There is an old superstition that a bird flying into your home is a sign of impending death. In truth, there are many cultures in which you would be advised to start putting your affairs in order if a wild bird, and particularly a black one such as a crow or raven, enters your dwelling.
Unfortunately, the scientific community have yet to provide us with any reliable statistics for this phenomenon, although, thankfully, the more creative-minded have provided ample testimony via literature, art and song.
It is these latter traditions that have inspired the latest offering, I Thought I Saw A Bird, from visual artist and multi-instrumentalist Simon Jones (of Harp and a Monkey).
Jones explains: “Superstition is still a big part of our lives and popular culture – so much so it can play a big part in determining some of our daily actions and decisions. For me, even though my logical mind says superstitions are not rooted in factual truths, there is an equal part that asks, ‘what if?’
“I have always been drawn to superstitions; things that offer a connection to an ‘otherness’ that is vitally colourful and creative in an often ‘over-explained’ world. To be honest, I love the idea that a bird could fly into your house and change your future.”
Set in contrasting soundscapes of lightness and dark, I Thought I Saw A Bird strives to conjureup the image of a dark omen. Jones, an international award-winning animator and art photographer whose work adorns record sleeves and book covers, has also completed a short animation to accompany the release, which we are delighted to be premiering here…
Better known for his musical work as one-third of the acclaimed experimental folk song and storytelling trio Harp & a Monkey, I Thought I Saw A Bird, is the second song from Jones’s forthcoming second solo album of reworked traditional folk standards and self-penned songs – and one in which all of the material is related to themes of mortality.
In his first offering from the new album, Call Off The Dawn, which we also exclusively brought to you, Jones looked at the burden of grief and how those who have lost a loved one struggle to confront the enormity of their predicament.
Jones told us at that time: “There is such a rich seam of imagery tied to representations of death: sometimes it can be fearful and macabre, and at other times optimistic and evangelical. Totally contrasting aesthetics.”
The single is available now via Bandcamp:
https://simonjohnjones.bandcamp.com/music