Karen Carpenter's calm, often somber voice was the most distinctive element of their music, settling in perfectly amidst the precise, lush arrangements provided by her brother Richard. The duo's sound drew more from pre-rock pop than rock & roll, but that didn't prevent the Carpenters from appealing to a variety of audiences, particularly Top 40, easy listening, and adult contemporary. While their popularity declined during the latter half of the '70s, they remained one of the most distinctive and recognizable acts the decade produced.
The Carpenters formed in the late '60s in Downey, CA, after their family moved from their native New Haven, CT. Richard had played piano with a cocktail jazz trio in a handful of local Connecticut nightclubs. Once the family had moved to California, he began to study piano while he supported Karen in a trio that featured Wes Jacobs (tuba/bass). With Jacobs and Richard forming her backup band, Karen was signed to the local Californian record label Magic Lamp, who released two unsuccessful singles by the singer. The trio won a Battle of the Bands contest at the Hollywood Bowl in 1966, which led to a record contract with RCA. Signing under the name The Richard Carpenter Trio, the group cut four songs that were never released. Jacobs left the band at the beginning of 1968.
Following Jacobs' departure, the siblings formed Spectrum with Richard's college friend John Bettis. Spectrum fell apart by the end of the year, but the Carpenters continued performing as a duo. The pair recorded some demos at the house of Los Angeles session musician Joe Osborn; the tape was directed toward Herb Alpert, the head of A&M Records, who signed the duo to his record label in early 1969.
Offering, the Carpenters' first album, was released in November 1969. Neither Offering or the accompanying single, a cover of the Beatles' "Ticket to Ride," made a big impression. However, the Carpenters' fortunes changed with their second single, a version of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "(They Long to Be) Close to You." Taken from the album Close to You, the single became the group's first number one, spending four weeks on the top of the U.S. charts. "Close to You" became an international hit, beginning a five-year period where the duo was one of the most popular recording acts in the world. During that period the Carpenters won two Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist of 1970, and had an impressive string of Top Ten hits, including "Rainy Days and Mondays," "Superstar," "Hurting Each Other," "Goodbye to Love," "Yesterday Once More," and "Top of the World."
After 1975's number-four hit "Only Yesterday," the group's popularity began to decline. For the latter half of the '70s, the duo were plagued by personal problems. Richard had become addicted to prescription drugs; in 1978, he entered a recovery clinic, kicking his habit. Karen, meanwhile, became afflicted with anorexia nervosa, a disease she suffered from for the rest of her life. On top of their health problems, the group's singles had stopped reaching the Top Ten and by 1978, they weren't even reaching the Top 40. Consequently, Karen decided to pursue a solo career, recording a solo album in 1979 with Phil Ramone. The record was not completed at that time (though it would be released in 1996), and she returned to the Carpenters later that year. The reunited duo released their last album of new material, Made in America, in 1981. The album marked a commercial comeback, as "Touch Me When We're Dancing" made it to number 16 on the charts. However, Karen's health continued to decline, forcing the duo out of the spotlight. On February 4, 1983, Karen was found unconscious at her parents' home in Downey; she died in the hospital shortly after due to cardiac arrest, which was later due to the strain on her heart caused by years of crash dieting caused by anorexia nervosa.
After Karen's death, Richard Carpenter concentrated on production work and assembling various compilations of the Carpenters' recorded work. In 1987, he released a solo album called Time, which featured guest appearances by Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
from http://music.msn.com/artist/?artist=1607403&contenttype=artistsongs
Why Do Birds Suddenly Appear
Carpenters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everytime you are near?
Just like me they long to be
Close to you
Why do stars fall down from the sky
Everytime you walk by?
Just like me they long to be
On the day that you were born
The angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moondust in your hair of gold
And starlight in your eyes of blue
That is why all the girls in town (Girls in town)
Follow you (Follow you) all around (all around)
Just like me they long to be
Close to you
On the day that you were born
The angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moondust in your hair of gold
And starlight in your eyes of blue
That is why all the girls in town (Girls in town)
Follow you (Follow you) all around (All around)
Just like me they long to be
Close to you
Just like me (Just like me) they long to be
Close to you
Ah, ahahaha, close to you
Ah, ahahaha, close to you
Ah, ahahaha, close to you
Ah, ahahaha, close to you
The lyrics to "Why Do Birds Suddenly Appear" by Carpenters explore the feeling of love and attraction. The songwriter is using the metaphor of birds and stars falling from the sky to express the intense feeling they have when the person they love is near. The lyrics suggest that just like birds long to be close to their loved ones, the singer also longs to be close to the person they love.
The song also touches on the idea of destiny and fate. The lyrics describe how the angels got together on the day the person was born and decided to create a dream come true for them. This dream is represented by the sprinkling of moondust in their hair of gold and starlight in their eyes of blue. The song suggests that this person's destiny is to attract love and attention from everyone around them.
Overall, the song is a beautiful expression of love and attraction that uses metaphors of birds and stars to portray the intensity of the emotion.
Line by Line Meaning
Why do birds suddenly appear
The sight of you seems to attract birds, and I wonder why.
Everytime you are near?
Every time you are around me, I see birds appearing around you.
Just like me they long to be
Like me, the birds seem to be attracted to your presence and want to feel close to you.
Close to you
The birds seem to want to be near you, suggesting that there is something about your presence that draws them in.
Why do stars fall down from the sky
When you walk by, even the stars seem to be falling down from the sky.
Everytime you walk by?
Whenever you pass by, the stars seem to be moving closer to the Earth.
On the day that you were born
Something special happened on the day of your birth.
The angels got together
The angels must have been inspired to do something special on that day.
And decided to create a dream come true
They came up with an idea to create something magical and extraordinary.
So they sprinkled moondust in your hair of gold
As part of their divine plan, they sprinkled moondust in your hair of gold.
And starlight in your eyes of blue
They also added starlight to your blue eyes.
That is why all the girls in town (Girls in town)
Every girl in town must know about the magic of your birth.
Follow you (Follow you) all around (all around)
Girls seem to follow you everywhere you go.
Just like me they long to be
Like me, they are also drawn to your magical presence and want to be around you.
Ah, ahahaha, close to you
The desire to be close to you seems to be a recurring theme in this song, as everyone seems to be drawn to your magical presence.
Contributed by Jake F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@MarcoPolo-YogurtSlinger
Why do birds suddenly appear
Every time you are near?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
Why do stars fall down from the sky
Every time you walk by?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
On the day that you were born the angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold and starlight in your eyes of blue
That is why all the girls in town
Follow you all around
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
On the day that you were born the angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold and starlight in your eyes of blue
That is why all the girls in town
Follow you all around
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
Wa, close to you
Wa, close to you
Ha, close to you
La, close to you
@mybad398
This wasn’t on your home page, you searched for this.
@happyx202
Man that's the truth
@johannapupos6086
Hi! I hope you're doing fine. It's been a year since I joined youtube and my goal today is just to reach 500 subs. I also did a cover of this song. Hope you can eatch, comment and subscribe. Thanks :( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiEDU40lO5A
@ric4397
*your
@appik6981
It actually did!!! The pretty yellow thumbnail caught my eye- thank goodness it did
@peace-yo4no
Always been one golden song, good memories 💫
@newnanna
I send this song to my son every year on his birthday, he is 49 today
@joeboy7790
Beautiful. Hope he had a great day 😊
@lynnronan8274
I use to sing to my son when I rocked him to sleep as a baby.
@3A7A
How are you alive?
I think god is by your side all the time. 🙏🙏🙏