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15 Songs About Birds (You’ll Actually Want to Listen to) Audio & Video

Do you love songs about birds? Looking for some new ones to add to your playlist? Then you’ve come to the right place! Here, we cover 15 songs about birds, that we know you’ll love.

We’ve got a great variety: pop, punk, comedy, and even some reggae (they’re all kid-friendly). For every song, you’ll find a description, a link to lyrics, and a video. Go to the end of our list to find our YouTube playlist!

Fun songs about birds

15 Songs About Birds

I’m not completely sure why, but I love songs about birds. They always seem to have a deep and beautiful meaning. Read on to see and hear my picks of the top 15 songs about birds.

Good songs about birds

Note: All these songs are kid friendly!

1. Blackbird – The Beatles

  • Band/Singer: The Beatles
  • Release Date: 1968
  • Album: The Beatles (The White Album)

Key lyrics: Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
See the rest of the lyrics

Meaning: This song has a much deeper meaning than blackbirds. In Many Years From Now (by Barry Miles), Paul McCartney said that he “had in mind a black woman, rather than a bird.”

It was during the civil rights movement when African Americans (forgive me, I know there are many opinions on what is politically correct) were undergoing a lot of discrimination and fighting to change things. McCartney also said that this was his message: ‘Let me encourage you to keep trying, to keep your faith, there is hope.’

I think that the real meaning behind this song really makes it all the more special.

Song:


Watch on YouTube

2. I Like Birds – Eels

  • Band/Singer: Eels
  • Release Date: 2000
  • Album: Daisies of the Galaxy

(Note to parents: this song has the word “turd,” which I personally don’t find offensive, but just to let you know 😉)

Key lyrics: I don’t care for walkin’ downtown
Crazy auto-car gonna mow me down
Look at all the people like cows in a herd
Well, I like
Birds
See the rest of the lyrics

Meaning: Eels told the Sun in 2008 that the song was about his mother who died in 1998. She was a dedicated bird watcher and after she died he took all her feeders and set them up at his own homeHe also read all her birding books. He says the song is “a way of staying connected to her.

From an outside perspective, I Like Birds also seems to be a commentary on how complicated and bad the world has gone and how we need to ignore it and get back to the simple things, like birds. Either way, a very cool song!

Song:


Watch on YouTube

3. I’m Like a Bird – Nelly Furtado

  • Band/Singer: Nelly Furtado
  • Release Date: 2000
  • Album: Whoa, Nelly!
Key lyrics: I’m like a bird, I’ll only fly away
I don’t know where my soul is (soul is)
I don’t know where my home is
See the rest of the lyrics

Meaning: Furtado called I’m Like a Bird her “freedom song.” The songs meaning can be derived from the lyrics: not being ready to settle down. It’s unclear if Furtado viewed this as a good or bad thing, but it’s generally thought to be positive. If you need your space and you need to clear your mind, fly away for a while. Ditch your haters.

Song:


Watch on YouTube

4. Three Little Birds – Bob Marley & the Wailers

  • Band/Singer: Bob Marley and the Wailers
  • Release Date: 1977
  • Album: Exodus
Key lyrics: Singing: “Don’t worry about a thing
Cause every little thing is gonna be alright
Singing: “Don’t worry about a thing (don’t worry)
Cause every little thing is gonna be alright!”
See the rest of the lyrics

Meaning: The meaning isn’t super clear, there are many different opinions on what Marley meant. Some think the song may have a religious meaning. Some view it as the simple fact that three canaries would sing to Marley every morning on his window sill. Some believe that it refers to I Three, a female Jamaican group composed of Marley’s wife, Rita Marley, as well as two others: Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt.

Whatever the intended meaning, it seems clear that the message of the song is to appreciate life’s simple things and take comfort from the fact that the birds have no worries and neither should we.

Song:

Watch on YouTube

5. Free as a Bird – The Beatles

  • Band/Singer: The Beatles
  • Release Date: 1995
  • Album: Anthology
Key lyrics: Free as a bird
It’s the next best thing to be
Free as a bird
See the rest of the lyrics

Meaning: To be “free as a bird” means to have no worries and to be completely free. The Beatles were also referring to the love between two people and how free that can make you feel.

Song:

Watch on YouTube

6. Birdhouse in Your Soul – They Might Be Giants

  • Band/Singer: They Might Be Giants
  • Release Date: 1989
  • Album: Flood
Key lyrics: Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you
Make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I’m the only bee in your bonnet
See the rest of the lyrics

Meaning: Ok, so this isn’t about real birds but rather a bird night light. It’s kind of an ode to childhood in the sense that the blue canary in the light switch is the child’s friend in that it provides comfort in the dark. But it’s also not a friend because it casts scary shadows at night. Still, it’s a friend because it’s always been there. But at the same time, it’s just an inanimate object.

The song is sung from the perspective of the night light begging the child to think of him and keep him as “the only bee in your bonnet.”

Song: 

Watch on YouTube

7. Bluebirds Over the Mountain – The Beach Boys

  • Band/Singer: The Beach Boys
  • Release Date: 1969
  • Album: 20/20
Key lyrics: Bluebirds over the mountain
Seagulls over the sea-ea-ea
Bluebirds over the mountain
Bring my baby to me
See the rest of the lyrics

Meaning: The writer is asking the bluebirds, seagulls, and anyone else who sees their baby to bring him/her (depending on the singer) home. In the case of The Beach Boys, they are asking anyone who sees this girl to beg her to go back to them.

Song:

Watch on YouTube 

8. Poisoning Pigeons in the Park- Tom Lehrer

  • Band/Singer: Tom Lehrer
  • Release Date: 1959
  • Album: More of Tom Lehrer

While quite unpopular in his time, Lehrer enjoyed great popularity with the BBC who wasn’t ashamed to share his rather controversial music. Poisoning Pigeons in the Park is a dark humor song that is fairly self-explanatory.

Key lyrics: All the world seems in tune
On a spring afternoon
When we’re poisoning pigeons in the park
Every Sunday you’ll see
My sweetheart and me
As we poison the pigeons in the park
See the rest of the lyrics

Meaning: The meaning is rather unknown other than the obvious interpretation: that life is perfect when you’re doing away with a “pest.” Of course, I would never do something like this but I enjoy the song immensely. Lehrer has a way of saying what everyone is thinking (or the fleeting ideas that pass through our brains) but doesn’t dare to say out loud.

Song:

Watch on YouTube

Dance songs about birds

9. House Wren – Owl City

  • Band/Singer: Owl City
  • Release Date: 2018
  • Album: Cinematic

This is one of my favorites 😉.

Key lyrics: I’m a house wren who needs a summer home
A country farmhouse or a quiet bungalow
Not too big, and not too small
See the rest of the lyrics

Meaning: Something I love about this song is how the house wren is happy to live with the minimum necessities. He is happy as long as he can sing and the sun is shining. I think the artist is trying to say that we should be more like house wrens.

Song:

Watch on YouTube

10. Caged Bird – Alicia Keys

  • Band/Singer: Alicia Keys
  • Release Date: 2001
  • Album: Songs in A Minor
Key lyrics: She’s like a caged bird
Fly, fly
Ooh just let her fly
See the rest of the lyrics

Meaning: She feels like a caged bird in the sense that she can’t do what she wants or be the person she wants to be. Birds are meant to be free, just like the singer.

Song:

Watch on YouTube

11. Bird Set Free – Sia

  • Band/Singer: Sia
  • Release Date: 2016
  • Album: This is Acting

Bird Set Free was released by Sia in 2016.

Key lyrics: I don’t care if I sing off key
I found myself in my melodies
I sing for love, I sing for me
I’ll shout it out like a bird set free
See the rest of the lyrics

Meaning: Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks of you or wants you to do. Be a bird set free.

Song:

Watch on YouTube

12. Canary in a Coalmine – The Police

  • Band/Singer: The Police
  • Release Date: 1980
  • Album: Zenyattà Mondatta
Key lyrics: You live your life like a canary in a coal mine
You get so dizzy even walking in a straight line
See the rest of the lyrics

Meaning: The focus of the song seems to be a woman who is so paranoid about everything that she can’t even seem to walk in a straight line without getting dizzy. The singers are mocking her in a way, telling her that she is too worried and too careful.

Song:

Watch on YouTube

13. Skyline Pigeon – Elton John

  • Band/Singer: Elton John
  • Release Date: 1969
  • Album: Empty Sky
Key lyrics: For just a Skyline Pigeon
Dreaming of the open
Waiting for the day
He can spread his wings
And fly away again
See the rest of the lyrics

Meaning: There are a number of possible interpretations, such as someone wishing to be free from an abusive relationship, a child wishing to strike out on their own, or of some weighty responsibility which is very difficult to carry out.

The line “free me from this aching metal ring” could be taken to mean the bands placed on the legs of war pigeons who carried urgent messages. A pigeon in such a situation would no doubt want to be anywhere but on a battlefield.

Song:

Watch on YouTube

14. Little Bird – Annie Lennox

  • Band/Singer: Annie Lennox
  • Release Date: 1992
  • Album: Diva
Key lyrics: I look up to the little bird
That glides across the sky
He sings the clearest melody
It makes me want to cry
See the rest of the lyrics

Watch on YouTube

Meaning: The meaning of the song isn’t readily available, but just from listening to it you can understand a lot about the singer’s intentions. Birds are often associated with freedom in songs and that seems to be the case here. She feels trapped and wishes she could be free as a bird and fly away.

15. SEAGULLS! (Stop It Now) – Bad Lip Reading

  • Band/Singer: Bad Lip Reading
  • Release Date: 2016
  • Album: N/A

This may not exactly “fit” on this list, but I love it too much. In case you don’t know, Bad Lip Reading is a YouTube channel that takes popular movies and tv shows and creates a comedy based on lip reading alone. It’s comedy gold, especially when they get ahold of Star Wars :).

Lyrics

Watch on YouTube

Meaning: This doesn’t exactly have a meaning. It’s just a lot of fun!🤷‍♀️😂

Just for You…

Here’s the complete playlist on YouTube:

Watch on YouTube

Your Turn

So which is your favorite? Did I miss your favorite song about birds? Let me know in the comments!

Songs about birds

Chris Bernasco

Thursday 25th of March 2021

Well, I happen to like the song Birds, by Neil Young, and Songbird, by Fleetwood Mac. And lots of other bird-songs. Thanks for your interesting post!