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.
First Song
Andrew Bird Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
a small boy
After an afternoon of carting
dung hung
On a rail fence
a sapped thing
weary to cry
He began to hear the pond frogs
All calling on his ear
They were calling on his ear
with what seemed their joy
Soon the sound was pleasent for a boy
listening in the smoky dusk and the nightfall of illinois
and from the fields
two small boys came
bearing cornstalk violins
So they rubbed their cornstalk bows with resins
and the three just sat there
scraping of the joy, of the joy
They're scraping of the joy
It was now fine music
The frogs and thre boys did
In the towering illinois twilight
make and into dark
In spite of a shoulders ache
a boys hunched body
loved out of stalk
The first song of his happiness
and the song woke his heart
into the darkness and saddness
and joy
The lyrics of Andrew Bird's song "First Song" are rich with imagery and emotions, and they capture the fleeting moments of childhood bliss and wonder. The song starts with a small boy in Illinois who is tired and dusty after an afternoon of carting dung. He rests on a rail fence, feeling sapped and weary, but then he hears the pond frogs calling on his ear, and the sound becomes pleasant for him. As the night falls, two small boys come from the fields bearing cornstalk violins, and they sit together, scraping the joy out of the music. The first song of the small boy's happiness wakes his heart into the darkness and sadness and joy.
The song captures the essence of childhood innocence and the power of music to evoke emotions and connect people. The small boy, tired and dusty from his work, finds solace and joy in the delicate sound of the pond frogs and the magical music of the two small boys with their cornstalk violins. The song also conveys a sense of nostalgia and longing for a lost time of innocence and simplicity, when the world was filled with wonder and beauty.
Overall, "First Song" is a poignant and evocative song that speaks to the human experience of longing and searching for moments of happiness and beauty in our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Then it was dust in Illinois
The setting is in Illinois, where it was an arid landscape
a small boy
A young child was present at the scene
After an afternoon of carting
After a long day of working
dung hung
The air was filled with the smell of manure
On a rail fence
The boy was standing on a fence made of rails
a sapped thing
The boy was tired and drained of energy
weary to cry
The boy was so tired that he felt like crying
Dark was growing tall
Nightfall was approaching
He began to hear the pond frogs
The boy started to hear the sound of frogs in a nearby pond
All calling on his ear
The sound of the frogs was very loud and noticeable
They were calling on his ear
The boy felt like the frogs' sounds were directed towards him
with what seemed their joy
The boy interpreted the frogs' sounds as happy and joyful
Soon the sound was pleasent for a boy
The boy started to enjoy the sound of the frogs
listening in the smoky dusk and the nightfall of illinois
The boy was listening to the frogs while watching the sun set in Illinois
and from the fields
Two other boys came from the fields
two small boys came
Two young children appeared
bearing cornstalk violins
The boys had instruments made of cornstalks
So they rubbed their cornstalk bows with resins
The boys prepared their instruments by applying resin to the bows made of cornstalks
and the three just sat there
The three boys sat together, ready to make music
scraping of the joy, of the joy
The boys started to play their violins, creating a sound that was filled with joy
It was now fine music
The sound they created was now good
The frogs and thre boys did
The boys and the frogs together created
In the towering illinois twilight
The sun had now fully set, and the sky had a towering appearance
make and into dark
They kept playing their instruments as it got dark
In spite of a shoulders ache
Despite being in pain from working earlier
a boys hunched body
The boy's body was in a hunched position from being tired
loved out of stalk
Despite his discomfort, the boy continued to play and create music
The first song of his happiness
The boy had never felt this happy or joyful before
and the song woke his heart
The music had awakened something inside of him
into the darkness and saddness
Before the music, the boy was in a dark and sad place
and joy
But the music brought him joy and happiness
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Andrew Wegman Bird
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind