The song is a meditation on solitude, with a defiant edge in her steely-soft vocals. “I’m a fighter bird, I’m a harrier hawk,” O’Donovan sings at the start, before turning her attention to owls, and then wrens—the latter evoking imagery drawn from a traditional Irish Christmas song and also a folk t...
[Verse 1]
Look out, look out
Here I come now, fists out
I'm a fighter bird
I'm a Harrier hawk, a wild flock
I keep time by the city clock
When the moon is steady, I'll find you
I'm not lucky and I'm not scared
There could be goldmine anywhere
[Chorus]
Anyone that I might want in this world
They're asleep in the arms of another girl
Who will they be when the lights come up?
Everyone that I ever loved in my life
Now calls somebody else their wife
Who am I to you?
[Verse 2]
Get up, get up
Get it together and climb on up
To the top of the tree
I'm an owl now, a lonely owl
Who, who, where, what, why, when?
How the hell did I get this far without you?
Pull my feathers one by one
Put 'em in your pocket when I'm gone
[Chorus]
Anyone that I might want in this world
They're asleep in the arms of another girl
Who will they be when the lights come up?
Everyone that I've ever loved in my life
Now calls somebody else their wife
Who am I to you?
[Bridge]
Who am I to you? Am I just anyone?
Who am I to you? Am I just anyone?
Am I the only one?
[Verse 3]
Come on, come on
Put me back together, let me soldier on
I'm the king of it all
I'm a little wren, I'm happiest when
I hitch a ride on the wing of a friend
Looking down on everything then
When the road gets weary, love
Remember who I'm dreaming of
The King of all Birds was written by Aoife O’Donovan.
The King of all Birds was produced by Tucker Martine.
Aoife O’Donovan released The King of all Birds on Fri Jan 22 2016.