SONGS ABOUT BIRDS


SONGS ABOUT BIRDS

By Peggy Williams AKA Birdie of Mississippi



While taking my morning walk I wear my headphones to listen to music on my phone and it helps increase my pace while walking.  I don’t listen to music the whole walk because I enjoy listening to the morning chatter and song of the birds in the neighborhood. But yesterday as I walked one of the songs talked about “singing to Jesus” and the morning songs of the birds became praise to God for the new day we had been given to enjoy. 

As this thought took hold I began to wonder about pop songs that had been written that mentioned birds in them that I might know, so I Googled to see what I might find.  On Billboard.com this bit of wisdom was imparted - “Birds are often used as a metaphor for feeling free – flying above whatever it is that might be holding you down.  That’s one of the reasons artist play on birds – doves, vultures, bird songs or just the word “bird” generically – as a symbol in a song.” The article goes on to list 20 songs about birds.  Some of the titles and the groups, I quickly recognized like Prince - “When Doves Cry”, Michael Jackson – “Rockin’ Robin”, the Beatles - “Blackbird” and a song from my college days “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.  I didn’t really recognize some of the others listed, but it made me realize that birds in song have played a part in our lives. 


“Rockin’ Robin” written by Jimmie Thomas and sung by Michael Jackson has upbeat lyrics.  “He rocks in the tree tops all day long – Hoppin’ and a-boppin’ and singing his song.  All the little birdies on Jaybird Street love to hear the robin go tweet tweet tweet.” They are upbeat and fun, yet they also look at a bird’s life and see it as an easier life than a human! They seem to say that a bird’s life is full of singing and dancing. 


In Forest Gump Jenny asked Forest to pray with her a little prayer “Dear God, make me a bird so I can fly far, far away from here. Dear God, make me a bird so I can fly far, far away from here.”  In fact when Jenny was at her worse in her hippy years Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” played in the background sound track. Taking flight and flying away from our problems like Jenny can very often sound appealing to us all and can make the life of a bird sound like the life to have.  But, as Jenny found out in the movie, running away from our problems doesn’t help, if fact, they generally get worse. 

When I was young I thought God was far, far away and how was I to reach him?  Did I need to have wings like a bird so I could fly to Him for help? Can a human’s life not be full of singing and dancing also?  Can we not turn our troubles over to God and our lives become different?    Just as God helps the “birds of the air” with their life problems, He will help us with our problems. 


Christmas is now over, but the theme of Christmas remains – Emmanuel “God with Us.”  God became a man and came to earth to be with us, so we don’t have to take wings and fly to Him.  He is here with us and we don’t have to be blue birds or red birds – just humans that love Him.  “Look at the birds of the air” and remember that He cares for you. Matthew 6:26. 

         My photos may be viewed & “LIKED” on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest - “Birdie of Mississippi” 
         E-mail: birdieofmississippi@gmail.com Read my Blog @ http://www.birdieofmississippi.blogspot.com






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GETTING STARTED WITH BIRDIE OF MISSISSIPPI

Image
Birds, of course, have been flying and living around me all my life.   I studied basic knowledge of birds in elementary school and I was taught the name of our State Bird – the “Mockingbird”, but I’m not certain that I would have known what it was if I actually saw one! But I could recognize local birds that live in the South such as robins, cardinals and a few more, but it didn’t extend too far past that.   I have always been a very “busy” and “task oriented” person, but last spring things changed. During my early morning quiet time with God I read a Scripture “Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.” Job 37:14.   In reading this I realized that I regularly fail to appreciate sunrises and sunsets, spring flowers in bloom, and yes “birds” because I don’t venture outside to register these happenings!   I have never been an outdoor person because I dislike heat, getting sweaty, bugs and getting bitten!   All, of course, happens to every person tha...
Read more

Pandemic Bird Watching - September 15, 2020

Image
  O ne of my favorite rooms in my house is my kitchen.   Not only is it the place where the food is – yummy… it’s also the place where I can sit and stare out my kitchen window to watch nature unfold in my back yard.   Today is September 15 th and there is so much activity in my backyard that it has me excitedly moving my eyes from ground to mid-air to air high above.   I haven’t been in the kitchen more than ten minutes and I have already watched a Blue Jay, a Brown Thrasher, a Robin, a Tufted Titmouse, a male Northern Cardinal and a Tennessee Warbler take joyful splashy baths in my birdbaths.   There are three American Robins waiting rather impatiently for their turns to bathe.   Mourning doves are stepping lightly on the ground routing around for dropped seeds from the feeders and juicy bugs crawling in the dirt.   Tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are zipping right in front of me in pairs battling over who will get to sip on the brand new sugar wate...
Read more

BROWN THRASHER

Image
  When I am in my yard I never know what type of bird may come - whether it will be an old friend that comes every day or a visitor just passing through on the migration trail.   If it’s a photography day, I begin to pray for God to send birds that I have never seen in order for my “bird passion” to stay alive.   And on some days God does exactly that - He calls in birds that I have never seen and I get all charged up again.   But, some days He tells me to be content with what He gives me.   I have found that’s the good life….being content with what He gives us.   In that contentment I have often received a fresh look at a bird I have seen many times but there is so much more for me to learn.   This week that bird is the Brown Thrasher. This is the time of year that a Brown Thrasher really enjoys because the leaves are falling and everyone’s yard will be covered with leaves.   Just like his name says the Thrasher likes to noisily “thrash” th...
Read more