The Bird Is the Word

BirdNote^®

The Bird Is the Word

Written by Todd Peterson

This is BirdNote!

[Judy Collins, from Bird on a Wire]

Like a bird on a wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way
To be free.

Birds have inspired music from the sublime to the ridiculous, from classical compositions to garage bands. Can you name this bird-inspired melody? [Selection from Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite]

How about this enduring rock anthem? [Selection from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird]

Did you ever dance the Funky Chicken? And what is the name of this rock-and-roll wonder rivaled only by Louie Louie in the inscrutability of its lyrics?

Bird, bird, bird
The bird is the word
Everybody knows about the bird
Everybody knows that the bird is the word

Special thanks to Judy Collins, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the Trashmen for their appearance in today’s show! Oh, and Stravinsky, too. For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.

###

Bird on a Wire, written by Leonard Cohen, sung by Judy Collins, Who Knows Where the Time Goes, Elektra 1968
Finale from The Firebird Suite, Igor Stravinsky; Leonard Bernstein – A Total Embrace: The Conductor, Sony Classical, 1919 version
Free Bird, by Lynyrd Skynyrd from Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd, MCA Records 1973
Surfin’ Bird sung by The Trashmen, from The Bird Is the Word, Sundazed, 1964
BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2015 Tune In to Nature.org     October 2017 / August 2020     Narrator:  Michael Stein
 
ID#081007birdwordKPLU music-01c