Came a yellow bird outside my window
Said bring me water and crusts of bread
Came a yellow bird outside my window
Said bring me water and crusts of break
For I'm injured and I'm haunted
By the storms in which I fled
I tried to fly to New Orleans
But I got lost in heavy rains
I tried to fly to New Orleans
But I got lost in heavy rains
I got many holes in my two wings
From arrows that you aimed
It wasn't I wounded you I didn't any arrows I could shoot
It wasn't I wounded you, any arrows I could shoot
I'm just a lonely man, I never left this room
Besides that I, how on earth could I
Hurt anything so frail as thee
Besides that I, how on earth could I
Hurt anything so frail as thee
When we've never met before this moment
When you called for help from me
Now yellow bird step down into my room
And she chose her words carefully
Yellow bird stepped down into my room
She chose her words carefully
She said you were aiming for the sun
And I was just in-between
And every time you wish to die
An arrow was released
every time you wish to die
An arrow was released
And the only thing between dark and light
Was my breast or yellow wings
Well this can't be true I shook with fear
Though I knew she didn't lie
This can't be true I shook with fear
Though I knew she couldn't lie
I never wanted to harm anybody else
It's just I who wish to die
And then the tears came rolling down
And the floor fell underneath
And then the tears came rolling down
And the floor fell underneath
And the yellow bird folded her wings together
And I dragged her down with me
At first glance, the song came a yellow bird by Simon Joyner seems to be a story of a wounded bird. However, a much deeper meaning exists within the story. This message is hidden beneath the words. It can be found by identifying and analyzing the figurative language within the song. The song came a yellow bird is filled with conceits, metaphors and well-thought diction that help to share Simon Joyner's thoughts and feelings on how an attempted suicide affects more than the person inflicting the pain.
Simon Joyner used diction to affect the overall tone of his song. Because the song has a sorrowful subject, it must be accompanied by a similar tone. To achieve this tone, Joyner used words that would invoke a similar feeling. Words like haunted, storms, heavy, and fear mirror the feelings the subject of suicide provokes. The words haunted and fear also reflect not only the feelings of a person considering or attempting suicide but also the way it makes the people around them feel.
Simon Joyner used a yellow bird to take the place of a hurt friend in the song . This was a conceit. A yellow bird is commonly associated with happiness while a hurt friend is thought of as sad and sorrowful. However, the bird in this song turns out to be very similar to a hurt friend. Like a person hurt by the actions of a friend, the yellow bird is frail and weak. By using a bird, Simon Joyner illuminates how frail and helpless a person can be made to feel when a friend attempts suicide.
Simon Joyner uses metaphors in his song to exaggerate suicide and the effects of suicide. Instead of saying, "you tried to commit suicide," Joyner says "You were aiming for the sun." By saying this, Joyner makes the act of committing suicide a worldly disaster instead of a personal disaster. This helps to show how suicide can affect many people. Simon Joyner uses the phrase, "I got many holes in my wings" instead of "You have wounded me many times." This helps to illustrate how painful it can be for a person to witness a friend attempt suicide.
Suicide hurts more than the person inflicting the pain. It hurts the lives of the family and friends left behind. It leaves them behind feeling alone and helpless. Simon Joyner did an incredible job of masking this sensitive subject with a endurable story without hiding his true meanings. By using literary techniques as an aid, Joyner managed to affix the story of a wounded bird with a moral.