Fleetwood Mac - Songbird

In 1977 Fleetwood Mac released 'Songbird' on one of their most successful albums 'Rumours'. It was written and performed by Christine McVie and the original recording was done away from the studio featuring her voice and the piano only, creating a pure, soft sounding song. The songs genre is classed as classic rock but I believe that because of the story behind it and the style of vocals and recording that it definitely has folk elements which may help inspire me for my own composition. People often dispute over the interpretation of the lyrics: 

For you, there'll be no more crying,
For you, the sun will be shining,
And I feel that when I'm with you,
It's alright, I know it's right

To you, I'll give the world
To you, I'll never be cold
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you,
It's alright, I know it's right.

And the songbirds are singing,
Like they know the score,
And I love you, I love you, I love you,
Like never before.

And I wish you all the love in the world,
But most of all, I wish it from myself.

And the songbirds keep singing,
Like they know the score,
And I love you, I love you, I love you,
Like never before, like never before.

Most people believe that the song tells the story of the band. There were arguments and hard times between the band at the time and the song is supposedly reflecting the turmoil they were going through. "Christine McVie has said that this song held Fleetwood Mac together during their hard times (while recording Rumours). Once the members heard this song, they thought how much they had been through and how much love they shared." (Song Facts, 2017) The "songbirds" she sings about are the members of the band, the song shows how much they mean to her and how big a role they play in her life. It represents how much she wants the band to love one another, get along and carry on making music together. 

Some other people believe that the song is simply about love and friends in general and it wasn't aimed at the band at all. There is the bittersweet tone in the line "and the songbirds keep singing, like they know the score." It suggests that even though there is happiness in relationships/friendships, there can be sad times too, the lovers and friends don't know the 'score', such as when sad and tough times may come. The line "For you there'll be no more crying, for you the sun will be shining." can be representative of a time she was comforting a friend or a lover. 

Most people agree that the song is about wishes, almost like a lullaby, this is something often found in folk music. Its almost like a song that a mother would sing to their child, they want their child to have opportunities they they never had. The child will grow up but the lullaby will always stick with them, just like folk songs stayed with generations of people in the past.

The lyrics can be interpreted however an individual sees fit, Christine McVie once said Songbird is "about nobody and everybody... in retrospect, it's like an anthem... a little prayer of sorts." (The Penguin Lyric Interpretations, 2001) I believe this sums up the song pretty well.  

Musically the song compromises of:

intro

verse 1

chorus

verse 2

instrumental

middle eight

chorus

outro

It features a single piano and one voice and was recorded in the University of California's Zellerbach Auditorium to create a distant, raw sound. The piano stays relatively simple throughout to make sure that the main focus is on the vocal melody and the story of the lyrics. The choice of music, melody and lyrics is what makes me believe that this 'classic rock' song has more elements of folk than people have thought. In folk songs the music is kept simple so that the main focus is on the lyrics as traditionally the lyrics were there for story telling and teaching. Christine's style of singing also has similarities to folk singers in the sense of tone, inflection and articulation. Overall I believe that this song will help to heavily influence me in my own composition and I will be taking the importance of lyrics telling a story seriously throughout this task.