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.
Manifest
Andrew Bird Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My companion's dear
I'm starting to question my manifest destiny
My claim to this frontier
I'm coming to the brink of a great disaster
End just has to be near
The earth spins faster, whistles right past you
Whispers death in your ear
Don't pretend you can't
I can hear your tendrils still digging
For everything that's walked this earth once living
Then to be exhumed and burned to vapor
Can you save her?
Now she's in the air
Radical and free
Neither here nor there
She's obliged to no one
She's obliged to no one
Yeah, yeah
I'm coming to the edge of a rising ocean
Such commotion and fear
Keeping all our eyes on what's on the horizon
And all that we hold dear
I'm coming to the brink of a great disaster
End just has to be near
The Earth spins faster, whistles right past you
Whispers death in your ear
Don't pretend you can't hear
Don't pretend you can't
I can hear your tendrils still digging
For everything that's walked this earth once living
Then to be exhumed and burned to vapor
Can you save her?
She's in the air
Radical and free
Not a goddamn care
She's obliged to no one
She's obliged to no one
Oh, no
Don't pretend you can't hear
Don't pretend you can't hear
In Andrew Bird’s “Manifest,” the singer brings listeners to a familiar theme concerning the woes of mankind’s progress and the resulting effect on the natural world. Bird uses metaphors to emphasize the sense of impending doom, such as “coming to the edge of the widest canyon,” “the brink of a great disaster,” and the “rising ocean” to describe the environmental destruction that looms ahead. He questions the notion of “manifest destiny,” which is the 19th-century belief that Americans had the God-given right to conquer and expand across the continent, as he notes that it further fuels the destruction of nature for human gain. Bird also speaks of a strange companion that could be interpreted as nature itself, which has aided humanity throughout history. He uses the imagery of tendrils digging and exhuming what has lived on earth as a reference to the obsession with natural resources and their exploitation by humans.
Furthermore, Bird talks about the air becoming polluted, filled with vapor, and uncontrollable, and that we must acknowledge the damage and work to preserve nature before it’s too late. He concludes by saying that nature, once destroyed, is free and has nothing holding it back. It is up to humans to change their way of thinking and stop taking nature for granted, and that by doing so, they can prevent the worst outcome.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm coming to the edge of the widest canyon
Approaching the edge of the largest canyon imaginable
My companion's dear
My companion is very important to me
I'm starting to question my manifest destiny
Beginning to have doubts about my destined role in life
My claim to this frontier
My assertion of ownership over this unknown land
I'm coming to the brink of a great disaster
Approaching a catastrophic event
End just has to be near
The conclusion is imminent
The earth spins faster, whistles right past you
Time is moving more quickly than expected
Whispers death in your ear
Death is a persistent thought
Don't pretend you can't hear
Do not deny the truth
I can hear your tendrils still digging
I can hear you aggressively searching for things
For everything that's walked this earth once living
For everything that has lived on this planet
Then to be exhumed and burned to vapor
Then to be dug up and turned into smoke
Can you save her?
Can you save the world?
Now she's in the air
The world is changing rapidly
Radical and free
Completely transformed, completely unchained
Neither here nor there
Not in the past or the future
She's obliged to no one
The world does not owe anything to anybody
Yeah, yeah
Affirming the above statement
I'm coming to the edge of a rising ocean
Approaching the shore of an ever-growing sea
Such commotion and fear
So much chaos and anxiety
Keeping all our eyes on what's on the horizon
Focused on what's to come
And all that we hold dear
And all that we cherish deeply
Don't pretend you can't hear
Do not ignore the obvious
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Andrew Wegman Bird
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lorobinsonguerra472
I’m coming to the edge of the widest canyon
My companion's dear
I’m starting to question my manifest destiny
My claim to this frontier
I’m coming to the brink of a great disaster
End just has to be near
The earth spins faster, whistles right past you
Whispers death in your ear
Don’t pretend you can’t hear
Don’t pretend you can’t
I can hear your tendrils still digging
For everything that’s walked this earth once living
Then to be exhumed and burned to vapor
Can you save her?
Now she’s in the air
Radical and free
Neither here nor there
She’s obliged to no one
She’s obliged to no one
Yeah, yeah
I’m coming to the edge of a rising ocean
Such commotion and fear
Keeping all our eyes on what’s on the horizon
And all that we hold dear
I’m coming to the brink of a great disaster
End just has to be near
The Earth spins faster, whistles right past you
Whispers death in your ear
Don’t pretend you can’t hear
Don’t pretend you can’t
I can hear your tendrils still digging
For everything that’s walked this earth once living
Then to be exhumed and burned to vapor
Can you save her?
She’s in the air
Radical and free
Not a goddamn care
She’s obliged to no one
She’s obliged to no one
Oh, no
Don’t pretend you can’t hear
Don’t pretend you can’t hear
@trueanalogies587
The Brain - is wider than the Sky -
For - put them side by side -
The one the other will contain
With ease - and You - beside -
The Brain is deeper than the sea -
For - hold them - Blue to Blue -
The one the other will absorb -
As Sponges - Buckets - do -
The Brain is just the weight of God -
For - Heft them - Pound for Pound -
And they will differ - if they do -
As Syllable from Sound
- Emily Dickinson
@jasonlane74
I have been listening to this song a few times a day since last week. Yesterday my wife passed and this song became so much more significant. I will play at her services.
Now she’s in the air
radical and free
Neither here nor there
She’s obliged to no one
Rest well, babe.
@jack555jump
May she Rest In Peace my guy.
@saraarezes1317
Andrew would surely be very happy to know his song is helping you in such a difficult moment. Wish you tons of strength 🙏
@R---66---R
@Jason lane Strength
@natasgabel1672
Right as I saw this comment, those lyrics came up
@kusumah35
I'm so sorry for you, may your wife in peace
@ryanclear1460
I get angry when people claim that there is no good music today because there clearly is and they aren't looking hard enough
@ryanclear1460
@Enoch Richards No, that's where YouTube comes in, it's the medium. The baby boomer generation raped the music industry with greed.
@skankybannana8219
bruh
@kegsofvomitspit
Andrew is one of the first places I direct them.