The list everyone has been dying to read: Top Ten Bird Themed Songs. I know, it doesn’t sound like something that would be interesting at first, but it is. The variety I found in bird themed songs was what really drove me to make this. It really is fun to see how different artists and genres use birds to add to their song. It makes sense, as birds are so musical in their nature, that they could be sampled or mimicked in the music of humans as well. The list ranges from the Hip-Hop group Slaughterhouse to The Beatles; everybody’s talking about the bird. Some, you will undoubtedly recognize, others, not so much. All are good, but due to the variety it is likely that you will not like them all. I promise though that, due to that same variety, you will love at least one of them. Without further ado, I give you, The Musical Top Ten of Birds.
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10. Birdy – Skinny Love
While coming in last place, this is my third favorite song out of the ten. It just had to be in last because the song is not bird themed in itself, it’s just by Birdy. I feel a little gimmicky adding it to the list, but the haunting vocals accompanied by a lone piano set the scene for a beautiful song with cryptic love lyrics, so I wanted to sneak it in here.

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9. The Axis of Awesome – Bird-Plane
This is a silly song, and again not entirely about birds, but rather one about the unusual case of a half bird half plane. It plays off the Five For Fighting’s song “Superman” but arrives at a different conclusion, thinking that the only thing that could be more than a bird and more than a plane, is a bird-plane. In doing so, the song has a similar sound, almost as if it is more of a cover than a song of its own. I guess half of this number nine spot goes to The Axis of Awesome and half goes to Five For Fighting, although the former’s cover does feature a blue bird whistle that allows them to include more bird noises in the song. In addition the song focuses more on the bird aspect of the song rather than the sorrows of the singer. These two discrepancies give The Axis of Awesome a little more credit on this list.

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8. Lynyrd Skynyrd – Free Bird
Although it’s a classic, I feel that it is too classic. That in addition to it being a nine minute song that doesn’t “drop,” shall I say, until about two and a half minutes in makes me hesitant to put it too high up the list. It does have bird in the chorus though, which does well for its ranking.

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7. The Trashmen – Surfin Bird
Just like the song says, everybody has heard about the bird. No one doesn’t know this song, whether it’s from the song itself, from its revival due to its association with the Detroit Tiger’s Mark “The Bird” Fidrych, or its second revival on account of Peter Griffin’s obsession with it. When it was released in 1963, the song peaked on the U.S. charts at the four spot and in 2010 reached the third position on the UK singles chart.

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6. Slaughterhouse – Flip A Bird
This is a Hip-Hop tune that uses female vocals saying “flip a bird” to supplement its beat. At first I found this interesting as it silly and out of place in between raps, but now that I have looked up what flipping a bird means, it begins to make sense. According to Rap Genius, flipping a bird is pushing cocaine, or buying a large amount and then reselling it in smaller amounts for a profit. The more you know.

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5. DJ Snake – Bird Machine feat. Alesia
I love the title for this song, because it so accurately describes its sound. If someone told me they made a machine that was part bird, this is what I would expect to hear when it talked. DJ Snake is a French producer most famous for his collaboration with Lil John, “Turn Down For What.” I much prefer the calmer of the two, bird machine. It gets it sense of calm, at least partially, from its replacing of Lil John’s yelling with samples of bird calls.

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4. The Beatles – Blackbird
Everyone loves The Beatles! I actually don’t, but a lot of people do. I’m not saying I dislike them, just that I don’t love them. This is one of the ones that draw me to them. It is a cute song, I think about seizing the moment when the time is yours. I’m not sure; I just like the simple guitar and vigilant kick drum. The bird calls that meander in and out of the spotlight also add to the beauty. I personally would put it back to spot six, in terms of what I like, but I feel like that would create too much of an uproar.

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3. Bobby Day – Rockin’ Robin
Similar to “Surfin Bird,” this song was a big hit, reaching the second spot on US Billboard Hot 100, and still finds its way into people’s minds today, often getting stuck there. Originally performed by Bobby Day in 1958, this song was later covered by Michael Jackson in 1972. His version also reached the second spot on the Hot 100. While not featuring any real bird noises, this song still belongs high on the list in terms of being bird themed. There are flutes that represent bird noises, whistles that do the same, and the frequent use of the word “tweet.” Not to mention the lyrics, which are entirely about a robin. A rocking one.

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2.They Might Be Giants – Birdhouse in your soul
While not entirely about a bird, this song is still very bird-centric. The vocalist uses a birdhouse metaphor to make an appeal for another to make more room in their life for him as he cares so much for them. I really like the happy-go-lucky tone of, as well as the meaning behind, the lyrics. My second favorite part of the song, as is true with so many They Might Be Giants songs, has got to be the horn section; it is prime. I have always loved TMBG and this has always been one of my favorites, so I may be a little biased in putting it at the two spot, but I done did it anyways, so there.

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1. The Eels – I Like Birds
Again, I may be a little biased as this is my favorite band of all time, but this song is a real beaut. A nice acoustic guitar opens the song up, then gritty vocals come in and eventually a pretty percussion set. Backup vocals come in for the chorus, which acts as a call for birds to join the singer. The message of the song is one that we don’t often hear, probably because it is that of an introvert. I say this because it talks about preferring birds to people, which I am sure we can all relate to at some level. Beyond this though, I think Mr. E (the front man of The Eels) might be making a call to other interesting introverts who are “small and on a search” and feel the same way about “mean little people that are such a bore,” to come flock with him. The only bird related noise is some whistling, but the lyrics carry this song to the top of the list.