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.
The Sifters
Andrew Bird Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Moon plays the ocean like a violin
Pushing and pulling from shore to shore
Biggest melody you never heard before
What if I were the night sky
Here's my lullaby to leave by
What if we hadn't been born at the same time
Would I come visit you
Bring you cookies in an old folks home
Would you be there alone
And when the late summer lightning fires off in your arms
Will I remember to breathe no I never will
And if I could convince you that I mean you no harm
Just want to show you how not to need
What if I were the night sky
Here's my lullaby to leave by
What if we hadn't been each other at the same time
Would you tell me all the stories from when you were young and in your prime
Would I rock you to sleep
Would you tell all the secrets you don't need to keep
Would I still miss you
Or would you then have been mine
If sound is a wave like a wave on the ocean
Moon plays the ocean like a violin
In "The Sifters," Andrew Bird uses beautiful metaphors to describe the power of sound and the passing of time. The first verse compares sound waves to ocean waves, with the moon acting as the conductor of the waves. This beautiful imagery helps the listener to understand the transformative power of sound. The second verse grapples with the concept of time and what it means for people to meet each other at different ages. The lyrics describe a hypothetical scenario where Bird is a child and someone else is elderly. He imagines visiting them in a nursing home and offering comfort. The final lines of the verse describe the inevitability of death, with the vivid metaphor of late summer lightning firing off in someone's arms.
The chorus repeats the same phrase: "What if I were the night sky / Here's my lullaby to leave by." Here, Bird seems to be expressing a desire to offer comfort and provide a sense of peace to others. The idea of being the night sky suggests a sense of vastness and timelessness, something that could offer reassurance in the face of mortality.
Line by Line Meaning
If sound is a wave like a wave on the ocean
Comparing sound to a wave on the ocean
Moon plays the ocean like a violin
Describing the moon's effect on the ocean as a musical performance
Pushing and pulling from shore to shore
Describing the ebb and flow of the tide
Biggest melody you never heard before
The beauty of the ocean's music is often overlooked
What if I were the night sky
Pondering what it would be like to exist as the night sky
Here's my lullaby to leave by
Offering a peaceful goodbye to listeners
What if we hadn't been born at the same time
Wondering about the impact of different lifetimes
What if you were seventy five and I were nine
Extending the thought experiment to a specific scenario
Would I come visit you
Asking whether a relationship could exist across different generations
Bring you cookies in an old folks home
Imagining a simple gesture of love
Would you be there alone
Considering the loneliness of old age
And when the late summer lightning fires off in your arms
Describing the physical sensation of lightning
Will I remember to breathe no I never will
Feeling overwhelmed by the intensity of the moment
And if I could convince you that I mean you no harm
Addressing a potential fear or distrust
Just want to show you how not to need
Offering a selfless and supportive energy
What if we hadn't been each other at the same time
Returning to the theme of lifetimes and connections
Would you tell me all the stories from when you were young and in your prime
Asking for a glimpse into the past
Would I rock you to sleep
Offering care and comfort
Would you tell all the secrets you don't need to keep
Encouraging openness and honesty
Would I still miss you
Acknowledging the inevitability of loss
Or would you then have been mine
Contemplating the alternate path of fate
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Andrew Wegman Bird, Sharon Leigh Lanza
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind