His early work, which echoed gypsy jazz and traditional folk, has led into his current sound, which mixes rock with more broad compositions. His years of solo song-craft have now enabled him to produce a sound that is uniquely his own.
Trained by the Suzuki method from a young age and a graduate of Illinois' Northwestern University, Bird released his first solo album, Music of Hair, in 1996. Vastly different from his later releases, this first album showcases his violin skills and pays tribute to his fascination with both American and European folk traditions, as well as jazz and blues.
His initial commercial exposure was in collaborative work with the band Squirrel Nut Zippers. He was quickly lumped in with the swing craze that swept the United States music industry in the mid '90s; this is an affiliation that he is still working to shed.
Taking on the role of band leader in 1997 with Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire, he released the album Thrills. This was followed by Oh! The Grandeur in 1998. Both albums were heavily influenced by traditional folk, pre-war jazz and swing, with Bird relying on the violin as his primary musical instrument.
In 2001, Bird released The Swimming Hour, his third release with the Bowl of Fire and a dramatic departure from previous recordings. The Swimming Hour featured a mixture of styles, from the zydeco-influenced "Core and Rind" to more straightforward rock songs. He has often referred to this record as his "jukebox album".
The Bowl of Fire unofficially disbanded some time in 2003, having featured many skilled Chicago musicians including Kevin O'Donnell, Nora O'Connor, Andy Hopkins (aka Mr. Rudy Day), Jimmy Sutton, Colin Bunn and Ryan Hembrey.
Bird then released two subsequent solo albums, both distributed through the label operated by Ani DiFranco, Righteous Babe Records. The two records, 2003's Weather Systems and 2005's The Mysterious Production of Eggs, continue a progression towards an eclectic indie folk sound that has proven challenging to classify.
Bird's live solo shows have been notable in that he uses a multi-track system to sample and loop his own performance. For example, he may record a snippet of his performance on violin, then play a "loop" of that sound. This provides a more full-bodied sound and aurally suggests a band performance, rather than the sound of a solo artist.
Bird's next full-length album Armchair Apocrypha (Fat Possum) was released on March 20th 2007.
November 2007 saw the Soldier On EP originally a European tour-only release. But due to high demand and unanticipated critical acclaim was released digitally and in CD-format on both sides of the Atlantic. Critics and fans alike have hearkened to the EP's first track, "The Trees Were Mistaken", a complex yet austere looping composition that marks a departure from Bird's earlier body of work. It also contains a cover of Bob Dylan's "Oh Sister".
January 2009 saw Noble Beast, also available with instrumental album Useless Creatures, released worldwide to positive reviews.
The Fatal Shore Songfacts reports that Break it Yourself, Bird's sixth solo studio album, was released on March 6, 2012 through Mom+Pop records in the US and Bella Union in the UK. The origins of the LP lie in a couple of jam sessions by a gathering of Bird's friends in the singer's western Illinois barn, near the banks of the Mississippi River.
Of his 2019 album My Finest Work Yet, Talia Schlanger of NPR says "Bird zooms way out on humanity across history's timeline, seeking insight about our current age, in a way he hopes 'stays above the news feed noise.'" Many tracks, including the opener "Sisyphus," include Andrew's trademark whistling.
Fatal Flower Garden
Andrew Bird Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Rained so hard all day
Till all the boys in our school
They came out to talk and play
And they tossed the ball
Again so high, then again so low
Till it fell into a flower garden
When a tipsy gypsy lady
All dressed in yellow and green
Says, ?Come here, come here
My pretty little boy and get your ball again?
?No, I won't come in and I say ain't coming
Without my playmates all
I'm gonna get my father and tell him about it
And then the tears shall fall?
Well, first she offered an apple sweet
And then a tangerine
Then she offered him a diamond
That seemed to do the trick
That enticed him in
Well, she took him by his lilly-white hand
And she led him through the hall
She took him to an upper room
Where no one could hear him call
No, not a soul
Bury the Bible at my feet
The testament at my head
If my dear father should call for me
Won't you tell him that I am dead
Bury the Bible at my head
And the testament at my feet
If my dear mother should call for me
Won't you tell her that I'm asleep
Andrew Bird's song "Fatal Flower Garden" is a haunting tale of caution and manipulation. The song is sung from the perspective of a boy who is enticed by a tipsy gypsy lady into her house, after she offers him an apple, a tangerine, and finally a diamond. The boy initially refuses to go inside without his playmates but finally succumbs to the temptation of the diamond. The gypsy lady takes him to an upper room where no one can hear him call, and he is never seen again. The last verse of the song is a chilling plea for someone to bury the Bible at the boy's feet and the testament at his head if his father or mother comes looking for him.
The lyrics are open to interpretation, but one possible reading is that the song is about the dangers of trusting strangers, especially those who seem too eager to offer you gifts. The boy's refusal to go into the gypsy lady's house alone is a sign that he knows that something is not quite right, but he still falls for the diamond in the end. The gypsy lady's offer of a diamond, which seems to be what convinces the boy to go with her, could be read as a metaphor for the allure of material wealth and the danger of prioritizing it over one's safety.
Overall, "Fatal Flower Garden" is a cautionary tale that speaks to the dangers of naivety and puts the listener on edge with its atmospheric sound and eerie lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
It rained, it poured, rained so hard
The rain was coming down hard and heavy
Rained so hard all day
It rained continuously for the entire day
Till all the boys in our school
As a result of the rain, all the boys in the school
They came out to talk and play
Came out of the school building to engage in conversations and play
And they tossed the ball
Started to throw the ball to each other
Again so high, then again so low
Tossed the ball high and low repeatedly
Till it fell into a flower garden
Their ball accidentally landed in a flower garden area
No one's allowed to go
Indicating that no one has permission to go into the flower garden
When a tipsy gypsy lady
At that point, a partially intoxicated Roma woman
All dressed in yellow and green
Wearing clothing made up predominantly of green and yellow colors
Says, ?Come here, come here
Addressing the schoolboy, inviting him over
My pretty little boy and get your ball again?
Called the boy over to retrieve his lost ball
?No, I won't come in and I say ain't coming
The schoolboy refused to come into the house to retrieve his ball
Without my playmates all
Insisting that he won't enter without his friends accompanying him
I'm gonna get my father and tell him about it
Threatening to tattle to his father about the woman's behavior
And then the tears shall fall?
As a result of his terrible experience, he will cry
Well, first she offered an apple sweet
Then, the woman offered the boy a sweet apple
And then a tangerine
In addition to the apple, she presented a tangerine
Then she offered him a diamond
Next, she offered him a diamond, which became his desire
That seemed to do the trick
The promise of a diamond seemed to work, convincing him to come in
That enticed him in
The valuable diamond lured him into the house
Well, she took him by his lilly-white hand
The intoxicated woman held on to the boy's hand
And she led him through the hall
She guided him through the hall of the house
She took him to an upper room
She brought him to a higher room in the house
Where no one could hear him call
The room was secluded, and nobody else could hear him if he cried out
No, not a soul
Indicating that nobody was around to hear him
Bury the Bible at my feet
If the schoolboy were to die, he wanted the Bible to be by his feet for burial
The testament at my head
In addition to the Bible by his feet, he wanted the will to be next to his head
If my dear father should call for me
If his father ever inquired about his whereabouts
Won't you tell him that I am dead
Ask whoever knew the answer to lie and state that he had perished
And the testament at my feet
If he were to die, he requested that the will be positioned at his feet
If my dear mother should call for me
If his mother were to ever inquire about him
Won't you tell her that I'm asleep
They should deceive her and let her know that he is simply asleep
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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