California Saga: The Beaks of Eagles
The Beach Boys Lyrics

An eagle's nest on the head of an old redwood on one of the precipice-footed ridges
An eagle resides on top of an old redwood tree situated on a precipice-footed ridge.

Above Ventana Creek, that jagged country which nothing but a fallen meteor will ever plow: no horseman
High above Ventana Creek lies a rugged terrain that no one will ever cross except the eagles, and no one will ever plow through it except in the event of a meteor impact.

Will ever ride there, no hunter cross this ridge but the winged ones, no one will steal the eggs from this fortress.
This terrain is so high and inaccessible that no one other than the eagles will ever travel there, and their fortress and eggs are safe from any human interference.

The she-eagle is old, her mate was shot long ago, she is now mated With a son of hers.
The female eagle is aged and her mate was killed long ago, but now she is with her own son.

When lightning blasted her nest she built it again on the same tree, in the splinters of the thunder bolt.
When her nest was destroyed by lightning, she rebuilt it on the same tree using the remnants of the thunderbolt.

In a broken shack an old man takes his time about dyin'
An old man is slowly dying in a ramshackle hut.

And just at the back a wild flowerbed that he'll lie in
Behind the hut is a beautiful wild flowerbed where he will eventually rest.

In dawn's new light a man might venture A horse drawn stage from Monterey.
During the early morning, one can take a horse-drawn stagecoach from Monterey.

The she-eagle is older than I: she was here when the fires of eighty-five raged on these ridges,
The eagle has been there much longer than the artist, having survived the 1885 wildfires in the area.

She was lately fledged and dared not hunt ahead of them, but ate scorched meat.
After the fires, the young eagle avoided hunting and instead fed on charred remains.

The world has changed in her time; humanity has multiplied,
The world has changed significantly during the eagle's lifetime, with human population growth being a significant factor.

But not here; men's hopes and thoughts and customs have changed, their powers are enlarged, their powers and their follies have become fantastic.
However, the natural habitat of the eagle remains unchanged, while human endeavors and follies have advanced significantly.

Spilled down the hill a wagon load of bodies lay scattered, shipwrecked at sea.
A wagon carrying multiple bodies has fallen down the hill and scattered while reminiscent of a scene of a shipwreck.

Limestone ore is all that mattered. They took it from the hills right through the cargo doors
The only thing that seems to matter to society is extracting limestone ore, and it is done so expediently through cargo transport.

How many ships have come and gone at Thurso's landing shore?
The singer ponders about the number of ships that have docked at Thurso's landing shore over time.

The unstable animal never has been changed so rapidly.
The animal kingdom has seen an unprecedented rate of change and instability.

The motor and the plane and the great war have gone over him,
From the development of the motor engine, to planes and the devastating effects of wars, the animal world has had to adapt to significant changes.

And Lenin has lived and Jehovah died: while the mother-eagle Hunts her same hills, crying the same beautiful and lonely cry
Throughout human history, leaders and religions have risen and fallen, yet the mother eagle continues to hunt in her familiar hills, emitting her distinct, beautiful and solitary sound.

And is never tired: dreams the same dreams,
The eagle is never fatigued and yearns for the same thing repeatedly.

And hears at night the rock-slides rattle and thunder in the Throats of these living mountains.
At night, the eagle experiences the sound and motion of the mountain rock-slides and thunder.

It is good for man To try all changes, progress and corruption, powers, peace and anguish, not to go down the dinosaur's way.
As humans, we should try and embrace all changes - both good and bad - in the quest to progress and not become obsolete like the dinosaurs.

Until all his capacities have been explored: and it is good for him To know that his needs and nature are no more changed, in fact, in ten thousand years than the beaks of eagles.
Man should continue to explore their full potential, yet understand that their fundamental needs and nature have remained unaltered over thousands of years- in contrast to the physical evolution of the eagle's beak.

Of the eagle's plight, we know that nature's balance is undone.
The challenges the eagle faces reminds us that the balance of nature is disturbed.

And it's the birthright of man to unify and live his life as one.
It is natural for humans to come together as one and live in unison with nature.

A whisper of the word will let you soar with your soul.
A small and consequential word can have the power of lifting up one's soul.