I tkink the song is about captivity, and the ones who live in the captivity are not the birds- they are actual real people. They are hidden in "a house half way round the world" and no one knows about this place. They are being held against their will. Their freedom and their free will have been taken away- they are being made to do the things other people enjoy. That is why they are so sad and mourning doing it.
The ones who made them do those things are "the midnight boys with their black suits" and just showing up is enough for "the birds" to start "singing their songs", no waiting. They know exactly what they're supposed to do and when to do it, and that is why I don't believe it's about the birds at all.
"You put a big bird in a small cage and he'll sing you a song"- you lock someone up so they can't move, and they will have to do what you tell them to do.
I tkink the song is about captivity, and the ones who live in the captivity are not the birds- they are actual real people. They are hidden in "a house half way round the world" and no one knows about this place. They are being held against their will. Their freedom and their free will have been taken away- they are being made to do the things other people enjoy. That is why they are so sad and mourning doing it.
The ones who made them do those things are "the midnight boys with their black suits" and just showing up is enough for "the birds" to start "singing their songs", no waiting. They know exactly what they're supposed to do and when to do it, and that is why I don't believe it's about the birds at all.
"You put a big bird in a small cage and he'll sing you a song"- you lock someone up so they can't move, and they will have to do what you tell them to do.