Birds Of A Feather

Album: We Will Meet In A Hurricane (2022)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Bedouin Soundclash is a Canadian reggae-ska band that's shared a lot of history together since they formed in 2001 - a fact lead singer Jay Malinowski was contemplating when he wrote this track from their sixth studio album.

    "That was about how Eon [Sinclair, bassist] and I have gone through close to 20 years of friendship now," he explained in a 2022 Songfacts interview. "Each of us have gone through our ups and downs, and I think we always have the ability to know how the other person is doing - whether we say anything or not. So, the song was about that - 'birds of a feather stick by each other.'"
  • Malinowski and Sinclair met on their first day of school at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. The pair became fast friends but they had no intentions of starting a band. "Like the best things in life, everything just kind of happened, like it had already been written and we were just the players," Malinowski recalled in a track-by-track commentary.
  • The chorus could have ended up on any number of Bedouin Soundclash tunes, as Malinowski struggled to find a home for it.

    "I had the chorus for 'Birds Of A Feather' for three years, and it started to haunt me," he told Songfacts. "I can open up demos from the last three years, and then always find that chorus somehow tagged on to the end of like, five different songs. I just kept searching for a home for it.

    And eventually, I had to be like, 'I have to put this song to rest.' So, recording it was the best way to do it, because it meant that it was done. It had a bit of an 'Electric Avenue' vibe to me."
  • Ashleigh Ball of the Canadian rock band Hey Ocean! is a guest performer on the track. Malinowski recalled: "Ashleigh Ball sings on this track, and she has such an incredible voice. We were sitting there in the studio and then she pulled out a flute and we all got really mesmerized for a couple hours listening to this dubbed-out flute."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Stephen Christian of Anberlin

Stephen Christian of AnberlinSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.

Jimmy Webb

Jimmy WebbSongwriter Interviews

Webb talks about his classic songs "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park."

Michael W. Smith

Michael W. SmithSongwriter Interviews

Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."

Early Days of MTV

Early Days of MTVFact or Fiction

If you can recall the days when MTV played videos, you know that there are lots of stories to tell. See if you can spot the real ones.

In The Cards

In The CardsSong Writing

Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.

Randy Newman

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.