Bob Lind’s “Elusive Butterfly” Lyrics Meaning
The way Bob Lind has described the meaning of “Elusive Butterfly” is at it being existential in nature. And what it is ultimately meant to point to is the notion of the pursuit of our life’s dream, if you will, being more fulfilling than actually realizing said dream. Or as some people may flip this idea adage-style, ‘the process is more important than the outcome’.
As depicted in the lyrics, he, the vocalist, is actually the one out searching for “the bright elusive butterfly of love”. But all things considered, the character Lind is portraying would actually be a personification of our own ambitions, i.e. that of respective listeners. That is why for instance we find the narrator “softly” prancing ‘through the canyon of our minds’.
And what Bob seems to be saying is something like we shouldn’t be afraid to dream and pursue those visions accordingly. However, this track being dropped in the 1960s and all, he doesn’t seem to be referring to the relentless pursuit of cash or anything like that. Instead, what Lind seems to be speaking to is letting your imagination define your movements, such as perhaps when he chose the pursuit of a music career over his education.
Or more succinctly put, we shouldn’t be afraid to chase that which we love. For in doing so, the overall implication is that we will become more loving persons ourselves.
Bob Lind
Bob Lind is a singer who, being 79 years old as of the writing of this post, is still listed as professionally active in the music game. But that said, the most notable part of his discography is relegated to the late 1960s era (though he did also drop three albums during the 21st century).
“Elusive Butterfly”, which came out in 1966, was his debut single.
Did Bob Lind write “Elusive Butterfly”?
Yes. This song was written by Bob Lind, with its producer being the late Jack Nitzsche (1937-2000).
According to Bob Lind, the inspiration behind “Elusive Butterfly” was a poem by Irish poet W. B. Yeats (1865-1969) entitled The Song of Wandering Aengus (1897). To note, Lind himself was born in Baltimore though primarily raised in Denver.
More Facts
The label that put this song out was called World Pacific Records, with this song actually being their biggest hit.
Musicians who are better known than Bob Lind that have dropped their own version of “Elusive Butterfly” include:
- Cher (1966)
- Aretha Franklin (1969)
- The Four Tops (1970)
- Dolly Parton (1984)
Florence Henderson of The Brady Bunch fame also laid down a rendition for The Muppet Show and more specifically on the seventh episode of the children’s program’s first season, which aired during October of 1976.
“Elusive Butterfly” is also by far Bob Lind’s biggest hit, with the song peaking at number five on both the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. It also proved to be a hit for Irish singer Val Doonican (1927-2015) and South African entertainer Judy Page in their respective countries.
A handful of famous musicians laid down the instrumental to this track, including drummer Hal Blaine (1929-2019), pianist Leon Russell (1942-2016), banjoist Henry Diltz and bassist Carol Kaye, whose contribution was especially notable.
For a time Sonny Bono (1935-1998) was also involved in the recording of this song, which may be how “Elusive Butterfly” ended up being covered by his wife at the time, Cher, during the same year of Lind’s release.
This track is from Lind’s album “Don’t Be Concerned”, his only to ever appear on the Billboard 200. And to note, he was 23 years old at the time it came out.
Below is Cher’s version of “Elusive Butterfly”.
