Here’s the visually inventive video for ‘The Boy And The Swan’ from half Irish, half English multi-instrumentalist Bird, also-known-as Janie Price. Bird’s string arrangement and lush production give the song a cinematic feel and reinforce the sense of mythic storytelling. With outstanding make-up and costumes, the video brings the song’s metaphors and symbols vividly to life. A haunting folk tale, ‘The Boy and the Swan’ tells the story of a boy, a swan and the impact our actions have on others, exploring the consequences of inflicting hurt and the cyclical nature of how we treat one another. The swan represents a boy damaged though bullying, his feathers plucked by someone who is, in fact, dealing with his own pain and carrying his own hidden wounds. Bird’s intriguing lyrics have a beautifully-poetic storytelling feel, perfect for her dreamily ethereal voice and the song’s folk-horror tone: “This story starts with you // The boy who walked until he found a lake // Found a swan the only one // Didn’t stop to ask it’s name… He plucked it’s feathers out // One by one until they looked the same… It’s like that when you hurt someone // We’ve all got a story about a boy and a swan.”
Bird says of the song: “I didn’t write ‘The Boy And The Swan’ for me. I had the bones of the idea for a song in a notebook and was introduced to a brilliant young Belgian artist Aqua Riyaz who was looking for writers to collaborate with. He told me about his experiences growing up and it helped me to shape the idea I had into this song. While I originally wrote it specifically for him, I think the lyric has a more universal message. Whether people also have their own versions of the story in the song, or whether we just look at the world at large and how certain countries and communities are bullying each other right now, it feels like such an unfortunately relevant thing to be singing about. I made the video for this track in Denmark with my incredibly talented friend Jorgen Callesen aka Miss Fish, who is a performance artist and runs an amazing space called Warehouse 9 in Copenhagen. It meant a lot to me to have him involved, as an LGBTQ+ activist he has helped a huge amount of marginalized artists work in the safe, non-judgemental, supportive space he and his partner created. So here’s to all the Swans out there.”
This is the fourth single from Bird’s upcoming EP “Strange As Folk”, the second of a pair of EPs that, together, will form a vinyl release. The classically-trained songwriter has released five previous albums and performed alongside or written songs for a host of well-known artists, including John Paul White (The Civil Wars), Charlie Sexton (Bob Dylan), Emeli Sandé and celebrated violinist Vanessa Mae. Absorb yourself in this dark metaphoric tale.
