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.
Nuthinduan Waltz
Andrew Bird Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And a dog with a nasal disease
I sit when it's breezing, my dogs always sneezing
I swear it's the voice of Louise
Why do you do when you don't have a clue
And the only thing doing is nothing at all
'Cept wait for night fall when the will of the wind has its way in the grass on a summer's day
And the rope ends that hung above layers of dung had little on all sides but air
In the buzzing dry wheat that wisps my bare feet, I step on my doggies despair
Why do you do when you don't have a clue
And the only thing doing is nothing at all
'Cept wait for night fall when the will of the wind has its way in the grass on a summer's day
I'm just an old yout, with a cane made of root
And a dog with a nasal disease
The lyrics to Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire's song "Nuthinduan Waltz" describe a simple, almost idyllic scene, with the singer portraying himself as an old man sitting in a field with his dog. He sings of the wind blowing through the grass, the sensation of the dry wheat brushing against his feet, and the sound of his sneezing dog. The lyrics convey a sense of contentment and acceptance, with the singer seemingly at peace with his surroundings and his own lot in life.
However, there is an undercurrent of melancholy and uncertainty running through the lyrics. The lines "Why do you do when you don't have a clue / And the only thing doing is nothing at all" suggest a sense of existential confusion, as if the singer is questioning the meaning and purpose of his existence. The mention of the "rope ends that hung above layers of dung" and the description of the dog's "despair" add a note of sadness and despair to the otherwise peaceful scene, hinting at the fragility and impermanence of life.
Overall, "Nuthinduan Waltz" is a poignant and evocative song that captures the bittersweet beauty of everyday life, with all its joys and sorrows. It is a meditation on the passage of time, the transience of existence, and the beauty that can be found in the simplest moments.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm just an old yout, with a cane made of root
I'm an aged man lacking direction, carrying a walking stick made of plant roots
And a dog with a nasal disease
Accompanied by a dog that constantly sneezes due to its respiratory problems
I sit when it's breezing, my dogs always sneezing
While sitting in the wind, my dog sneezes continuously
I swear it's the voice of Louise
I maintain that the sneeze of my dog is very similar to the voice of a person named Louise
Why do you do when you don't have a clue
What do you do when you are clueless
And the only thing doing is nothing at all
When there is nothing to be done
'Cept wait for night fall when the will of the wind has its way in the grass on a summer's day
The only thing left to do is to wait for nightfall and let the wind dictate the movement of the grass on a summer day
And the rope ends that hung above layers of dung had little on all sides but air
A rope dangling in a place filled with fecal matter only touched air on its periphery
In the buzzing dry wheat that wisps my bare feet, I step on my doggies despair
As I walk through the buzzing and arid wheat, my feet occasionally step on my dog's misery
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: ANDREW WEGMAN BIRD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind