Comprising Philip Moore (vocals, guitar), Beth Tacular (accordion, vocals) and Mark Paulson (violin, vocals), their début album, Hymns for a Dark Horse (2007), was released on Burly Time Records, followed by their second album, Upper Air in July 2009 and album number three, The Clearing in March 2012.
Whereas the first two albums were recorded on the quick and the cheap, the songs sounding like "old, familiar campfire anthems sung by a couple clinging to very deep love". For the recording of The Clearing they had more time and better resources, making it a bigger sounding record, with bolder sounds, a broader scope, and more complicated songs. It was more than a third record for Bowerbirds. Between 2009 and 2012, Beth Tacular nearly died after a mysterious illness that put her in the hospital.
Beth and Phil even ended their long relationship but began it again after realizing that, despite their own shortcomings, they didn’t want to be with anyone else. Mostly, though, they returned to their cabin in the woods of North Carolina to nest—to make soup and walk dogs, to make art and write songs, to realize that this was their life and find contentment in it.
From 2012 to 2020, they did not release anything until the release of a string of digital singles in 2020 (they were compiled on Endless Chase: 20 Singles) and a long overdue new studio album, becalmyounglovers, in 2021.
In Our Talons
Bowerbirds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the sparrows sing: deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!
Through the wheels, through the wheels on the interstate,
And hear no refrain.
And the beetles creep (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!)
On the crippled trees, (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!)
And they look down to where the soil must have been, wondering.
And no, youre not alone. No, my cousins, youre not alone.
Youre in our talons now, and were never letting go.
And the branches bend (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!)
To the growing sea. (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!)
And they ask, and they ask it to spread their seeds,
For they know theyre drowning.
And no, youre not alone. No, my cousins, youre not alone.
Youre in our talons now, and were never letting go.
Youre in our headlights, frozen, and no, were not stopping.
You may not believe, but even we were scared at first.
It takes a lot of nerve to destroy this wondrous earth.
Were only human; this at least weve learned
The song "In Our Talons" by Bowerbirds paints a profound picture of the impact that humans have had on the environment. The song starts with the depiction of birds and insects singing and moving around amidst the noise of the interstate, where their harmonious tunes are silenced by the sound of roaring wheels. The repetition of "deet-deet-deet" represents the birds' call for help and the beetles' attempt to survive in a world that humans have destroyed.
The lyrics continue with a description of trees and branches bent to the growing sea. This metaphorical expression represents the struggling trees that are losing their grip on the earth, and they want their seeds to scatter so they can thrive again. The repetition of "no, my cousins, you're not alone" suggests that humans have a responsibility to not disregard the harm that others are experiencing.
The chorus, "You're in our talons now, and we're never letting go," shows how humans have taken control of the environment and are holding it captive, refusing to release it. The following line, "you're in our headlights, frozen, and no, we're not stopping," means that we cannot stop the impact we have on the earth. We need to take this responsibility and ensure that we don't destroy the environment entirely.
Line by Line Meaning
And the warblers sing: deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!
The warblers emit a series of high-pitched rhythmic sounds that could represent their joy or show the beauty while they sing.
And the sparrows sing: deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!
The sparrows join the warblers in the chorus and fill the atmosphere with their melodious voice.
Through the wheels, through the wheels on the interstate, And hear no refrain.
Even amidst the noise and bustle of the fast-moving modern life on the interstate highways, the birds continue to sing, and their enchanting voices remain unheard.
And the beetles creep (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!), On the crippled trees, (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!) And they look down to where the soil must have been, wondering.
The beetles are crawling on the lifeless trees and observe the barren earth where the soil once existed, and their curiosity and confusion are evident through their movements.
And no, youre not alone. No, my cousins, youre not alone. Youre in our talons now, and were never letting go.
The singer wants to assure the other creatures of the forest that they are together in this and are holding them in their talons, signifying that they won't let them down or leave them alone.
And the branches bend (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!) To the growing sea. (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!) And they ask, and they ask it to spread their seeds, For they know theyre drowning.
The branches of the trees droop down towards the expanding sea, which is slowly taking over the land. They are begging for their seeds to be dispersed, for they realise that they are slowly disappearing due to human intervention.
And no, youre not alone. No, my cousins, youre not alone. Youre in our talons now, and were never letting go. Youre in our headlights, frozen, and no, were not stopping.
The singer reminds that they are here to protect and support their fellow species, and they won't let them be victimised or disappear. However, humans continue to harm and destroy the environment, and the singer won't step back until they are stopped.
You may not believe, but even we were scared at first. It takes a lot of nerve to destroy this wondrous Earth. Were only human; this at least we've learned
The singer confesses that even they were frightened when they realised the impact humans have been having on the environment. The destructive tendencies of humans have shocked them, and they realise the amount of courage it takes to destroy such a miraculous planet. They admit that despite their power, they are only human, and they too feel helpless in trying to save the earth.
Contributed by Hannah M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@mothcereal4295
And the warblers sing: deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!
And the sparrows sing: deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!
Through the wheels, through the wheels on the interstate,
And hear no refrain.
And the beetles creep (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!)
On the crippled trees, (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!)
And they look down to where the soil must have been, wondering.
And no, youre not alone. No, my cousins, youre not alone.
Youre in our talons now, and were never letting go.
And the branches bend (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!)
To the growing sea. (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!)
And they ask, and they ask it to spread their seeds,
For they know theyre drowning.
And no, youre not alone. No, my cousins, youre not alone.
Youre in our talons now, and were never letting go.
Youre in our headlights, frozen, and no, were not stopping.
You may not believe, but even we were scared at first.
It takes a lot of nerve to destroy this wondrous earth.
Were only human; this at least weve learned
@syedraidarsalan4685
I'm convinced this is the most underrated song in the universe.
@yuimasan
I agree
@BargainChad
It's the perfect universal harmony
@mothcereal4295
And the warblers sing: deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!
And the sparrows sing: deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!
Through the wheels, through the wheels on the interstate,
And hear no refrain.
And the beetles creep (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!)
On the crippled trees, (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!)
And they look down to where the soil must have been, wondering.
And no, youre not alone. No, my cousins, youre not alone.
Youre in our talons now, and were never letting go.
And the branches bend (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!)
To the growing sea. (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!)
And they ask, and they ask it to spread their seeds,
For they know theyre drowning.
And no, youre not alone. No, my cousins, youre not alone.
Youre in our talons now, and were never letting go.
Youre in our headlights, frozen, and no, were not stopping.
You may not believe, but even we were scared at first.
It takes a lot of nerve to destroy this wondrous earth.
Were only human; this at least weve learned
@ethantaylor9613
I love songs like this that sound cheerful and happy but are deceptive with horrifying and sinister lyrics.
@livi4225
i feel no one understands the song ? it’s so deeply sad. it makes me cry. it’s almost like it is trying to cover the pain with the upbeat melody. it so beautiful. retrospective and mature, just lovely. for me it’s a soft teary hand holding goodbye song..
@asatanicmechanic
Same ❤
@SamHaynesMusic
Heard this on BBC radio 6 today. Absolutely amazing.
@mercedesl7222
beautiful song
@anancientmystery6418
2020 and we still loving it boiiis