Starling
Brave Saint Saturn Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Starling
Music and Lyrics by Reese Roper from album Anti-Meridian

Filthy bird laying in our yard,
Four chamber heart never beat so hard.
Dad said she was almost gone,
Upside down out on our lawn.
And I could hold her in a shoe box,
If she heals she could be mine.
And if I cannot save her spirit,
Dad says I should break her spine.
Shaking, brilliant, silver-black wings,
Jesus Christ, what prayers these tears sing.

Wear your hearts out on your sleeves for,
Starlings... starlings.
Of the least of all of these,
Are starlings... starlings.

Two years pass, I pump the chamber,
Full of air to shoot the birds.
Harmless game to hit them slightly,
Scare them off, in other words.
Starling falling to her death,
Piercing copper steals her breath.
See the flutter in her breast,
Starving babies in her nest.
Raise their souls up to the sky,
Why must helpless creatures die?

Wear your hearts out on your sleeves for,
Starlings... starlings.
Of the least of all of these,
Are starlings... starlings.

Every breath has sacred weight,
Every life has some design.
Can we kill and also save,




Speak life,
While digging graves?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Starling" by Brave Saint Saturn are a deep and intricate exploration of the meaning of life and death, and how humans interact with other living creatures. The song begins with a description of a poor starling, lying motionless in the yard, close to death. The singer of the song is moved to compassion and wants to save the bird, despite his father's suggestion to end its life if healing is not possible. He explains how the bird is beautiful, with "shaking, brilliant, silver-black wings" and how its tears sing a song of prayer. The initial lyrics are a poignant commentary on how we treat helpless creatures in our societies.


The singer then shifts his focus to the bigger picture, describing himself years later as a hunter who uses an airgun to "scare off" birds. However, this "harmless game" leads to the death of a starling that falls to its death, leaving behind starving babies in the nest. The singer questions why helpless creatures must die, and he raises their souls up to the sky.


The song concludes with a reflective refrain that asks us to think about the impact of our actions on other beings, no matter how small they may be. It calls us to wear our hearts on our sleeves and to speak life, even as we dig graves. The song is a haunting and powerful reminder of our impact on the natural world and a plea for humanity to seek greater compassion and understanding.


Line by Line Meaning

Filthy bird laying in our yard,
There's a dirty bird lying in the yard


Four chamber heart never beat so hard.
Its four-chambered heart is barely beating


Dad said she was almost gone,
Dad confirmed that she's nearly dead


Upside down out on our lawn.
It's lying upside down on the grass


And I could hold her in a shoe box,
It's small enough to fit in a shoebox


If she heals she could be mine.
If she recovers, she could be my pet


And if I cannot save her spirit,
If I can't save her, she'll die


Dad says I should break her spine.
Dad suggests breaking her spine to end her suffering


Shaking, brilliant, silver-black wings,
Its wings are shaking and they're silver-black in color


Jesus Christ, what prayers these tears sing.
What kind of prayers do our tears represent when seeing this?


Wear your hearts out on your sleeves for,
Show your emotions openly for


Starlings... starlings.
These small birds called starlings


Of the least of all of these,
Of all the small animals in the world


Are starlings... starlings.
Starlings are the least significant


Two years pass, I pump the chamber,
Two years later, I'm loading my gun


Full of air to shoot the birds.
I'm using air pressure to shoot the birds


Harmless game to hit them slightly,
It's just a harmless game to scare them off a bit


Scare them off, in other words.
I just want them to fly away, nothing more


Starling falling to her death,
A starling falls to its death


Piercing copper steals her breath.
A copper object punctures its body and kills it


See the flutter in her breast,
You can see her chest moving slightly


Starving babies in her nest.
Her babies are starving in their nest


Raise their souls up to the sky,
We pray for their souls to rise to heaven


Why must helpless creatures die?
Why do innocent creatures have to die?


Every breath has sacred weight,
Every breath is meaningful


Every life has some design.
Every life has a purpose


Can we kill and also save,
Can we take life and also preserve it?


Speak life,
Choose life-giving words


While digging graves?
Can we show respect for life while also causing death?




Lyrics © TUNECORE INC, TuneCore Inc.

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Comments from YouTube:

Chicken Skit

:D this song should have more views , i listen to this song alot on spotify

gina

I Love them † ♥

Bethany G

Gosh I forgot all about this band!

Tribal Blood

The most beautiful voice for an Incredibly heartfelt song. Pure Passion.

Eddy Benalal

Great song and album. I just bought it after listening it here

Ashley Davis

Love this song, but I think it could be better if Reese was a little more into it, and belted out a little more. He has such an amazing voice.