The finches and sparrows build nests in my chimney
With remains of small flightless birds that you failed to protect
But their yoke isn't easy, in fact it's a drag
As they're blowing through cornfields and mountains of rags
All over the suburbs, across the great lawns
And they're crop-dusting gardens all over this town

But nobody cares when it gets in their hair
It gets in their lungs as it floats through the air
It gets in the food that they buy and prepare
But nobody cares when it gets in their hair

Across the great chasms and schisms
And the sudden (m)aneurysms
Where the black ink will drip across the crespice of your eye
And your teeth are worth more than you can spare
Oh don't tell me that it just isn't fair
Don't speak about the cycles of life
'cause your thoughts are so soft
I could cut 'em with a spork or a bride's knife

And the wine made our minds too loose
Such a reckless choice of words
And you tell me that I'm too abstruse
I just thought I was a kind of bird
I said,
I just stood there not saying a word
Not saying a word



Lyrics submitted by emhass

Track duration: 04:07


Spare-Ohs song meanings
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24 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:i refer
    the explanation above

    "But their yolk isn't easy / in fact it's a drag"

    In Matthew 11:28, Jesus (who dragged a cross) says, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

    but yes obviously many references to pesticides,
    and i saw a vid off youtube where Andrew makes reference to himself failing to properly look after some chickens he once had.... he doesnt talk too long about it but i extrapolte from the manner in which he speaks that they died.
    wether from crop dusting or simple mis management around food/water i do not know.

    a song like this (and many of Andrews songs) consist of references to several obviously unrelated events, which is one thing that gives them their poetic quality and the capacity to suddenly grip you due to a particular set of lines that stand out.
    Flag Bullitzon May 07, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:With remains of small flightless birds that you failed to protect
    But their yoke isn't easy, in fact it's a drag

    I think this might be a reference to DDT (synthetic pesticide in the 40-70s) and how the bio accumulations of it leads to the thinning of bird shells (and other nasty effects).

    All over the suburbs, across the great lawns
    And they're crop-dusting gardens all over this town

    But nobody cares when it gets in their hair
    It gets in their lungs as it floats through the air

    So in general the use of pesticides.
    Flag dorkula02on December 04, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I could have sworn it was
    'sordid mannerisms'
    instead of
    'sudden aneurysms'

    Is that just me?
    Flag eargoggleson December 29, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:when i saw him last summer, the explanation he gave was that he asked a friend to care for his chickens while he was away on tour("that YOU failed to protect"), but a fox killed all his birds. in his story, "nobody cares when it gets in their hair" seemed pretty literal.
    Flag lifewasperfecton March 29, 2009   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:I just remembered that that wasn't how the story went at all.

    What it was was this:

    Andrew Bird has a farm somewhere on the east coast. He had chickens that were kept in a coop. He would try to protect them from foxes (or coyotes, I don't remember which) but the foxes or coyotes would keep getting into the coop and Andrew Bird couldn't protect his chickens. All that would be left of the chickens would be their feathers, which would be picked up by sparrows and carried to their nests in Andrew Bird's chimney. When he would start a fire in the fireplace, the nests would all be incinerated and turned to ashes which would end up in people's hair and food.

    Sorry about that.
    -Sean
    Flag seanraheon March 03, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:When I saw him play this live, he told the backstory of this song. He had tried to nurse a sparrow that had a broken wing, but it died and he felt very said that he couldn't save/protect that bird despite the effort he put into it. He cremated the bird and that is what this part is about:

    'but nobody cares when it gets in their hair
    it gets in their lungs as it floats through the air
    it gets in the food that they buy and prepare
    but nobody cares when it gets in their hair'

    It's about the ashes getting in peoples hair and food. Sort of a circle of live. That is the basic meaning of this song, but if you read the lyrics you notice the brilliance he put into the words.
    Flag seanraheon March 03, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:When examined in the context of This Is Not A Song About A Train, the story about the chickens getting killed, and Andrew Bird's own words as related by akindabird above, at least two layers of meaning become apparent.

    The first is the literal: there are dead things burning up and getting in our hair.
    The second is on a more abstract macroscopic scale: the cycle of life is obvious, ignored, but no less mysterious and meaningful.

    Reading the song as an environmentalist manifesto or song about extinction is a bit of a stretch, except insofar as the meaningful cycle of life invoked by the ashes of the chickens implies the interconnectedness of all life (and death) on Earth, and the song's meaning can therefore encompass such topics indirectly. Blades of Grass, and all that. ;)
    Flag thriggleon December 23, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song made me think of a documentary i saw recently entitled "king corn" which shows how our largest crop in the US is corn, and how it seems to be in every thing from the beef we eat to sodas to mcdonald's. Anyways, if you want to know more go here:
    youtube.com/…
    it's a really eye-opening film, and the part where andrew bird is talking about it getting in your hair is all to reminiscent of the film.
    Flag kkratzeron May 11, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i know for a fact this song is about a truck drive that snorts crystel meth of of an atles
    Flag beefcaton February 21, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:This has been one of my favorite songs lately. Although the stories above are believable and there are several good comments so far ("spare-ohs" and the yolk reference), I think that there is a lot more to this song.

    I think his personal experience with the chickens starts if off. He rolls the story of the fallen chickens and ubiquitous feathers into the lines "all over the suburbs / across the great lawns / crop-dusting gardens all over this town" which are fairly clear commentaries on modern suburbia and people's general lack of care about the blanketing of foliage with chemicals and the plight of animals (such as chickens). This is probably connected to the his "greeness" as describe above, and also he seems to be saying that the burden of the event ("the yolk is a drag") weighs on him as he is reminded of it by the feathers that fall all over the town that no one seems to mind.

    The second verse seems to be a conversation in which he relates the severity of his experience with the chickens to someone else, saying that they don't understand what he is saying, to the point of them being seperated by "great chasms and schisms" including that which lies within (through the crespice of the eyes), and that the listener's response is either simple or naive: "don't speak about the cycles of life / 'cause your thoughts are so soft / I could cut 'em with a spork or a bride's knife", as if to say that there is no substance to the words he receives in response.

    The he follows with more bird references, which seem to refer to himself -- his name is Andrew Bird afterall, and the reference at the end "when you tell me that I'm too obstruce / I just thought it was a kind of bird" probably reflects a lot of his personal experiences being different/creative and having people say strange things to him, as if to say "what did you say about me? Are you saying that I'm a "strange bird" somehow? To which he follows "I just stood there not saying a word" which describes the exasperation one has in the situation -- having just related something intense and personal all he gets in response is the comment that he's a little weird.



    The finches and sparrows build nests in my chimney
    what remains of the small flightless birds that you failed to protect

    but their yolk isn't easy in fact it's a drag
    as they're blowing through cornfields and mountains of rags

    all over the suburbs
    across the great lawns
    crop-dusting gardens all over this town

    but nobody cares when it gets in their hair
    it gets in their lungs as it floats through the air
    it gets in the food that they buy and prepare
    but nobody cares when it gets in their hair

    across the great chasms and schisms
    and the sudden aneurisms
    where the black ink will drip
    across the crespice of your
    eyes and your teeth
    are worth more than you can spare-
    -oh don't tell me that it just isn't fair
    don't speak about the cycles of life
    'cause your thoughts are so soft
    I could cut 'em with a spork or a bride's knife

    and the wine made our mouths too loose
    such a reckless choice of words
    when you tell me that I'm too obstruce
    I just thought it was a kind of bird
    I just stood there not saying a word x 3
    Flag inanityon January 30, 2008   Link

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