Birds of Prey
Christina Aguilera Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Suddenly lost inside a fantasy
Everything not quite what it seems to be
Slipping and falling through the looking glass
Catching a glimpse at all that lies behind the masks

You disappear with the dawn
You only see what you want
When you're out with the birds of prey (prey, prey, prey)
When you're out with the birds of prey

They watch and they feed
They take what they need
They bite as you bleed
The birds of prey

Taking the blue pill only made you cry
And all that the red pill did was make you forget why
There is no right, there's no wrong
You only see what you want

When you're out with the birds of prey

They watch and they feed
They take what they need
They bite as you bleed
The birds of prey

They watch and they feed
They take what they need
They bite as you bleed
The birds of prey

They watch and they feed
They take what they need
They bite as you bleed
The birds of prey

They watch and they feed
They take what they need
They bite as you bleed
The birds of prey

You disappear with the dawn
You only see what you want
There is no right, there's no wrong
You only see what you want

When you're out with the birds of prey
When you're out with the birds of prey
When you're out with the birds of prey




When you're out with the birds of prey
When you're out with the birds of prey

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Christina Aguilera's "Birds of Prey" speak about the illusory nature of reality and the paradox of choice. The song portrays a world where things are not what they seem, and where people wear masks to hide their true selves. It is a world where people are constantly slipping and falling, losing themselves to their fantasies.


The lyrics "You only see what you want" suggest that there is a danger in only seeing the surface of things, because there could be something more sinister lurking beneath. The metaphor of birds of prey is used to describe people who watch and prey on others for their own benefit. The chorus "They watch and they feed, they take what they need, they bite as you bleed, the birds of prey" implies that these people are dangerous and will stop at nothing to get what they want.


The lines "Taking the blue pill only made you cry, and all that the red pill did was make you forget why" are a reference to the movie The Matrix, in which the main character is given the choice between taking a blue pill, which will keep him in the false reality he has always known, or taking a red pill, which will awaken him to the truth. The song suggests that neither choice is good because either way, you are not seeing the whole picture.


Line by Line Meaning

Suddenly lost inside a fantasy
Feeling confused and disoriented as reality becomes distorted


Everything not quite what it seems to be
Uncertainty and doubt are present due to the misrepresentation of truth


Slipping and falling through the looking glass
Falling deeper into the illusion and struggling to escape


Catching a glimpse at all that lies behind the masks
Seeing the truth behind the façade and realizing the deception


You disappear with the dawn
The truth becomes obscured and unclear as time passes


You only see what you want
Reality becomes shaped by personal desires and biases


When you're out with the birds of prey (prey, prey, prey)
When surrounded by people who take advantage of others and have no regard for their well-being


They watch and they feed
They carefully observe their prey and exploit their weaknesses


They take what they need
They seize opportunities and use others to satisfy their own needs


They bite as you bleed
They cause pain and harm others to advance their own goals


Taking the blue pill only made you cry
Choosing to ignore the truth hurts and can bring emotional pain


And all that the red pill did was make you forget why
Realizing the deception can lead to confusion and loss of purpose


There is no right, there's no wrong
Moral ambiguity exists, and what is accepted as truth is subjective


When you're out with the birds of prey
Being surrounded by those who exploit and harm others




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CHRISTINA AGUILERA, MIRA AROYO, DANIEL HUNT, HELEN LINSAY MARNIE, REUBEN HOONG BUN WU, CATHY DENNIS

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

More Versions