The Songbird

Jennifer Paige©2000

I've always wanted to fly like a bird on the wind

Seen by all who looked up, I'd stand out against the sky

Even out-shine the sun in my plumage fair

I found instead I could sing and my voice got lost in the choir

So I tried to be bigger and louder and higher than the rest

Which got me sent to the back of the class, red-faced and shamed

     And I could whisper or shout

     But all that ever came out were words

     I would kick and I'd pout

     'Cause from there I could never be heard

      I would never be heard

So I wrote down my thoughts and my rages in verse

To keep from putting my fist through a wall or my foot in my mouth

Till I was moved to the front of the class and was asked to sing

And what came out surprised even me, standing on liquid knees

Suddenly surrounded by all these new friends who used to laugh at me

I was finally soaring high enough for all to see

     I could entertain for hours

     And relish in my powerful gift

     On the stage I would tower

     But I shouldn't feel this empty, I wished

     I wished

I started singing what I wanted to sing instead of what they told me

'Cause I'd lost my self-respect, my self-esteem, my artistic integrity

But worst of all I was bitter for getting so caught up in my own parade

And those "friends" dropped like flies, they never took me seriously

I only wanted to be free and natural and pure like that bird

With the world at my feet and light as hope on the wind

     So I burned down the fences

     And all false pretenses and fled

     But when I came to my senses

     There were only dormant words in my head

     All my stories were dead

Break

After years of searching my soul and finding some love for myself

I picked up this guitar and crawled over the roadblocks I had built

Climbed a mountain that touched the sky overlooking the world

And with a voice and a pen I started over again

That songbird was always in me, and like a phoenix she'll rise from ash

With glory and love she will out-shine the sun

     And whether I'm a sigh or a siren

     I'll hunt down the fire in these words

     This Songbird's never tiring,

     And this time I am going to be heard

     'Cause I'm writing again

     And I've still got a few friends left to hear

     I'm going to balance and mend

     All I've done in the end with this gift

     This powerful gift

Back to Songs 2000

Back to Songs