Song Lyircs: R.E.M., "King of Birds"

wingchun100

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I'm going out on a limb here. How many people on this board even like R.E.M., let alone know this non-single track by them off their album DOCUMENT? (That's the one that had "The One I Love" and "It's the End of the World as We Know It.") But hey, the theme of this forum is anything non-martial arts. Most of my time away from martial arts is spent thinking about music, and the other day I think I finally started piecing together a decent interpretation of this song. I can't tell you what EVERY line means, but if I focused, I bet I could explain how they all relate to what I feel is the basic meaning of the song.

"King Of Birds"

A thumbnail sketch, a jeweler's stone
A mean idea to call my own
Old man don't lay so still you're not yet young
There's time to teach, point to point,
Point observation, children carry reservations


Standing on the shoulders of giants
Leaves me cold, leaves me cold
A mean idea to call my own
A hundred million birds fly


"Standing on the shoulders of giants" is an old phrase. It's related to taking what others have done before us. It's not that we are taller than them or smarter, but they lift us up. Here, Michael Stipe says this leaves him cold. Okay, so why does he say that? I believe the answer lies in the line "a mean idea to call my own." I believe he is saying he doesn't WANT to rely on the so-called wisdom of those who came before him...because they might not be so wise after all. (Keep in mind R.E.M. turned into a political band during the Reagan-Bush years, and they weren't big fans of his politics.) So I think Stipe means we should strive to make new ideas of our own; even if it is a "mean idea," at least we tried for a change.

Singer sing me a given
Singer sing me a song
Standing on the shoulders of giants
Everybody's looking on
(Old man don't lay so still you're not yet young,
there's time to teach, point to point,
point observation, children carry reservations)

Standing on the shoulders of giants
Leaves me cold
A mean idea to call my own
A hundred million birds fly away, away, away

I am king of all I see
My kingdom for a voice


Again, relating to the idea of being your own person instead of basing everything on what came before you: "My kingdom for a voice." He is ready to give up an entire KINGDOM to have his own voice.

Old man don't lay so still, you're not yet young
There's time to teach, point to point
Point observation, children carry reservations

Standing on the shoulders of giants
Leaves me cold, leaves me cold
A mean idea to call my own
A hundred million birds fly away, away, away

Everybody hit the ground
Everybody hit the ground
Everybody hit the ground
Everybody hit the ground


This last line is, I believe, a call to action. Hitting the ground in this case means we jump off the shoulders of giants (hopefully we know how to land right!) so we can stand on our own two feet and start new.

I don't know that many people who bother deciphering songs these days. A lot of people will just go to songmeanings.com or something like that and find out what others are saying. (Then again, I have looked up songs on there too and most of the comments are people saying, "This song rocks! Wish Michael Stipe would tell an interviewer what it means.") But for me, it's more fun to try and figure out meanings on my own.
 

crushing

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We can't help but stand on the shoulders of those that came before. Those are the shoulders developed language and the concepts of poetry, music, and the sciences. Perhaps he has a more myopic view of the shoulders on which we stand? In that way I can see how this song may match well with the quote in my current signature by Richard Dawkins- "We have the power to defy the selfish genes of our birth and, if necessary, the selfish memes of our indoctrination."
 
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wingchun100

wingchun100

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We can't help but stand on the shoulders of those that came before. Those are the shoulders developed language and the concepts of poetry, music, and the sciences. Perhaps he has a more myopic view of the shoulders on which we stand? In that way I can see how this song may match well with the quote in my current signature by Richard Dawkins- "We have the power to defy the selfish genes of our birth and, if necessary, the selfish memes of our indoctrination."

I think he finds the morals of those who came before questionable. Our "leaders" don't always "lead," at least not in the right direction.
 

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