Enan's debut album, Plainsong, was released independently 2009 and was named in Paste Magazine's "Eight Criminally Underrated Albums From 2009" list.
’Her forlorn, hyperromantic lyrics are what you’d expect from a girl who reads Shakespeare’
-Rolling Stone (October 2006)
In 2006, while demoing songs for the record, Enan began receiving worldwide attention after her track 'Bring On The Wonder' featuring Sarah McLachlan, appeared on the second season of the Fox show Bones. The song was also featured on the shows soundtrack two years later. It took another 6 months to wrap up the record proper which features a remix of Bring on the Wonder along with nine other tracks.
After moving to Liverpool to study music, Enan began playing the local singer songwriter scene. It was during these years she discovered a love for film scores and the simple, yet intelligent, folk songs of Woody Guthrie. 'What I liked about Woody Guthrie was the reason he wrote and how that informed his writing style. It had to be simple so the political songs could be easily remembered for the sake of the cause, yet the songs where also very smart. I love that combination in art: simplicity that goes right to the soul but doesn't have to bypass the brain on the way.'
After leaving Liverpool she moved to Northern Ireland and continued to write and record a few small EPs released locally (the first being "Inside" in 1998), but it was the 'Moonlight' EP (2003) which began to get more attention internationally. It led to an opening slot on a three month US tour with Ohio based band 'Over the Rhine' which in turn led to a signing with Nettwerk Management and a move to New York in 2005. By this time, she had all the songs that would become her debut "Plainsong" but finishing the record was still a way off.
The self-produced debut was recorded in five different countries, much of it in Enan's small home studio in Brooklyn. It was finally released in July 2009 and features co-production from Alan Bezozi, musical appearances from Ashwin Sood (drums), Steve Schiltz (guitars), Graham Maby (bass), and vocal appearances from Declan O'Rouke and Sarah McLachlan. It was mixed in London by Alan Branch and mastered by Jon Astley.
www.susanenan.com
Bird
Susan Enan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bird on the roadside
Didn't see the headlights
Fell down from the sky
And settled here
No more songs to sing
The silence is deafening
I should've seen it coming
My sworn enemy
Has his eye on me
So I keep my eye on him
Through the minor chords
I am blind towards
The car he travels in
Chorus
Bird on the roadside
Didn't see the headlights
Fell down from the sky
And settled here
No more songs to sing
The silence is deafening
I should've seen it coming
So I make no vows
That curves my pillow now
As my body grows away
Will you sing your songs?
Will you still fly on
Far above my resting place?
Chorus
Bird on the roadside
Didn't see the headlights
Fell down from the sky
And settled here
No more songs to sing
The silence is deafening
I should've seen it coming
Bird on the roadside
Blue, black and white
Didn't see the headlights
And settled here
No more songs to sing
The silence is deafening
The song "Bird" is a tribute to life's fleeting nature and the inevitable arrival of death. The opening chorus introduces the bird, who has crashed and settled on the roadside after not noticing the headlights. The bird is left without a voice, representing the finality of death, and the silence as deafening. The singer feels like they should have anticipated the bird's fate, foreshadowing their own eventual end. The following verse introduces the singer's sworn enemy, who they keep their eye on as they travel in a car with minor chords. These chords symbolize negativity and sadness, alluding to the enemy bringing darkness into the singer's life. The second chorus brings us back to the bird, asking if it will continue to sing and fly far above the singer's resting place.
The final chorus brings the song to a close, describing the bird as blue, black, and white. These colors represent calmness, darkness, and purity, respectively, all blending together and symbolizing the complexity and temporality of life. The silence remains deafening, resonating with the listener and emphasizing the finality of death.
Line by Line Meaning
Bird on the roadside
A bird is sitting on the side of the road
Didn't see the headlights
The bird did not see the headlights of an oncoming car
Fell down from the sky
As a result, the bird fell from the sky
And settled here
The bird has now found a place to rest on the ground
No more songs to sing
The bird cannot sing anymore due to its injury
The silence is deafening
The absence of the bird's singing is very noticeable
I should've seen it coming
The singer regrets not being more aware of potential danger
My sworn enemy
The singer has an enemy that they actively oppose
Has his eye on me
The enemy is watching the singer
So I keep my eye on him
The singer is watching the enemy back
Through the minor chords
The singer is feeling sad
I am blind towards
The singer is unable to see the enemy's car
The car he travels in
The enemy is in a car
So I make no vows
The singer is not making any promises
That curves my pillow now
The singer is not letting their thoughts keep them up at night
As my body grows away
The singer is maturing and moving on
Will you sing your songs?
The singer wonders if the bird will ever recover and sing again
Will you still fly on
The singer wonders if the bird will be able to continue flying
Far above my resting place?
The singer imagines the bird flying high above their own resting place
Bird on the roadside
Reiteration of the initial line
Blue, black and white
Description of the bird's color
Didn't see the headlights
Reiteration of an earlier line
And settled here
Reiteration of an earlier line
No more songs to sing
Reiteration of an earlier line
The silence is deafening
Reiteration of an earlier line
Contributed by Hunter B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jezcordonnewby2598
Amazing singer, amazing songs, awesome
@limaozito
Great song!
@1905blackberry
This is my favorite song of hers .
@jamnas6284
luv this girl
@Chopperkat1
So I make no vow,the curbs my pillow now, as my body floats away......
@tower866
Collaboration with me?