In 1957 while still in high school, Tillotson was making records and performing on stage; as a student at the University of Florida, he had his own musical variety show on regional television. Following graduation in 1959 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Communications, he signed with Cadence Records and moved to New York City to pursue his music career. In 1960, he recorded his first hit, a composition entitled "Poetry in Motion" (written by Anthony/Kaufman), that went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and #1 on the UK Singles Chart.
A "crossover" artist, several of Tillotson's songs were successful on both the country music charts and pop charts. He earned a Grammy Award nomination for another of his own compositions, "It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin," and also for the song "Heartaches by the Number," nominated for Best Vocal Performance of 1965. He also appeared in the 1963 film "Just for Fun" and sang the theme song for the 1965 Sally Field television comedy "Gidget".
In a career spanning more than 40 years, Tillotson has recorded 26 singles that made it onto Billboard's charts, and performed at venues across the United States and other places around the globe.
He was featured in the 1966 camp comedy The Fat Spy starring Jayne Mansfield, Jack E. Leonard, Phyllis Diller, Brian Donlevy and Jordan Christopher & the Wild Ones. This film was featured in the 2004 documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made (#46).
Yellow Bird
Johnny Tillotson Lyrics
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Yellow bird you sit all alone like me
Did you lady friend leave the nest again
That is very sad makes me feel so bad
You can fly away in the sky away
You're more lucky than me
I also have a pretty girl she's not with me today
They make a nest then they fly away
Yellow bird way up in banana tree
Wish that I were a yellow bird I'd fly away with you
But I am not a yellow bird so here I sit got nothing I can do
Yellow bird way up in banana tree
(Yellow bird) you're more lucky than me
(Yellow bird) you're more lucky than me
(Yellow bird)
In Johnny Tillotson's classic song "Yellow Bird," the singer engages in a poignant conversation with a yellow bird sitting in a banana tree. The singer relates to the bird's loneliness and anguish as it watches its lady friend abandon their nest. The singer feels a deep sense of sympathy for the bird, as he too is alone without his "pretty girl" by his side. The bird, however, has one distinct advantage over the singer: it can "fly away in the sky," a luxury that the singer does not have.
The song is more than just a simple conversation between a man and a bird. It is a poignant tale about human relationships, loneliness, and the desire for freedom. The yellow bird serves as a metaphor for the singer's own predicament, and the bird's ability to fly away symbolizes the singer's yearning for freedom from his own emotional constraints. At the heart of the song is a message about the fleeting nature of human relationships; just as the bird's lady friend flew away, the singer's own "pretty girl" has left him, and he is left alone to ponder the meaning of it all.
Line by Line Meaning
Yellow bird way up in banana tree
Observation of a yellow bird sitting on the banana tree
Yellow bird you sit all alone like me
Sympathizing with the yellow bird about being alone
Did you lady friend leave the nest again
Asking if the yellow bird's mate has flown away from the nest
That is very sad makes me feel so bad
Expressing sadness for the yellow bird's solitude
You can fly away in the sky away
Acknowledging the yellow bird's freedom of flight
You're more lucky than me
Envy of the yellow bird's freedom compared to the singer's confinement
I also have a pretty girl she's not with me today
Revealing the singer's companion and her absence
They're all the same those pretty girls
Cynicism towards all pretty girls who fly away like the yellow bird's mate
They make a nest then they fly away
Echoing the sentiment of the previous line but emphasizing the heartbreak of abandonment
Wish that I were a yellow bird I'd fly away with you
Expressing the fervent desire for freedom symbolized by the yellow bird
But I am not a yellow bird so here I sit got nothing I can do
Helplessness and acceptance of the singer's own limitations in contrast to the yellow bird's liberty
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: IRVING BURGIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind