Birdsong — Elyse Myers

Artist: Elyse Myers

Title: Birdsong

Year: 2015

Composer: Elyse Myers

Genre: Indie Folk

Elyse Myers is a social media influencer; her content derives from relatable stories and humor. Throughout her life, Myers has had a love for music and attended a school in Sydney, Australia in the hopes of pursuing a musical career. Though this is not her main focus anymore, she continues to write and produce music to tell the stories of her life.

Birdsong is an acoustic song, where Myers plays only a guitar. This is an intimate music session, and Elyse Myers invites us into her world. In this song, Myers addresses her desire to be a bird and fly high away (birds have got it easily / they can drift away as they please / as they please / if I was their company, I'd go high and see if I felt differently / up there). It seems that she is voicing an internal struggle and feels unseen—perhaps, even unsupported (is there anybody listening?).

But also, is there anybody listening to the birdsong? In the nonstop motion of everyday life, we fail to appreciate nature, to listen to the birdsong. Do we listen to Myers's Birdsong? We often fail to notice the calls for help in those around us, clouded by our own worries and next destinations. There are failed interventions, creating a disconnect in social interactions.

This song selection reminds me of Kate Chopin's The Awakening. This novel of feminist fiction conveys the hardships of a young mother in trying to achieve independence. Though Elyse Myers's story is not the same as the protagonist in this novel, the similar use of the bird metaphor caught my attention. In the novel, birds depict women: caged in, only to be admired for their beauty. Myers's view of birds focuses on their freedom to move, but she also addresses our failed appreciation of their songs.

Connection to Playlist

The correlation to Gold lies in the beauty of birdsongs: we listen for the extraordinary in the mundane parts of life. Elyse Myers invites us into her innermost thoughts, the very essence that makes her shine much brighter than gold. Each of us shares our own versions of this, contributing a lovely symphony to the sound of nature.

Resources

Elyse Myers, Birdsong, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELJZxUPKpco.

Elyse Myers, [Website], https://elysemyers.com/.

Haley Braken, The Awakening - novel by Kate Chopin, https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Awakening-novel-by-Chopin.