Heap grew up playing music from an early age, and by her eleventh birthday she was writing her own songs. From the age of 15, she studied at the BRIT School Of Performing Arts & Technology in Croydon, South London, recording three tracks for the school's annual CD between 1994 and 1995, "Aliens" being the title track of the latter.
After being introduced to Nik Kershaw by his manager Mickey Modern, Heap and Kershaw recorded four demos that Mickey Modern took to Rondor Music. Consequently, a few months later Heap signed her first record contract at 18 to independent record label Almo Sounds. During 1996, Heap began working with an experimental pop band called Acacia, which featured her future collaborator Guy Sigsworth and was fronted by the singer Alexander Nilere. While never a full member of the band, Heap was a guest vocalist (as a counterpart to Nilere) and contributed to various Acacia single and album tracks in 1997. One Acacia song, "Maddening Shroud", would later be covered by Frou Frou.
Heap enjoyed a prestigious live début, performing four songs (backed by friends Acacia) between sets by The Who and Eric Clapton at the 1996 Prince's Trust Concert in Hyde Park, London. Her début album, I Megaphone (an anagram of "Imogen Heap") was internationally released in 1998 on independent record label Almo Sounds and garnered critical acclaim. However, as production of the album neared completion, it was announced that the record label had been sold and would be shut down. I-Megaphone featured collaborations with Guy Sigsworth and Dave Stewart. In Japan, the regional distributor, Zora, re-released the album in 2002, featuring "Blanket," her collaboration with Urban Species which was released as a single in the United Kingdom, and a Frou Frou remix of one of her B-sides, a video to which was released exclusively to Japanese media. Following the disbanding of her UK and USA record label, I Megaphone was scarce in circulation, having not been re-printed until November 2006. An independent Brazillian record label has rights to the record, and has issued limited copies, some of which are available on eBay. It has also been released through the iTunes Music Store under the Almo label.
At the same time as the Japanese re-release, Heap was working on new tracks with producer Guy Sigsworth, who had collaborated on "Getting Scared" from I-Megaphone. Together, they formed an electro-pop group Frou Frou, releasing an album called "Details" and singles, "Breathe In", "It's Good To Be In Love" and "Must Be Dreaming." The album was a full collaboration between the two artists. Frou Frou were approached to cover "Holding Out for a Hero", originally performed by Bonnie Tyler, for the soundtrack to the highly successful movie Shrek 2. An album track, "Let Go", was featured in the movie Garden State in 2004.
In December 2003, Heap announced on her web site that she was going to write and produce her second solo album, using her site as an online blog to update fans on progress, even seeking them to be her A&R team for the lyrics to "Daylight Robbery". Heap set herself a deadline of one year to make the album (she booked the album mastering for December 2004), and re-mortgaged her flat to fund production costs, including the use of studio time and instruments (which she purchased as a birthday present to herself). Having been burned by previous challenges with record labels (Heap had been spurned twice by record companies, when Almo Sounds was sold and when Frou Frou's label staff focused on promoting other acts), Heap decided to form her own record label on which to release the new record. At the end of 2004, Heap premiered two album tracks online, enabling fans to pay for a digital download, entitled "Just For Now" (which was up for a limited time as a Christmas gift), and "Goodnight And Go", which had been featured on the second season of hit US TV drama The O.C.
In April 2005, The O.C. season two finale featured another track, the sparse vocodered-vocal track, "Hide And Seek". The track was released immediately to digital download services such as iTunes where it became an instant fixture in the chart. The track was released as a digital download on the 5th July 2005 in the UK and peaked at #8 on the iTunes download chart.
The album, entitled "Speak For Yourself" was then released in the UK on July 18th 2005 on her own record label, Megaphonic Records. The album was also released on iTunes UK, where it entered the top 10, selling strongly. "Hide And Seek" also received radio attention from the popular UK radio station BBC Radio One, with DJ Scott Mills featuring it as his "Record of the Week", and provoking strong reactions ("love it or hate it") from other DJs at the station. Due to popular demand, the track was commercially released on a special limited edition (1500 copies were printed) 7" vinyl in the UK in September. Speak For Yourself was licensed to Sony BMG imprint RCA Victor in August 2005, enabling the record to be released in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It was released in those territories in November, and Heap appeared on the Hotel Cafe Tour promoting the record. Imogen also performed "Goodnight And Go" on The Late Show with David Letterman on January 11, 2006. Heap is slated to continue touring in 2006 in the US and UK to support the record.
As well as TV soundtracks (Frou Frou and Heap's solo records have been featured in shows as varied as The O.C. to CSI, among others), Heap has also contributed solo tracks to movie soundtracks. Her cover of the song "Spooky" (made famous by the band Classics IV, and previously covered by Dusty Springfield) for the soundtrack to the Reese Witherspoon movie Just Like Heaven. Heap also wrote a special track entitled "Can't Take It In" for the soundtrack to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. She has also appeared on the second soundtrack for the HBO television series "Six Feet Under", entitled "Six Feet Under Vol. 2: Everything Ends" with a 50-second track that closed the Season 4 episode "I'm A Lonely Little Petunia (In An Onion Patch)". Three versions were recorded and are available from Heap's official web site.
In addition to producing her own records, she has also produced a track for Nik Kershaw and has collaborated with artists as diverse as Joshua Radin, Jeff Beck, Temposhark, LHB, Way Out West, Jon Bon Jovi, Mich Gerber, Sean Lennon, Urban Species, Blue October, Jon Hopkins and Acacia.
Heap's 2009 album 'Ellipse' features Canvas, Aha! and Half Life.
Sites: Twitter
www.imogenheap.com
Little Bird
Imogen Heap Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What do you hear?
The clink of morning cheers
Orange juice concentrate
Crossword puzzles start to grade
One across
Four letter word, it's just not sitting
Little bird, little bird, little bird
What do you see?
A picture perfect scene
Two toned lawns are manicured
The gardens wearing haute couture
It's hiding something
It's trying too hard
Hiding something
It's trying too hard
Little bird, little bird, little bird
Where are they now?
Day time TV lounge
A carriage clock, a mantle piece
A family wiped up, j cloth cleaned
Unsaid, festers in the throws of the sofa
Little bird, little bird, little bird
How are you feeling?
Like helping quarantine
Pearly whites, touch down smile
Haps and creases round the eyes
Tell tale, heart sail
We smell rats in the kitchen
Tell tale, heart sail
We smell rats in the kitchen
Little bird, little bird, little bird
What can we do?
A think tank think rescue
Simon says, etch a sketch
Send a golden message only he would get
Quickly now
'Cause this is not how it ends
Little bird, little bird, little bird
(Little bird, little bird, little bird)
Well I've got one more question
(Little bird, little bird, little bird)
And I swear I'll let it rest
Well I've just one more question
(Little bird, little bird, little bird)
And I swear I'll let it rest
One more question
I'll let it rest
I swear I'll let it rest
Got one more question
(And I swear I'll let it rest)
I've got one more question
Little bird, little bird, little bird
Where have you gone?
The song Little Bird by Imogen Heap is a beautiful, melancholic exploration of the absurdity and meaningless of modern life. The little bird that is addressed throughout the song represents a simpler, more natural existence, and serves as a contrast to the artificiality and emptiness of human society. In the first verse, the bird is asked what it hears, and the answer is "the clink of morning cheers," which suggests the noises of people going through the motions of their mundane routines, such as drinking orange juice and doing crossword puzzles. There is a sense of dissatisfaction in the song, as represented by the clue in the crossword puzzle that is "just not sitting."
In the second verse, the little bird is asked what it sees, and the answer is "a picture perfect scene." This refers to the superficial appearance of a flawless community, where the lawns and gardens are perfectly manicured, and everything seems to be in its place. However, the bird senses that there is something hidden beneath the surface, as represented by the line "it's trying too hard."
The final verse brings the song to a conclusion that is open to interpretation. The little bird is asked what can be done to solve the problems of the world, and the answer is "a think tank think rescue." This could be a call to action, a suggestion that there is still hope for the human race to overcome its superficiality and embrace a more natural and authentic way of living. Alternatively, it could be interpreted as a sarcastic comment on the futility of trying to change anything in a society that is so entrenched in its ways.
Line by Line Meaning
Little bird, little bird, little bird
What do you hear?
Asking the little bird If it hears a sound, such as the clink of morning cheers, orange juice concentrate being poured, or the pencil scratching across chatter crossword puzzles.
The clink of morning cheers
Orange juice concentrate
Crossword puzzles start to grade
One across
Four letter word, it's just not sitting
The scrapping sounds of glasses and utensils, while someone stirs orange juice concentrate, getting prepared for the day ahead. While at the same time someone is solving a crossword puzzle, but got a four-letter word wrong.
Little bird, little bird, little bird
What do you see?
A picture perfect scene
Two toned lawns are manicured
The gardens wearing haute couture
Asking the little bird what it sees, an image of perfect luxury house, with a garden manicured by experienced gardeners and fashionably designed to royalty standards.
It's hiding something
It's trying too hard
Hiding something
It's trying too hard
The little bird thinks that the perfect place it saw is hiding something and pretending to be more than it is.
Little bird, little bird, little bird
Where are they now?
Day time TV lounge
A carriage clock, a mantle piece
A family wiped up, j cloth cleaned
Unsaid, festers in the throws of the sofa
Asking the little bird where everything and everyone went, and the little bird sees a quiet living room with a fancy clock, where a family used to enjoy time together, now their presence is only visible through the j-cloth they cleaned with, but without any words from anyone.
Little bird, little bird, little bird
How are you feeling?
Like helping quarantine
Pearly whites, touch down smile
Haps and creases round the eyes
Tell tale, heart sail
We smell rats in the kitchen
Tell tale, heart sail
We smell rats in the kitchen
Asking the bird how it feels and the bird responds that it feels like helping with quarantine. The bird describes its smile as happy, but with small wrinkles around the eyes, possibly detecting some sort of deception nearby.
Little bird, little bird, little bird
What can we do?
A think tank think rescue
Simon says, etch a sketch
Send a golden message only he would get
Quickly now
'Cause this is not how it ends
Asking the bird what we can do, and the bird suggests we brainstorm and come up with a rescue plan. To make this work, we should send a private message to Simon with a secret message indicating what we came up with because this situation should not end the way it is right now.
Little bird, little bird, little bird
(Little bird, little bird, little bird)
Well I've got one more question
(Little bird, little bird, little bird)
And I swear I'll let it rest
Well I've just one more question
(Little bird, little bird, little bird)
And I swear I'll let it rest
Ending the song with the sense of urgency and a plea, asking the little bird one final question, ensuring that they will not bother anymore. But before, for one last time, the question is asked.
One more question
I'll let it rest
I swear I'll let it rest
Got one more question
(And I swear I'll let it rest)
I've got one more question
Emphasizing that this is the last question they will ask or want to ask, reassuring one last time, 'I swear I'll let it rest,' shows the intention behind the question.
Little bird, little bird, little bird
Where have you gone?
Asking the little bird where they went after observing all the unexpected things, the little bird takes in the situation and finally flies away.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: IMOGEN JENNIFER JANE HEAP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind