She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired debut album, Whoa, Nelly! (2000), which was a critical and commercial success that spawned two top-10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, "I'm Like a Bird" and "Turn Off the Light". The first of the two singles won her a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Furtado's introspective folk-heavy 2003 second album, Folklore, explored her Portuguese roots. Its singles received moderate success in Europe, but the album's underperformance compared to her debut was regarded as a sophomore slump.
Furtado's third album, Loose (2006), was a smash hit and became her bestselling album, with more than 10 million copies sold worldwide, also making it one of the bestselling albums of the 2000s. Considered a radical image reinvention, Furtado continued to explore her Portuguese heritage while leaning heavier into hip hop. The album spawned four successful number-one singles worldwide; "Promiscuous", "Maneater", "Say It Right" and "All Good Things (Come to an End)".
She released her first Spanish-language album, Mi Plan, in 2009, which won her a Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album. In 2012, Furtado released her nostalgia-inspired fifth album The Spirit Indestructible. Furtado split with her management and went independent thereafter, releasing her indie-pop sixth album, The Ride, in 2017 under her own label Nelstar Entertainment.
She has won many awards throughout her career, including one Grammy Award from seven nominations, one Latin Grammy Award, ten Juno Awards, one BRIT Award, one Billboard Music Award, one MTV Europe Music Award, one World Music Award, and three Much Music Video Awards. Furtado has a star on Canada's Walk of Fame, and was awarded Commander of the Order of Prince Henry on February 28, 2014, by Aníbal Cavaco Silva, the then-President of Portugal.
I'm Like a Bird
Nelly Furtado Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You'll never ever fade
You're lovely, but it's not for sure
That I won't ever change
And though my love is rare
And though my love is true
I'm like a bird
I'll only fly away
I don't know where my soul is (soul is)
I don't know where my home is
And baby, all I need for you to know is
I'm like a bird
I'll only fly away
I don't know where my soul is (soul is)
I don't know where my home is
All I need for you to know is
Your faith in me brings me to tears (ah)
Even after all these years, years
And it pains me so much to tell
That you don't know me that well
And though my love is rare
And though my love is true
I'm like a bird
I'll only fly away
I don't know where my soul is (soul is)
I don't know where my home is
And baby, all I need for you to know is
I'm like a bird
I'll only fly away (fly away)
I don't know where my soul is (soul is)
I don't know where my home is
And baby, all I need for you to know is
It's not that I wanna say goodbye
It's just that every time you try
To tell me, me that you love me (oh, oh)
Each and every single day
I know I'm gonna have to eventually give you away, yeah
And though my love is rare, rare, rare
And though my love is true, yeah
Hey, I'm just scared
That we may fall through
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm like a bird (I'm like a bird)
I don't know where my soul is (soul is)
I don't know where my home is
And baby, all I need for you to know is
I'm like a bird
I'll only fly away (fly away)
I don't know where my soul is (soul is)
I don't know where my home is
And baby, all I need for you to know is
I'm like a bird
I'll only fly away (and I don't know where my soul is)
I don't know where my soul is (soul is)
I don't know where my home is
And baby, all I need for you to know is
I'm like a bird
I'll only fly away (I don't know where my home is)
I don't know where my soul is (soul is)
I don't know where my home is
And baby, all I need for you to know is
I'm like a bird
I'll only fly away
I don't know where my soul is (soul is)
I don't know where my home is
And baby, all I need for you to know is
I'm like a bird
I'll only fly away
I don't know where my soul is (soul is)
I don't know where my home is
And baby, all I need for you to know is
I'm like a bird
In Nelly Furtado's song "I'm Like a Bird," the singer expresses her fear of commitment and her strong desire for freedom through the metaphor of a bird. She tells her lover that she loves him, but she cannot promise him that she won't change or fly away. She admits that she doesn't know where her soul is or where her home is, indicating that she is still searching for her true identity and place in the world. She also expresses her sadness that her lover doesn't know her very well, despite their long relationship.
The repeated chorus, "I'm like a bird, I'll only fly away," emphasizes her yearning for independence and her fear of being trapped. Despite her rare and true love, she fears that they may fall through together because of her inability to commit fully. The bridge reveals her struggle to reconcile her desire for freedom with her love for her partner. She doesn't want to say goodbye, but she knows that eventually, she may have to let him go.
Overall, "I'm Like a Bird" is a powerful expression of the complex emotions that many people experience in relationships. It resonated with audiences and remains one of Nelly Furtado's most beloved songs.
Line by Line Meaning
You're beautiful and that's for sure
You possess beauty, and this is an undeniable truth.
You'll never ever fade
Your beauty is timeless and eternal; it will never diminish.
You're lovely, but it's not for sure
That I won't ever change
Although you possess loveliness, it cannot assure that my feelings towards you will never change.
And though my love is rare
And though my love is true
My love is unique and genuine, defying norms and expectations.
I'm like a bird
I'll only fly away
Just like a bird, I have an innate tendency to fly away and explore the unknown.
I don't know where my soul is (soul is)
I don't know where my home is
I feel lost and uncertain about where I belong or what truly fulfills me.
And baby all I need for you to know is
Despite my ambiguity, the only thing that matters for you to understand is this next statement:
Your faith in me brings me to tears (ah)
Even after all these years, years
Your unwavering trust in me is so moving that it brings me to tears, even after spending so many years together.
And it pains me so much to tell
That you don't know me that well
It hurts me to admit that you may not understand me as well as you think you do.
It's not that I wanna say goodbye
It's just that every time you try
To tell me, me that you love me (oh, oh)
Each and every single day
I know I'm gonna have to eventually give you away, yeah
I don't necessarily want to end the relationship, but each time you express your love for me, it reminds me that I may have to let you go in the future.
Hey, I'm just scared
That we may fall through
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm afraid that despite our love for each other, our relationship may ultimately fail.
I'm like a bird (I'm like a bird)
I don't know where my soul is (soul is)
I don't know where my home is
And baby all I need for you to know is
I'm like a bird
I'll only fly away (fly away)
This chorus reiterates the same central theme of the song, emphasizing my uncertainty regarding where I belong and my motivation to fly away and explore the unknown.
And baby all I need for you to know is
This concluding phrase repeats the same sentiment as before, highlighting the importance of understanding the key message of the song.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Nelly Furtado
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind