Ward was previously with the band Rodriguez, which included bassist Kyle Field (of Little Wings fame) and drummer Mike Funk. They recorded and released on cassette Box Plots and Cash Crops and then the album Swing Like a Metronome in 2000. Duet for Guitars #2 was released on Howe Gelb's Ow Om record label. Ward's 2001 album, End of Amnesia, was released by Future Farmer Records, and his subsequent albums have been released on Merge Records. A collection of live recordings, Live Music & the Voices of Strangers, was a self-released disc that was sold at his shows. His next album, Transfiguration of Vincent, was released in 2003, followed by Transistor Radio in 2005. A year later, Post War was released.
In 2006, he contributed a song to, and helped produce, the John Fahey tribute album, I Am the Resurrection. He also contributed the song "Transfiguration #1" from Transfiguration of Vincent to the Brushfire Records soundtrack for A Brokedown Melody, a Jack Johnson surfing film.
His album, Hold Time, was released in 2009. The album A Wasteland Companion followed in 2012. The album title alludes to T.S. Eliot's 1922 modernist poem, The Waste Land. In 2016, he released More Rain. On June 8, 2018, M. Ward released What a Wonderful Industry.
Side Projects
In 2008 M. Ward combined forces with Zooey Deschanel and became She & Him. They have released two albums so far, Volume One in 2008 and Volume Two in 2010. He is also one fourth of the folk supergroup, Monsters of Folk, alongside Jim James from My Morning Jacket, and Conor Oberst & Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes. Their self-titled release, Monsters of Folk, was released in 2009.
* Official website
Jailbird
M. Ward Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cause his cage is closed and he's stuck inside
Said who's gonna hear my "Help me, help me" now?
Yeah, who's gonna hear my "Help me, help me" now?
Help me, help me, help me help me now
Hangman, hangman, knocking on the door
Says heaven can't wait to have you no more
Help me, help me, help me, help me now
Yeah, who's gonna hear your "Help me, help me" now?
Help me, help me, help me, help me now
Better go find another best friend somehow
Help me, help me, help me, help me now
Help me, help me, help me, help me now
Angel, angel, coming for me now
On eagle's wings, down from the clouds
Save my soul before they lay my whole body down
Save my soul before they lay me whole body down
Help me, help me, help me, help me now
So there's nothing but skin and bones hiding under a dead man's clothes
Six feet deep in a black box underground
Help me, help me, help me, help me now
The lyrics to the song "Jailbird" by M. Ward speak of a person who is imprisoned and unable to escape. The first verse talks about the "jailbird" singing through the wires of his prison cell, seeking help from anyone who will listen. The second verse speaks of the "hangman" knocking on the door, indicating that the end is near and the person will soon be put to death. The repeated plea for help throughout the song emphasizes the desperation of the situation and the need for someone to hear and respond.
The third verse introduces the idea of an "angel" coming to save the person's soul before their physical body is buried. The urgency of the situation is heightened by the imagery of someone being buried alive, with nothing but "skin and bones hiding under a dead man's clothes." The repeated refrain of "help me now" throughout the song emphasizes the hopelessness of the situation and the need for someone to come to the person's rescue.
Overall, the lyrics to "Jailbird" are a powerful testament to the human desire for freedom and the need for help in times of desperation.
Line by Line Meaning
Jailbird, jailbird, singing through the wires
The inmate in jail is singing to someone hoping to be heard through the wires of the prison, expressing the entrapment of the situation.
Cause his cage is closed and he's stuck inside
The inmate feels restricted and restrained in his incarceration, where freedom is a far-fetched hope because he is trapped inside his cage.
Said who's gonna hear my 'Help me, help me' now?
The inmate's plea for help for a problematic situation has gone unanswered and unheard as he is incarcerated in prison.
Hangman, hangman, knocking on the door
Hangman represents the inescapable truth of mortality, implying that death is coming closer, bringing one closer to the inevitability of death.
Says heaven can't wait to have you no more
The hangman symbolizes the determination of the punishment that the inmate deserves, and heaven doesn't care to wait for his demise.
So who's gonna hear your 'Help me, help me' now?
Referencing back to the first line, it signifies the irony of the situation where even if the inmate cries for help, he won't receive a response because of the inevitability of death.
Better go find another best friend somehow
The hangman is a fitting analogy to represent the end of the friendship, where it signifies the finality of the relationship that is not negotiable.
Angel, angel, coming for me now
An angelic figure is coming to take the person's soul to heaven as the person has accepted his fate.
On eagle's wings, down from the clouds
The angel is metaphorically portrayed as descending from the heavens, taking the soul of the deceased away in the direction of the heavens.
Save my soul before they lay my whole body down
The song is acknowledging the futility of saving the physical body from death but praying that the spiritual part doesn't perish with it.
So there's nothing but skin and bones hiding under a dead man's clothes
The body of the deceased is reduced to bones after the organs are decomposed, signifying the insignificance of the physical body.
Six feet deep in a black box underground
The body is buried six feet under the ground in a coffin, where the body starts to decompose, returning back to the soil.
Help me, help me, help me, help me now
The phrase 'Help me' is a recurrent theme in the song, which highlights the realization of the futility of attempting to avoid an inevitable demise.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: M. WARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind