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Illustrator David Sibley and actor H. Jon Benjamin will face off in the bird illustration battle of the century during BirdNote's Year-end Celebration and Auction!
Skylark - With Aretha Franklin
Hear the bird‚ his exalted song!
© Steve Herring
Imagine: Singing for three minutes while soaring to 100 feet in the air, like the Skylark. None of the native birds of North America has such a long song or sings so persistently in flight. Around 1902, Skylarks were brought from England to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to satisfy the desire of English immigrants to hear the birds' exalted song. Skylarks do what so many birds do - they carry our aspirations and send our spirits soaring.
BirdNote®Skylark in Spring – with Aretha Franklin
Written by Chris Peterson
This is BirdNote!
[Aretha Franklin sings Skylark] Skylark...Have you anything to say to me…
Imagine – singing for three minutes while soaring to 100 feet in the air. The Skylark – no other bird in North America has such a long song or sings so persistently in flight.*[Long sound break with song of the Skykark and continue under the text]
Around 1902, Skylarks were brought from England to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to satisfy the desire of English immigrants to hear the birds' exalted song. This remains the only place in North America, except for a few sightings in Alaska, where the Skylark can be heard. [Pause] Never mind. They do what so many birds do – they carry our aspirations and send our spirits soaring.
Oh skylark
I don't know if you can find all of these things
But my heart is riding on your wings...
###
Song of the Skylark provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Recorded by A.B. Vandenberg.
Skylark written by Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer, 1941, Mercer Music/ Frank Music Corp (ASCAP). From the CD Aretha Franklin - Jazz to Soul, Sony, 1992
BirdNote's theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and produced by John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2015 Tune In to Nature.org May 2017/2020 Narrator: Mary McCann
ID# SKLAfranklina-2010-05-03-MM SKLAfranklina-01b
* Birds of North America, Issue No. 286, Authors: Campbell, R. W., L. M. Van Damme, and S. R. Johnson
Chris Peterson
Writer
Mary McCann
NarratorSights & Sounds
