming out from her mouth is then a metaphor for guilt.
13. anonymous

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    Jun 17th 2012 !⃝

    It is about a person who has done something wrong, he thinks that no one noticed, but a bird saw knows what he did and starts telling everyone. Desperate to conceal your secret, you lock the bird up, kill it, and eat it. But when you think your problem is solved, the bird song is coming from your mouth. so you are being punished, not for your sin, but for wanting to keep it a secret.
14. anonymous

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    Jun 17th 2012 !⃝

    It is about a person who has done something wrong, he thinks that no one noticed, but a bird saw knows what he did and starts telling everyone. Desperate to conceal your secret, you lock the bird up, kill it, and eat it. But when you think your problem is solved, the bird song is coming from your mouth. so you are being punished, not for your sin, but for wanting to keep it a secret.

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