Chuck Jackson (born Charles Jackson in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on 22… Read Full Bio ↴Chuck Jackson (born Charles Jackson in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on 22 July 1937; died 16 February 2023) was an American soul and r 'n' b singer who was one of the first artists to have success with material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and whose hits included "I Don't Want to Cry", "Any Day Now", "I Keep Forgettin'", and "All Over the World". On 4 October 2015, Chuck Jackson was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame.

Jackson startd out as a gospel singer in The Raspberry Singers. He was in the Dell-Vikings from 1957 to 1959.

After recording as Charles Jackson for the Clock label in 1959 he signed with Wand Records in 1961. He was immediately successful with his first single I Don't Want To Cry which reached No. 5 R&B, No. 36 Pop in the USA. He was with Wand through most of the sixties, scoring several R&B and Pop hits. In 1969 he moved to Motown but didn't do so well there. He continued to record throughout the seventies for labels like ABC, All Platinum and EMI America, scoring his last R&B hit in 1980.

Although never hugely successful his soulful voice resulted in 23 R&B top 100 singles in the USA and the same number of US Pop 100 hits over the course of 20 years.

Several of Jackson's songs later became hits for other artists including Ronnie Milsap, whose 1982 cover version of "Any Day Now" reached No. 1 on the Country and Adult Contemporary charts. Michael McDonald covered "I Keep Forgettin'" with much success. "I Keep Forgettin'" was also covered by David Bowie on his album "Tonight".

On 4 October 2015, Chuck Jackson was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame.

Any Day Now My Wild Beautiful Bird
Chuck Jackson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Any day now
I will hear you say "goodbye, my love" (ooh)
And you'll be on your way (ahh)
Then my wild beautiful bird (ooh)
You will have flown, oh
Any day now
I'll be all alone, whoa-whoa
Any day now (ooh)

When your restless eyes meet someone new (ahh)
Oh, to my sad surprise
Then the blue shadows will fall all over town, oh (ooh)
Any day now
Love will let me down, whoa

Oh, my wild beautiful bird (ooh)
You will have flown, oh
Any day now
I'll be all alone

I know I shouldn't want to keep you
If you don't want to stay (ooh)
Until you gone forever
I'll be holding on for dear life (dun-dun, dun-dun, dun-dun)
Holding you this way
Begging you to stay (ooh)

Any day now
When the clock strikes "go"
You'll call it off (ahh)
And then my tears will flow
Then the blue shadows will fall all over town, oh (ooh)
Any day now
Love will let me down
'Cause you won't be around

Don't fly away
My beautiful bird
Don't, don't fly away, don't

Overall Meaning

Chuck Jackson's song "Any Day Now My Wild Beautiful Bird" is a heart-wrenching ballad about the fear and anxiety of losing someone you love. The lyrics suggest that the singer knows his lover is going to leave him, but he can't bear to let go. He waits anxiously for the moment when she'll say goodbye and fly away, leaving him alone and heartbroken.

In the first verse, the singer foreshadows that his lover will soon say goodbye and leave him. He refers to her as his "wild, beautiful bird," which suggests that she is free-spirited and independent. He knows that she can't be tied down and that it's only a matter of time before she flies away. The second verse suggests that the singer is aware that his lover is already starting to look for someone new, and he feels deeply sad and betrayed.

The chorus repeats the theme of the song's title and emphasizes that the singer feels helpless to stop his lover from leaving. He is begging her not to fly away, but he knows that it's inevitable. The last verse is particularly poignant, as the singer acknowledges that his lover will soon be gone forever, but he can't resist holding onto her and begging her to stay.

Line by Line Meaning

Any day now I will hear you say goodbye, my love
I know that soon you will leave me forever

And you'll be on your way
You will leave this place and move on

Then my wild beautiful bird, you will have flown, oh
Once you leave, I will lose all that I hold dear

Any day now I'll be all alone, whoa-oa-oa-oa-oa
I will face the world without you by my side, and that thought scares me

Any day now, when your restless eyes meet someone new
I fear the day when you find someone else to love

Oh, to my sad surprise
It will come as a shock to me, but I have to accept it

Then the blue shadows will fall all over town, oh
The world will turn gray without you here

Any day now love will let me down, whoa oh oh oh
I know that my heart will break when you leave

Oh my wild beautiful bird, you will have flown, oh
Once you leave, I will lose all that I hold dear

Any day now I'll be all alone
I will face the world without you by my side, and that thought scares me

I know I shouldn't want to keep you
I understand that I cannot force you to stay with me

If you don't want to stay-ay
I know that if you want to leave, you will

Until you go forever
As long as you are here, I will cherish our time together

I'll be holding on for dear life
I will hold onto you as tightly as I can

Holding you this way
I do not want to let you go

Begging you to stay
I am begging you to not leave me

Any day now when the clock strikes go
I fear that you will leave me at any moment

You'll call it off
You will end our relationship

And then my tears will flow
I will cry when you leave

Don't fly away, my beautiful bird
I am pleading with you to not leave me

Don't, don't fly away
I do not want to lose you

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Bob Hilliard, Burt Bacharach

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS