“Big Bird in a Small Cage” is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Patrick Watson (born 1979) part of the 2009 album “Wooden Arm”.
If you haven’t heard this beautiful song yet, I let you know discover it via these links below.
To know more about the background of the song, watch this short interview of Patrick Watson.
Half way round the world = Middle of Asia
The Apple Barrel Bar in New Orleans, USA
Analysis Of The Song
SONG FORM
LYRICS
INTRO (bar 1 to 5)
A 1 (bar 6 to 10)
There was a house half way round the world
And I was invited in for a small taste of gin
There was a hallway a thousand birds long
But the biggest one of all was in a cage too small
A 2 (bar 6 to 10)
I asked the caretaker cause he was the maker
He looked at me and laughed, took another sip from his glass and said
Open up your ears and hearts
You put a big bird in a small cage and he'll sing you a song
That we all love to sing along
To the sound of the bird that mourns
Well we rolled into town into sweet New Orleans
To the Apple Barrel Bar there's a hole in the wall
The ceilings weren't tall, the floors were the ground
But the sound they made just warmed your heart
THE APPLE BARREL BAR, New Orleans (LA, USA)
Well it's a quarter to twelve when the boys walked in
They got their black suits on and the songs would begin
You open up your ears and hearts
You put a big bird in a small cage and he'll sing you a song
That we all love to sing along
To the sound of the bird that mourns
To the sound of the bird that mourns
To the sound of the bird that mourns
To the sound of the bird that mourns
You put a big bird in a small cage and he'll sing you a song
You put a big bird in a small cage and he'll sing you a song
You put a big bird in a small cage and he'll sing you a song
You put a big bird in a small cage and he'll sing you a song
MELODY
HARMONY
Beautiful variations (unconsciously?) derived and in the same spirit of Gabriel Fauré's Nocturne N°6 for piano (1894) starting at 3min30
RHYTHM
INSTRUMENTATION / ORCHESTRATION
THANK YOU FOR READING THIS ARTICLE
As a BONUS GIFT, here is a one-page PDF that illustrates the various musical influences of JOHN WILLIAMS that you can explore and apply to your projects to improve your ARRANGING and ORCHESTRATION skills. Feel free to enter your information below to receive it 😉
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