Birdie – English Lyrics

• By: Father John Misty
• Album: Pure Comedy

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the lyrical depth of Father John Misty's 'Birdie,' a track that encourages listeners to analyze complex philosophical concepts in English. Its densely packed lines offer a masterclass in modern satire and cynical social commentary, using rich vocabulary and literary allusions to explore themes of freedom, technology, and human nature.

[English]

♫ Take off, little winged creature

♫ It's nothing but teens in ravines

♫ And antics on concrete down here

♫ And are you really as free

♫ As all the great songs would have me believe

♫ Let me tell you why some day, Birdie, you're gonna envy me

♫ Some dream of a world written in lines of code

♫ I hope they engineer out politics, romance, and edifice

♫ Two outta three ain't bad

♫ Some envision a state governed by laws of business

♫ Merger and acquisition instead of violence or nations

♫ Where do I sign up

♫ Take off, little winged creature

♫ It's nothing but falling debris

♫ Strollers, and babies down here

♫ And you may be up in the sky

♫ But our paradigms are just as deep and just as wide

♫ What with all our best attempts at transcendence

♫ Something's bound to take

♫ Soon, we'll live in a global culture

♫ Devoid of gender or race

♫ There's just one tiny line

♫ You're either born behind

♫ Or you're free to peek inside

♫ Life as just narrative, metadata in aggregate

♫ Where the enigma of humanity's wrapped up finally

♫ That as they say is that

♫ Oh, that day can't come soon enough

♫ It'll be so glorious

♫ When they finally find out what's bugging us

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
winged /wɪŋd/ A2	adjective - having wings
creature /ˈkriːtʃər/ A1	noun - a living being, especially an animal
ravines /rəˈviːnz/ B2	noun - a deep, narrow valley with steep sides
antics /ˈæntɪks/ B1	noun - foolish or playful behavior
concrete /ˈkɒŋkriːt/ A2	noun - a building material adjective - specific and clear
envy /ˈɛnvi/ B1	verb - to desire something possessed by another noun - a feeling of discontent over another's advantages
engineer /ˌɛndʒɪˈnɪr/ B2	verb - to design and create something noun - a person who designs and builds things
politics /ˈpɒlɪtɪks/ A2	noun - the activities associated with governing a country
romance /rəˈmæns/ B1	noun - a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love
edifice /ˈɛdɪfɪs/ C1	noun - a large, impressive building
envision /ɛnˈvɪʒən/ B2	verb - to imagine or foresee something
merger /ˈmɜːrdʒər/ B2	noun - the combining of two or more companies
acquisition /ˌækwɪˈzɪʃən/ C1	noun - the act of acquiring or gaining something
paradigms /ˈpærədaɪmz/ C1	noun - a typical example or pattern
transcendence /trænˈsɛndəns/ C2	noun - the state of being above or beyond ordinary experience
metadata /ˈmɛtəˌdeɪtə/ C1	noun - data that describes other data
enigma /ɪˈnɪɡmə/ C1	noun - a person or thing that is mysterious or difficult to understand