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.
If I Needed You
Andrew Bird Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Would you come to me, for ease my pain?
If you needed me
I would come to you
I'd swim the seas for to ease your pain
In the night forlorn when the morning's born
And the morning shines with the lights of love
And that would break my heart in two
The lady's with me now since I showed her how
To lay her lily hand in mine
Loop and Lil agree she's a sight to see
And a treasure for the poor to find
If I needed you would you come to me
Would you come to me, for ease my pain?
The opening lines of Andrew Bird's song "If I Needed You" suggest an intimate and vulnerable relationship between the singer and the person he's addressing. He is asking them if they would be there to ease his pain if he needed them, expressing his need for comfort and support. In turn, he assures them that he would be just as devoted to easing their pain, even going so far as to "swim the seas." This reciprocation of emotional support and care is the foundation of the song's sentimentality.
The second verse paints a picture of a beautiful morning and the possibility of missing it if one keeps their eyes closed. It's a metaphorical plea for the person he's addressing to embrace life and not let it pass them by. The singer's statement that it would "break my heart in two" if they miss the sunrise suggests a deep emotional connection between the two parties. He cares deeply for them and doesn't want them to miss out on things that would bring them joy.
The final verse shifts the focus from the singer and the person he's addressing to a third party - a woman who is now with him. The imagery of her "lily hand" in his suggests a delicate and pure connection between the two of them. The use of the names "Loop and Lil" is interesting - they are both musicians who wrote the original version of this song in the 1980s. This could be a nod to them as the inspiration for this version - a tribute to their work and an indication of Bird's respect for their talent. The final lines circle back to the central theme of the song, with the singer asking once more if the person he's addressing would be there for him if he needed them.
Overall, "If I Needed You" is a song about the importance of emotional support in a relationship. It emphasizes the need for vulnerability and reciprocity, with the singer making it clear that he would be just as devoted to easing the other person's pain as they would be to easing his.
Line by Line Meaning
If I needed you would you come to me
Asking if the person he cares about would be there for him in his time of need
Would you come to me, for ease my pain?
Asking if they would be willing to come to him to provide comfort and relief from the pain he may be feeling
If you needed me
Assuring the other person that he would be there for them if they needed him, just as he is asking them to be there for him
I would come to you
Explicitly stating that he would be willing to go to the other person to help them in any way he could
I'd swim the seas for to ease your pain
Using a vivid metaphor to convey the depths of his willingness to help the other person, suggesting that he would go to great lengths for their sake
In the night forlorn when the morning's born
Setting the scene of a lonely night where the dawn brings new hope and a break from the darkness
And the morning shines with the lights of love
Linking the dawn with love, implying that the new day brings with it new opportunities for love to shine
You will miss sunrise if you close your eyes
Warning the other person not to miss out on the chance for love by ignoring it or shutting it out
And that would break my heart in two
Expressing how much it would pain him to see the other person miss out on love, suggesting that he cares deeply about them
The lady's with me now since I showed her how
Revealing the artist's success in helping a woman find happiness and love, implying that he may be offering the same help to the person he is addressing in the song
To lay her lily hand in mine
Using poetic language to describe the intimacy and connection between the singer and the woman he helped
Loop and Lil agree she's a sight to see
Referring to the opinions of Loop and Lil (whoever they may be) as a way of emphasizing how beautiful and desirable the woman is
And a treasure for the poor to find
Highlighting the valuable nature of the woman the singer helped, as well as perhaps implying that he is offering the same kind of treasure to the person he is addressing in the song
Lyrics © DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: TOWNES VAN ZANDT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind