"Wings" By Birdy (Song Review)

I never hear anyone talk about Birdy? She’s a phenomenal generational British singer but I never hear
her mentioned. It’s artists like her and Aloe Blacc who silently release inspirational music and saved the
2010s from being an absolutely dumpster fire of musical incompetence.

Now, this isn’t exactly my musical genre, I like to say I’m somewhere between 2000s pop and R&B to
1990s punk and alt rock, but this is that sort of song you catch yourself playing while in the passenger
seat of a car; being the center of your own personal music video supercut, and the feeling that the world
is yours.

“Wings”, to me, sounds like it’s got a sort of awe-enhancing beat to it that commands inspiration on one
side, and on the other side delivers an ambient parallel that almost feels like “pleasant sadness”.
Oxymoron, I know, but it’s a vibe that’s hard to describe. Listen to “Read All About It” by Emeli Sande
or “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls and maybe it’ll make a little more sense? I don’t know, but going back
to “Wings”, let’s dissect a little further, yeah?

“Wings” is the premiere track on Birdy’s album “Fire Within”, released when she was 17 by the way,
and it’s such a unique piece of musical brilliance of this decade. Really, I’ve struggled to find anything
like her at least in this era of music.

Her songs are emotionally relishing. “People Help The People” was the song that initially got me to
listen to her more often, and her cover of “Skinny Love” by Bon Iver was incredible.

“Wings” stuck out to me though. Both the song and the music video as well. It reminded me of a more
modern version of old high school dramas & plays that bring out the best of youth festivals in tandem
with the literary world.

It’s got horses, shakespearean-esque dresses, mansion parties, badminton, mimes, juggling, dancing,
circus acts, and bonfires. The way the camera follows Birdy around down the hallways and across the
yard is like when you’re following a friend around at a big party and you don’t know anyone else so
you just stay by their side while witnessing all the spectacles at a distance.

I really admire it, to say the least, because I had the most calming and serene emotions while watching it
which let the music lift me up even higher every time the drums and violins kicked in at the chorus. The
camerawork impressed me and of course Birdy’s composed, airy expressions combined with her unique
vocals are what makes the completed track so perfect.

Now let’s dissect the music.

The music itself is about remembering someone. The line “It made me think of you” is repeated 4 times.
Sometimes we encounter people so incredible while sharing an experience so memorable that we bond
just from thinking of each other, and the night we spent. That was the message I took away at least from
the lyrics.

“In the moment we’re ten feet tall

And how you told me after it all

We’d remember tonight

For the rest of our lives.”

And of course when you bond with somebody, all you can think of is being with them again, which is
the biggest theme in most relationships. After the first few nights spent with each other sometimes you
can’t get enough and you become each other’s addiction, which is why love at the beginning of most
relationships is so strong. I think the song draws a lot of inspiration from that, and wanting to be near
somebody all the time, but none of us have wings to fly us over to where that somebody is.
Not even if your stage name is Birdy.

“Lights go down

In the moment we’re lost and found

I just want to be by your side

If these wings could fly.”

But then I pick the song apart again and I think maybe instead she’s remembering a time long ago
when all this happened and her wings are damaged now; which is the most common metaphor for
saying you got hurt once and want to return to the old times before your scars, after all she says “if
these wings could fly” implying she already has wings, they’re just broken wings, rather than
non-existent wings.

All music can have many interpretations which is what makes content review fun.

Birdy’s definitely an exceptional, underrated talent, so I figured why not cover a review to let the world
know her music?

“For the rest of our lives.”