Birthday
The Sugarcubes Lyrics
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Has her world outside it
Scrabbles in the earth with her fingers and her mouth
She's five years old
Threads worms on a string
Keeps spiders in her pocket
Collects fly wings in a jar
Scrubs horse flies and, and pinches them on a line
Oh
Oh
Oh
Oh
She has one friend, he lives next door
They're listening to the weather
He knows how many freckles she's got
She scratches his beard
She's painting huge books
And glues them together
They saw a big raven
It glided down the sky
She touched it
Oh
Oh
Oh
Oh
Today is her birthday
They're smoking cigars
He's got a chain of flowers
And sews a bird in her knickers
Oh
Oh
Oh
Oh
They're smoking cigars
They lie in the bathtub
A chain of flowers
The lyrics of The Sugarcubes's song Birthday capture the idyllic and imaginative world of a five-year-old girl who lives in a house and loves to explore the natural world around her. She finds joy in the simple pleasures of life, such as scrabbling in the earth, collecting fly wings in a jar, and keeping spiders in her pocket. The girl also has a friend who lives next door, and together, they enjoy listening to the weather and counting the freckles on each other's skin. Their innocent and playful adventures include painting huge books and gluing them together.
The center of the song is the celebration of the young girl's birthday. She and her friend smoke cigars, and he gives her a chain of flowers and sews a bird in her knickers. They lie in the bathtub and continue to revel in each other's company, encapsulating the pure, unadulterated nature of childhood.
The song's lyrics provide a poignant reminder of the importance of preserving the innocence, imagination, and wonder of youth. The world viewed from a child's eyes is a magical one full of endless possibilities, and this song evokes the nostalgia of that time when everything seemed possible and achievable.
Line by Line Meaning
She lives in this house over there
The girl lives in a house not too far from where the singer is.
Has her world outside it
She doesn't limit herself to the confines of her house.
Scrabbles in the earth with her fingers and her mouth
Uses her hands and mouth to dig in the soil.
She's five years old
The girl is only five years old and full of wonder.
Threads worms on a string
She puts worms on a string like beads on a necklace.
Keeps spiders in her pocket
She has spiders in her pocket, which she doesn't find scary.
Collects fly wings in a jar
She collects the wings of dead flies in a jar.
Scrubs horse flies and, and pinches them on a line
She washes horse flies and pinches them onto a string.
She has one friend, he lives next door
The girl has a friend who lives nearby.
They're listening to the weather
They're paying attention to the weather conditions.
He knows how many freckles she's got
Her friend is perhaps the only person who knows the exact number of freckles on her face.
She scratches his beard
She playfully runs her fingers through her friend's beard.
She's painting huge books
She's creating her own versions of books, possibly coloring in larger versions of stories she likes.
And glues them together
She's piecing books together using glue.
They saw a big raven
The girl and her friend witnessed a large black bird.
It glided down the sky
They noticed the bird gracefully flying low in the sky.
She touched it
She had a moment with the bird, possibly feeling its feathers or some kind of energy.
Today is her birthday
It's the girl's special day, her birthday.
They're smoking cigars
They're smoking cigars, even though they're young.
He's got a chain of flowers
Her friend has made a nice, elegant chain of flowers.
And sews a bird in her knickers
He sewed a bird into her underwear, which is an interesting and unique gift.
They're smoking cigars
Once again, they're smoking cigars!
They lie in the bathtub
They're relaxing in a bathtub together, enjoying each other's company.
A chain of flowers
The chain of flowers is still present, perhaps a symbol of friendship.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Bjork Gudmundsdottir, Einar Benediktsson, Fridrik Erlingsson, Bragi Olafsson, Sigtryggur Baldursson, Thor Eldon Jonsson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind