“Caged Bird” by Alicia Keys
Being that Alicia Keys was always an intellectual artist highly in tune with the feminist aspect of African-American history, chances are the title of this song (“Caged Bird”) was inspired by the highly-renowned 1969 autobiography of Maya Angelou, itself entitled I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Or perhaps Keys was inspired by the same source Angelou was, a line derived from a 19th century poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Said poem artistically established the symbol of a caged bird being used as an allegory for a slave. But that symbolism is also basic enough that if anyone were to compare him or herself to an animal in such a state, then we would all know that said individual in the very least feels repressed.
And so it is with the vocalist in this song. Obviously Alicia is, at least in part, speaking to her celebrity. And she is noting how on the outside, everything appears chipper. But internally, she doesn’t like always being gawked at and how onlookers just presume that she’s chillin’.
The reality is rather that she’s depressed. And the way people idolize her is only making matters worse, discouraging the vocalist from reaching her true potential.
To put all of this into proper perspective, this song came out when Alicia’s discography had just commenced. Prior to that she was not a celebrity. However, these lyrics imply that stardom is something the vocalist has been dealing with for a while already.
Possible Theories
So there are two theories which possibly cover this discrepancy. One is that even prior to becoming universally famous, Keys still enjoyed a celebrity-like standing considering that she had been hustling in the music industry since about a decade prior. Or as she has personally implied, before blowing up she was akin to a genius whose greatness no one truly respected.
So even though she may have been doing her thing here and there, Alicia did not feel as if her time had truly come.
But secondly, all things considered, is that more to the point she uses her own personal experience to also speak to a larger concept, as did Maya before her. And that would be taking on the role of a woman who, due to whatever respective reason, feels as if she is not granted the freedom to truly grow.
But what the vocalist does have at her disposal is the power of song. And again, such references logically point to Keys’ own vocation. But even beyond that, it is a metaphorical device which, as evident via its previous usage by Dunbar and Angelou, could be considered as being synonymous with the narrator’s faith or strong resolve not to let a depressing life destroy her confidence.
All in all
So yes, from a poetic standpoint this song has a general applicability. But taking into consideration gender pronouns and all, it can also be deemed as speaking specifically to the female experience.
And Alicia seems to be using her music career as an analogy pointing to the plight of all oppressed women, so to speak. Others judge them by how they appear okay on the outside and then just gawk, if you will, and go their way. But internally, these selfsame women are dealing with a type of repression that only their individual optimism can rectify.
Facts about “Caged Bird”
This is one of the tracks that were featured on Keys’ very first album. The album goes by the title “Songs in A Minor”. The entire project is a product of J Records who put it out on 5 June 2001.
J Records was a label founded by industry bigwig Clive Davis the year prior, in 2000. And it was actually the success of the aforementioned album that put J Records on the map.
Being born on 25 June 1981, Alicia was 20 years old when this song came out.
Alicia not only wrote “Caged Bird” but, likewise being an instrumentalist, produced it also.
Paul L. Dunbar (1872-1906) was a renowned late 19th century African-American writer. And the name of his aforementioned poem is Sympathy (1899).
Was “Caged Bird” a single from “Songs in A Minor”?
No. There were only four official singles birthed by the said project. They are:
- “Girlfriend”
- “How Come You Don’t Call Me”
- “A Woman’s Worth”
- “Fallin'”
