After she won the Under 18s category of the UK talent contest Open Mic UK at the age of 12, Bogaerde was soon offered a publishing contract by Good Soldier Songs Ltd, run by Christian Tattersfield, chairman of Warner Music UK. In 2011, at the age of 14, she released a haunting cover version of the Bon Iver "Skinny Love", which reached #17 on the UK Singles Chart. The track was later featured in an episode of The Vampire Diaries.
Her self-titled debut album, "Birdy", was released on 4th November, 2011 and featured "Skinny Love" , "1901" and "People Help The People", other notable tracks from the album include James Taylor's" Fire and Rain" and “Terrible Love” The album reached #1 in Australia, Belgium and The Netherlands, it also peaked at #13 in the UK.
In 2011, "Skinny Love" sold 259,000 copies in the UK becoming the third biggest selling rock single of that year. As of August 2016, the song had sold almost 800,000 copies in the UK.
In 2012, Birdy released an 8 track EP " Live in London “ which featured several tracks from her debut album plus a version of the Ed Sheeran song "The A Team “and "Just a Game from “The Hunger Games”
In July 2013 Birdy announced via YouTube, that her 2nd album would be released later in the year. She also previewed two new songs "Wings "and "No Angel" which would both be featured on her second studio album "Fire Within"
Her second studio album, "Fire Within" was released 23rd September, 2013. It featured 11 original songs, either written or co written by Birdy including Strange Birds, co-written with Sia.
The first single from the album was “Wings” released as a digital download then officially released in the UK on 8th September 2013. The song reached #8 on the UK charts, becoming Birdy’s first UK top 10. It was also featured in an episode of The Vampire Diaries. Subsequent singles were “No Angel”, Light Me Up” and “Words as Weapons”
In 2014, Birdy submitted three songs to the soundtrack of the film “The Fault In Our Stars” which stars “Shailene Woodley” and “Ansel Elgort”. “Not About Angels” was the second released single from the soundtrack album. Other Birdy contributions were “ Tee Shirt" and “ Best Shot"
On 25th March 2016, Birdy's third album "Beautiful Lies" was released, it featured the singles, "Keeping Your Head Up" ,"Wild Horses" and "Words" Once again her songwriting abilities were evident as she wrote or co wrote all of the 14 tracks.
Also in 2016 she was featured on the "Sigma" single " Find Me which was only a minor success in the UK.
Her song Ghost In The Wind" also appeared on the soundtrack of the film The Edge Of Seventeen
After an extensive tour of USA and Asia, she took a break from music, only to return with a new single called “ Open Your Heart" in 2020. The song was featured on the 4 track EP called “Piano Sketches”
Birdy’s fourth studio album “Young Heart” was then released on 30th April 2021, the first single “ Surrender” was issued earlier in 2021, a day after she had announced that her new album was coming. Birdy described the album as a heartbreak album heavily inspired by Joni Mitchell’s “Blue”
2023 saw the release of Birdy's fifth studio album “Portraits” It was released on 18th August 2023. “Raincatchers” was issued as the first single, which had been released earlier in 2023. Subsequent singles from the album have since followed, “Heartbreaker”, “Your Arms” and “Paradise Calling”
Birdy's music is described as folk, pop, indie folk. She cites her early music influences as Classical Music and Pop music that her parents would play. along with her own influences, which are so evident in her music(Bon Iver, George Michael and Keane)
Album Discography:
Birdy (2011)
Fire Within (2013)
Beautiful Lies (2016)
Young Heart (2021)
Portraits (2023)
Sites: Discogs, Wikipedia and YouTube.
Growing Pains
Birdy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you don't make my heart beat like you used to
I've been waiting for a sign, you've been turning on your light
We could save each other for the better
And when you say my name I'll be a memory
This is all that we have planned, choices taken from our hands
My mind is a runaway
And I'll find it's too hard to breathe
Just say what you want to say
Are you there?
Tell me, are you there?
I fear these growing pains
That made us far too strong
Do change if you want to change
Are you there?
Tell me, are you there?
You could lose yourself and search forever
Looking for the person that you'll never be
Breathe in, try to compensate, time to learn from our mistakes
Maybe one day we'll fit back together
I'll pick up the pieces and will rearrange
Now we need to follow fate, now we look beyond the way
Now we find the strangers and the lone
My mind is a runaway
And I'll find it's too hard to breathe
Just say what you want to say
Are you there?
Tell me, are you there?
I fear these growing pains
That made us far too strong
Do change if you want to change
Are you there?
Tell me, are you there?
We've been changing into something more
Familiar faces turning into storm
These growing pains have made us far too strong
We move along, we move along
I'll find it's too hard to breathe
Say what you want to say
Are you there?
Tell me, are you there?
My mind is a runaway
And I'll find it's too hard to breathe
Just say what you want to say
Are you there?
Tell me, are you there?
I fear these growing pains
That made us far too strong
Do change if you want to change
Are you there?
Tell me, are you there?
My mind is a runaway
And I'll find it's too hard to breathe
Just say what you want to say
Are you there?
Tell me, are you there?
I fear these growing pains
That made us far too strong
Do change if you want to change
Are you there?
Tell me, are you there?
The verses of Birdy's "Growing Pains" speak of a relationship that has lost its spark and is on the verge of falling apart. The opening line sets the tone of the song, comparing the emotional turmoil of changing feelings to the unpredictability of the weather. The singer is waiting for some kind of sign from her partner, while he remains distant and indifferent. The chorus, then, is the plea of the singer for her partner's attention and validation. She talks about fear and the growing pains she is feeling from the relationship. And how that growing pain has made them far too strong.
The bridge of the song acknowledges that change is inevitable as the two people change into someone new, sometimes into a new life. They need to learn from their past mistakes and continue to move forward. In the end, their love was not enough, and they find themselves estranged from each other, but in a way that has made them stronger, though the growing pains were not easy to handle.
The song appears to be describing a relationship in the process of falling apart, with two people who are growing apart and struggling to keep up with these changes. It speaks of the fear of change, the fear of losing someone, and the fear of becoming someone different.
Line by Line Meaning
Try to change your mind, it's like the weather
It's not easy to change your mind, it's as unpredictable as the weather.
And you don't make my heart beat like you used to
Your behavior has changed and it's not as endearing to me as it once was.
I've been waiting for a sign, you've been turning on your light
I've been patiently waiting for a sign of your interest, but you seem to be sending mixed signals.
We could save each other for the better
Together we could improve our lives.
And when you say my name I'll be a memory
If you leave me or forget about me, I'll only exist in your memory.
This is all that we have planned, choices taken from our hands
We didn't choose to feel this way, it just happened and we have no control over it.
Finally this fades to stand alone
Our relationship is coming to an end and we'll have to face being alone.
You could lose yourself and search forever
You could lose yourself searching for something that doesn't exist.
Looking for the person that you'll never be
You're looking for a version of yourself that you can never truly become.
Breathe in, try to compensate, time to learn from our mistakes
Take a deep breath, try to make up for our past mistakes and learn from them.
Maybe one day we'll fit back together
Perhaps one day we'll be able to come back together and fix what's broken.
I'll pick up the pieces and will rearrange
I'll try to fix the things that are broken between us and make them fit again.
Now we need to follow fate, now we look beyond the way
We need to let fate guide us and focus on what's ahead.
Now we find the strangers and the lone
Now we're alone and surrounded by strangers.
We've been changing into something more
We've both been changing and evolving into something different.
Familiar faces turning into storm
People we thought we knew well have become unpredictable and turbulent.
These growing pains have made us far too strong
Our struggles and challenges have made us stronger than we thought possible.
We move along, we move along
We keep moving forward despite the obstacles in our path.
My mind is a runaway
My thoughts are out of control and hard to manage.
And I'll find it's too hard to breathe
I'm struggling to catch my breath and feel overwhelmed.
Just say what you want to say
Speak your mind honestly and openly.
Are you there?
Do you hear me?
I fear these growing pains
I'm afraid of the challenges and changes we're facing.
Do change if you want to change
If you want to make changes, go ahead and do it.
Tell me, are you there?
Do you understand me?
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JASMINE LUCILLA ELISABETH VAN DEN BOGAERDE, SAM ROMANS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind