The band is named after a line in the BBC TV mini-series 'The Singing Detective', in which a character says that the word "elbow" is the most sensuous word in the English language (not due to its definition per se but due to how it feels to say it). Though the group came about in 1990, intially going by names such as 'Soft' and 'Mr. Soft', it wasn't until 'The Noisebox EP' came out on 1 January 1998 that they had a real release. Elbow started out specializing in "chilled funk", but the guys changed the direction of their music after unanimously deciding that they were "shit."
Their new songs picked up notice from both Island Records, but the band got dropped due to business shenanigans before anything actually came out post-singing. Elbow then released two critically acclaimed EP's on the independent Ugly Man Record label, starting with the aformentioned 'Noisebox EP'. Luckily, their work caught the attention of V2 Records.
V2 released Elbow's debut album: "Asleep In The Back." The album was a surprisingly moderate success, gaining substantial critical acclaim and, ultimately, a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize in 2001. The single "Newborn" received attention after being banned by Radio 1 for the lyric, "I'll be the corpse in your bathtub."
Word of mouth then began to work in Elbow's favor. Its 2003 album, "Cast Of Thousands," entered the UK Charts at #7 to critical acclaim. The lead single, "Fallen Angel," charted at #19.
In 2004, Elbow became the first British band to ever play a concert in Havana during an unofficial Cuban tour. The tour was made into a short film by British documentary maker Irshad Ashraf.
Elbow released its third album in 2005: "Leaders Of The Free World." Despite a continued lack of commercial notice, "Leaders Of The Free World" charted at #12, with its lead single, "Forget Myself" achieving #22 in the charts. That autumn, Elbow headlined the first of two sell-out tours.
March 17, 2008, saw the release of Elbow's fourth album, entitled "The Seldom Seen Kid." Released through Fiction, it entered the UK album chart at #5, and went on to win the 2008 Mercury Music Award. "The Fix," features guest vocals and lead guitar by Richard Hawley. April 2009 saw the release of The Seldom Seen Kid Live At Abbey Road, recorded with The BBC Concert Orchestra and Chantage. This album, recorded in Studio One of the world famous Abbey Road Studios on Saturday, January 17, 2008, is a complete run-through of the Mercury winning album. It features the band, a 52-piece orchestra, and a 20-member choir.
"Grounds for Divorce" was featured in VALVe Software game Left 4 Dead in 2008.
The band's fifth album Build A Rocket Boys! was released in the UK on March 14, 2011.
The First Steps Songfacts reports that Elbow was commissioned by the BBC to write a song for their coverage of the 2012 Olympics. The resulting tune is "First Steps". The full song lasts six and a half minutes, but it was written in such a way so that it could be divided into different minute or two long elements for use over both winning and losing footages.
In July 2015, Elbow released the Lost Worker Bee EP, which was soon followed by Guy Garvey's first solo album 'Courting the Squall' (Oct 2015).
Their seventh studio album, 'Little Fictions' was released on 3 February 2017, with Elbow's eighth studio album, 'Giants of All Sizes', released 2 years later on 11 October 2019.
Website: http://elbow.co.uk/
The Birds
Elbow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is it a plane?
Or is it a jettisoned beautiful warrior's soul
Blazing 'cross the sky on its way back home?
Is it a plane?
Or is it a jettisoned beautiful warrior's soul
Blazing 'cross the sky on its way back home?
Is it a plane?
Or is it a jettisoned beautiful warrior's soul
Blazing 'cross the sky on its way back home?
Is it a jettisoned beautiful warrior's soul
Blazing 'cross the sky on its way back home? Home?
In Elbow's song "The Birds," Guy Garvey seems to be contemplating the idea of death and what happens to a person's soul after they pass away. The repeated questioning of whether what is seen in the sky is a bird, a plane, or a jettisoned beautiful warrior's soul suggests a sense of confusion and wonder at the idea of the afterlife. The use of the word "jettisoned" suggests that the person's soul was forcefully thrown out or discarded, possibly by a traumatic event such as war. However, the idea of the soul being "beautiful" and "blazing 'cross the sky" speaks to a sense of hope or even triumph in the face of death.
The repetition of the same lines with slight variations also adds to the dreamlike and contemplative quality of the song. The melody is haunting and ethereal, evoking a sense of floating or drifting through the sky. The use of the word "home" in the final line suggests that the soul is returning to a place of comfort and familiarity, and perhaps also implies a sense of longing or nostalgia for a previous life.
Line by Line Meaning
Is it a bird?
Could the object in the sky possibly be a bird?
Is it a plane?
Could the object in the sky possibly be a plane?
Or is it a jettisoned beautiful warrior's soul
Or, perhaps, the object in the sky is a metaphorical representation of a beautiful warrior's soul, which has been jettisoned from its body, possibly after death.
Blazing 'cross the sky on its way back home?
The object, whether it be a bird, plane or soul, appears to be moving quickly across the sky, almost as if it is hurrying to get back to its rightful place or destiny.
Is it a jettisoned beautiful warrior's soul
Once again, the lyrics describe the possibility that the object in the sky is a metaphorical representation of a beautiful warrior's soul that has been discarded from its body.
Blazing 'cross the sky on its way back home?
The object continues on its path home, with the added detail that it is 'blazing' across the sky, potentially symbolizing the idea that the soul is burning brightly as it returns to where it belongs.
Is it a plane?
The earlier question is repeated, emphasizing the uncertainty surrounding the identity of the object in the sky.
Or is it a jettisoned beautiful warrior's soul
The metaphorical language returns here, further emphasizing the possibility that the object in the sky is not a plane, but rather a soul that has been separated from its body.
Blazing 'cross the sky on its way back home?
The repetition of this line once again reminds the listener that the object is moving quickly and with purpose towards its ultimate destination or purpose.
Is it a plane?
The final repetition of the initial question creates a sense of uncertainty and mystery around the identity of the object.
Or is it a jettisoned beautiful warrior's soul
The final statement provides the possibility that the object could be something much more meaningful and symbolic than a mere plane, invoking the image of a warrior's soul once again.
Blazing 'cross the sky on its way back home? Home?
The final line of the song emphasizes the idea of 'home,' suggesting that the object in the sky is returning to where it belongs, whether that be a physical location, a spiritual realm or something else entirely.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Craig Lee Potter, Guy Edward John Garvey, Mark Potter, Peter James Turner
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sidpheasant7585
Surprising how few of the comments here actually focus in on the lyrics, even as the 3 stages to the music are indeed very special - and a bit of a test of patience!
Rewarded.
Paradoxically, the chanted (rather unemotional) bit of the song overs the part that deals with the joys of youthful love, is returned to with renewed joy later, having been separated by the bit that Guy himself references as the old man (indeed the old him) in a care home, being told what is best for him.
As a birder for decades, I am obviously drawn to a song that puts birds front and centre, and indeed we here encapsulate the two sides to those creatures that even I can see. i would NEVER like a bird as a pet, as they seem very diminished in those surroundings, a bit smelly, a bit stupid even, and even an eagle in a cage looks smallish, though you would never say that when one flies over you!
Of course, a person being told to "come back inside" is also in some way caged - it's safe and familiar, maybe, but not what life is all about.
As the etymology makes clear "for the birds" is actually a reference to ... excrement, being based around the idea that birds peck at the latter to get residual food from it. By extension something "for the birds", is trivial, commonplace, pointless, fake and stupid - a very strong series of accusations.
"Chicken-feed" is not far from that on the trivial side of things.
The Bible in part follows this notion, with several references to the idea that birds might peck at our corpses when we die (which cannot be denied), but on the other hand, Jesus references the birds of the air as somehow low in the pecking order (that's a birdy phrase too), and yet still loved by God. He refers to sparrows in the same way - emphasising that they are cheap to buy, but still the fact of each death of a sparrow is noted by God. Sparrows specifically were of a species (brought to America from England) that thrived for as long as there WERE horses in NYC, and the muck they deposited on the streets...
The idea of lying in a grassy place and looking up at birds references swallows, swifts, kestrels and other birds of prey and is the core of "The Lark Ascending" as poem and Vaughan Williams music. It is also something referenced at the beginning in the immaculate wartime film "A Canterbury Tale". The British were prime shapers of grasslands out of forests, and downland and chalk grassland have a vast influence on us. They speak to us. Just behind the White Cliffs of Dover there is downland. It is where those white horses and other figures were carved in the chalk, and the skylark is or was an archetypal bird for us, until the pesticides of intensive farming came. Chalk grassland is artificial, but it supports a HUGE range and diversity of flowering species. British lawns and even sports pitches are the envy of the world, as grass flourishes in our climate, produding cows, and thus milk and Cheddar cheese and so on. Most countries have legends and folklore about forests, but we do open areas - marshes and grasslands, and we see the ancient forts in such places, and indeed Stonehenge too.
So there they lay in the grass, with the birds above them - indifferent, but also capable of delivering a million blessings (the most religious word in the song), and capable of carrying love in their tiny, racing hearts.
The bird that carries love is the dove - symbol of the Holy Spirit; but an ability to love Jesus was also attributed to the robin (and its red "blood-stained" breast). In other countries, storks carry the loving gift of babies. George Meredith's poem "The Lark Ascending" - which was sort of set to music by RVW - includes the lines: "For singing till his heaven fills, Tis love of earth that he instils, And ever winging up and up, our valley is his golden cup, and he the wine which overflows to lift us with him as he goes".
And so the singer looks back on his guilty, reckless relationship, full of beguiling moments but ending in dashed hopes. The sapling is the strong young tree meant to grow straight and fast, but it does not in this case...
And so to the flash-forward to old age, and the tendency of the old to repeat-tell their old tales - and the desire of "carers" to bring them back inside to a safe, controlled environment bereft of most emotion.
It seems very obvious who is right in this song and who is harsh and wrong...
But for me as Born Again, the punchline is paradoxically the strongest one, for I actually DO agree - looking back actually IS for the birds.
What the person looks back on here was great maybe, but IT CAME TO NOUGHT.
Nostalgia is a honey-trap and mostly worthless, or even dangerous.
The time is now.
@joannemaskall937
Guy Garvey and the rest of Elbow write such beautiful songs.
For me, their lyrics are like a trip down memory lane growing up in a Northern Town and I find much comfort from them.
Elbow are poets and the music behind those words makes memories come more alive.
Poet Laureate.
Xx
@Broomehall
Always liked Elbow as a sort of background music, their tunes catch you unawares occasionally, I was driving down to the West Coast of England last night and the evening pink sky and cloud formation was stunning, one of these Figi sunsets we rarely get, as I marveled at how perfect it was this came on the radio , perfect sunset matched by a perfect song, I found myself feeling a little overwhelmed by the beauty of both the setting sun and song in harmony ...... magnificent.
@andrewparkinson1332
starts like a monastic chant then EXPLODES with a passion that takes the breath away..thank god for Elbow saved my life so many times...literally
@cliffordburden3253
Music and poetry superbly orchestrated, perfectly paced and beautifully performed. Five minutes 40 seconds into this gem, Guy’s sublime vocal kindles goosebumps that last for the next soaring, spine-tingling 163 seconds. The power and beauty of this song remain undiminished after countless playings. I’ve seen Elbow twice in concert, this year and last, and can attest that music and life on planet Earth seem even more precious in their presence. Pure sonic therapeutic bliss by inspiring, talented, generous-spirited musicians performing at the height of their craft. Thank you.
@victoriacorcoran1258
A slow build to the beautiful spine tingling moment when we lift off to sheer bliss !
@rowanhiggins3376
Sat in the garden listening to the birds who are much louder and more beautiful in lockdown,thanks Mr Garvey et al,contemplating lost loves of various shades but in a happy way 👍💖
@orazoulay3192
This band is unbelievably amazing in studio versions and in live concerts. Blowing up my brain for years.
@andrewfallon3998
I've got ADHD so the urge to skip ANY song is overwhelming... The bit at 3:26 is genuinely worth the wait everytime. I sit grinning waiting for it to erupt. 😍
@DanielJacksonMusic
God, I remember listening to this so much in the car in the past, it’s the times you never forget
@chadandriowski9437
Love how the song builds toward the string entrance. Then the song just becomes epic.