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.
Unbroken
Birdy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When you're losing ground
Could you keep your head up?
Everything you once loved
Like your own blood
Comes crumbling down
Could you keep your head up?
Are more than any heart can take
We hurt, just keep it inside
Small wonder that it starts to break
Many moons will lighten the way
And sure this night will follow a day
And everything you once loved remains
Unbroken, unbroken
Could you find a daydream?
In the dead of night
Could you find a daydream
Keep a quiet victory
To a whisper
In an uphill fight
Could you keep your head up
Sometimes the tears we cry
Are more than any heart can take
We hurt, just keep it inside
Small wonder that it starts to break
Many moons will lighten the way
And sure this night will follow a day
And everything you once loved remains
Unbroken, unbroken
Everything you once loved lies unbroken
Many moons will light us
Many moons will guide us
Everything you once loved lies unbroken
Leave the past behind us
Leave the past behind us
Many moons will lighten the way
And sure this night will follow a day
And everything you once loved remains
Unbroken, unbroken, unbroken
Birdy's song "Unbroken" is a powerful ballad about perseverance and strength in the face of adversity. The recurring question in the song, "Could you keep your head up?", conveys the message that even when everything seems to be falling apart, staying strong and positive is crucial. The verse "sometimes the tears we cry are more than any heart can take" speaks to the idea that the pain we feel can be overwhelming, but we must learn to cope and find a way to keep moving forward.
The chorus provides a sense of hope, with the idea that "many moons will lighten the way" and eventually, everything we once loved remains "unbroken." This suggests that even though we may go through difficult times, we can still hold onto the things that matter, and they will endure. The mention of a "quiet victory" in the second verse suggests that even small successes can be meaningful in the midst of a struggle.
Overall, "Unbroken" is a moving and heartfelt song that speaks to the human experience of adversity and the importance of resilience.
Line by Line Meaning
Could you keep your head up?
Can you stay positive in difficult times?
When you're losing ground
When everything around you feels like it's falling apart
Everything you once loved
All the things that meant everything to you
Like your own blood
Are just as important as the blood in your veins
Comes crumbling down
Seems to be falling apart
Sometimes the tears we cry
Sometimes we carry so much pain that it feels unbearable
Are more than any heart can take
Cause emotional pain that can feel like it's physically breaking us apart
We hurt, just keep it inside
We bury our hurt and pain inside and don't talk about it
Small wonder that it starts to break
No surprise that this approach can cause us to feel broken
Could you find a daydream?
Can you find a place of hope and positivity amidst darkness?
Keep a quiet victory
Find strength in small successes and keep them to yourself
To a whisper
Don't let your hope and positivity be drowned out by negativity
In an uphill fight
Even when things are challenging
Everything you once loved remains
The things that you cherish still hold value
Unbroken, unbroken
They are still intact
Many moons will lighten the way
Time and patience can help us find clarity and healing
And sure this night will follow a day
No matter how tough things are, there will be better days to come
Leave the past behind us
Don't let past hurt hold us back
Everything you once loved lies unbroken
Our history and the things we hold dear are still important
Unbroken, unbroken, unbroken
And they can survive tough times, intact
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JASMINE LUCILLA ELISABETH VAN DEN BOGAERDE, SIMON JOHN ALDRED
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind