Meaning of “Birds” by Imagine Dragons
“Birds” is a very touching song written and performed by the American rock band Imagine Dragons. On “Birds”, the narrator sings emotionally about a very special bond he shared with a very special person. From the lyrics, it’s abundantly clear that the relationship is no more. However, the narrator doesn’t state clearly what led to the demise of that bond.
Is this song about the death of the narrator’s lover?
Some have suggested that the death of the narrator’s lover is what led to the end of the relationship. However, this isn’t clearly stated in the lyrics. Death is indeed mentioned in the song. In the section where it is mentioned (which is in the pre-chorus of the song), the singer mainly talks about nothing in life lasting forever. He indeed mentions death. However, he compares the impact it has on us to the impact life has on us. Life makes us grow whereas death makes us hard.
He spends the rest of the song lamenting about the special bond between his beloved one and him. Among other things, he talks about how he often spends his nights missing his beloved and wishing they were still together
After all is said and done, the narrator comes to the conclusion that nothing in this world lasts forever. And their beautiful relationship was no exception to that. However, he believes that even though they have been separated, the love they share will never die. He expresses the hope of someday seeing that special person again.
What we suspect the song is about
We strongly suspect that the lyrics are about Dan Reynolds’ marital problems. Why do we say so? The song was written roughly around the time Reynolds and his wife Aja Volkman were about divorcing after 7 years of being married. Reynolds’ relationship with Volkman informed a number of Imagine Dragons’ songs. We strongly believe this song is one of the songs whose lyrics stem from Reynolds’ separation from Volkman.
That said, it is worth mentioning that as of the date of the publishing of this post, none of the writers of “Birds” has confirmed the lyrics stem from Reynolds’ marital woes.
Quick Facts about “Birds”
- Reynolds penned the song along with his bandmates and Joel Little. Little is a New Zealand songwriter, musician and record producer.
- In addition to co-penning “Birds”, Little also produced it with the band.
- “Birds” can be found on the digital deluxe version of the band’s 2018 album Origins. Origins is the band’s fourth studio album.
Was “Birds” released as a single?
No, it wasn’t.
We live in a world that people are not in the same level of knowledge, empathy and love, so, things go wrong, even when they want to stay together…
Someone who hurt you a lot is the mainly reason to do so…
I am confused about what the youtube video is trying to portray… Can somebody explain that please?
Have you seen the animated version of this song? It was interesting due to the fact it was portraying a father, and son. Like the son was portrayed as being “different” from his school mates, and he felt like an “outcast”…it was actually interesting to watch.
That was definitely a mother and daughter.
Yes
Actually, it was a mother and a daughter btw. Or at least that’s what I saw
they’re actually purposefully animating the characters so you can’t tell their genders to avoid assumptions and correlations. your views of a mother would be different to the views of a father. it makes the whole thing more relatable in a sense.
I thought it was two sisters
Just like someone else mentioned: does it matter? I feel like the animator purposefully made the two gender non-specific (the direction everything should be going in). Not only does it break stereotypes, it allows us, the viewers to identify more closely based on the relevant characters in our own lives.
Yes I did and I cried after and I still get emotional every time I watch it
The animation is lovely. Who was the artist/creator of the video?
Imagine Dragon
Yeah I I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a father and son, it was a mother and daughter. But you are right about everything else. The animation was beautiful and the song was amazing with the video. It made the song ten times better than it already was in my opinion.
It really doesn’t matter whether it was a Mother and Daughter or a Father and son it matters that it was an amazing video with an even more amazing song
I loved this song and it helps me to remember the people I’ve lost
Same. To me this song hopes that 2 people will meet again in heaven, even though they were apart in life. For some reason, this story was what I immediately thought of. Probably because of the sky theme, with the birds and the flying, etc.
Same hear. I play this song a lot. Great tune. My now ex and I were together for 8 years. Like people say there are no promises in life. My xwife has moved on and so have I.
I had a non-corresponding love for a woman during five years. This year, she and her boyfriend had a baby girl, and I finally noticed that the time had passed to let it all go away. This song helped me a lot during the proccess, as it helped me to accept that that girl was no longer a part of my life, and everything we’ve been through together and after was essential for my personal evolution, as well as it made me think about how happy and blessed I hope her daughter to be, since I wished, for a long time, that it was me to start a family with her. I don’t think there is another song, in any language of the world (I’m not an English native speaker), that can make you’re more comfortable about the fact that everything is transitory and life always goes on.