I’m so happy this song is making it onto this album. “I want someone to tell me what the birds say; the world is changin’ and I don’t know which way” I wrote this line in my song a long time ago but didn’t finish the verses in the song until 9/11. On that day, there were no sounds of cars from the freeway, no planes overhead except military jets late in the day. There was a very deep silence which I’d never heard before. I went into the studio to try to deal with my feelings, finished the verses and recorded a rough arrangement of “What the Birds Say” for the first time.
In 2007, I looked at this song again – after I had completed my film “Dust and Deceit” about the plight of those exposed to the toxic dust of 9/11. It seemed even more relevant. If you have not checked out my film, there is a trailer at http://www.911dust.org/preview.htm
Those who are sick from the dust of 9/11 are like the canaries in the mine. If there is another incident, how will the government respond? What have we learned from 9/11?
Sometimes it’s impossible for me to separate politics and music. So many of the songs I write are about what I see and feel. Songs are my way of coping and communicating, and I really hope that somebody does hear what the birds say……they are disappearing you know, by the millions, and it would be tragic to lose their songs. The Audubon Society reports that some species are down by up to 80 percent because of dramatic environmental changes. Here are some excerpts from a CBC special in Canada: http://rawstory.com/rawreplay/?p=372
I am really feeling like I can’t wait to share this music. Songs are like sending letters out to my friends, letters to the world. At first I wanted to name the album “Letters to the World” but then “Wild wild land” seems so appropriate. It’s crazy wild times we live in; and I really “don’t know know what this is all for….” this song encapsulates what I’m feeling about living in Twenty Ten.
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