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.
Spare-Ohs
Andrew Bird Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What remains of the small flightless birds that you failed to protect
But the yoke isn't easy, in fact it's a drag
Acid blown to cornfields and mountains of rice
All over the suburbs, across the great lawns
And they're crop dusting gardens all over this town
But nobody cares when it gets in their hair
It gets in the food that they buy and prepare
But nobody cares when it gets in their hair
Across the great chasms and the schisms and the sudden aneurysms
Where the black ink will drip across the crespice of your eyes
And your teeth are worth more than you can spare
Oh, don't tell me that it just isn't fair
Don't speak about the cycles of life
'Cause your thoughts are so soft
I could cut 'em with a spork or a bride's knife
And the wine made our minds too loose
A reckless choice of words
And you tell me that I'm too abstruse
I just thought I was a kind of bird
I swear I just stood there not saying a word
Not saying a word, not saying a word
The opening two lines of Andrew Bird's "Spare-Ohs" evokes a poignant image of nature being encroached upon by urbanity, parallel to the way people often feel the constraints of modern daily life. The finches and sparrows in the chimney represent animals struggling to survive in a world designed for humans. Then, the singer laments about us, humans, not caring about the harmful effects of progress and industry, "It gets in their lungs as it floats through the air, It gets in the food that they buy and prepare, But nobody cares when it gets in their hair."
The song's lyrics attach the polluted world to our choices: "And the wine made our minds too loose, A reckless choice of words, And you tell me that I'm too abstruse, I just thought I was a kind of bird, I swear I just stood there not saying a word." Andrew Bird laments that people have become so disconnected from reality that they do not even recognize how the world around them infects their lives. He expresses how we all have opportunities to avoid these mistakes, but we often fail to see them coming or take them seriously.
Line by Line Meaning
The finches and sparrows build nests in my chimney
Small birds, which you failed to protect, have made their homes in your chimney
But the yoke isn't easy, in fact it's a drag
Living with the burden of your actions is heavy and difficult
Acid blown to cornfields and mountains of rice
The environment is being harmed by the use of acid in agriculture
All over the suburbs, across the great lawns
The damage is happening in both urban and rural areas
And they're crop dusting gardens all over this town
Gardens are being polluted with agricultural chemicals in this town
But nobody cares when it gets in their hair
People are not concerned about the harm that is being done to the environment and their health
It gets in their lungs as it floats through the air
The pollutants are affecting people's respiratory systems
It gets in the food that they buy and prepare
Food is being contaminated with chemicals
Across the great chasms and the schisms and the sudden aneurysms
The harm is widespread and affecting many different areas
Where the black ink will drip across the crespice of your eyes
The pollution will blur your vision and taint your perception of the world
And your teeth are worth more than you can spare
The cost of healthcare for dental care is expensive and not everyone can afford it
Oh, don't tell me that it just isn't fair
Don't try to justify the harm being done to the environment and people's health
Don't speak about the cycles of life
Don't use the natural cycle of life as an excuse for humans harming the environment
'Cause your thoughts are so soft
Your thinking is too optimistic and doesn't acknowledge the harsh reality
I could cut 'em with a spork or a bride's knife
Your thinking is so fragile that it could be easily broken
And the wine made our minds too loose
Alcohol has made you and I more relaxed and uninhibited
A reckless choice of words
We may have said things that were inappropriate or insensitive
And you tell me that I'm too abstruse
You think I'm being too vague or difficult to understand
I just thought I was a kind of bird
I thought I could fly away from this reality and its problems like a bird
I swear I just stood there not saying a word
I didn't know what to say in response to the harsh realities we face
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: ANDREW WEGMAN BIRD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind