An introduction to
"The Secret
Language Of Birds"
The album is already completely recorded
since January 1999. For marketing reasons the release was
postponed till March 7th 2000. This third Ian Anderson
solo album might be the acoustic one the fans have been
waiting for for so long. In the press release, issued on
January 29, Anderson introduces the album as follows:
"For 31 years, I've been the unplugged
guy in a rock and roll band, but I always like to come
back to the simple and essential elements of
singer/songwriter music. Although I wasn't very brave at
the beginning of Tull, by the time we made the 'Aqualung'
album I had included 3 or 4 genuine acoustic pieces,
which were predominantly me playing alone in the studio
with acoustic guitar, usually with a live vocal and maybe
embellished with piano or a string quartet."
"For that reason I've always felt that the kind of
acoustic album that I would make would probably sound
like at least a part of Jethro Tull's history so I
avoided it. But this time round I thought I'd do
what I believe the fans expected of me; so I guess I'm
doing the personal, sometimes introverted, sometimes
humorous and sometimes quite revealing kind of music that
wouldn't really work for me in the context of Jethro
Tull. This is just me in the studio doing my rather
private little thing with a few musicians who kindly came
along to adorn the product."
Anderson resides in the South West of England, a rural
setting that provided part of the inspiration behind the
record. "I don't get out and wander the countryside
as much as I'd like to, for me it's more a state of
mind. I tour the biggest and busiest cities of the
world and when I come home I like the contrast and the
peace, I'm eternally grateful that I can work from
home."
"There are several tracks on this record which make
considerable reference to visual images, often specific
images by specific artists. Like many people of my
generation, I began not as a musician but actually
studying painting, therefore everything I write does have
a visual reference. Indeed the track 'The Little Flower
Girl' comes from the painting of that name by Sir William
Russell Flint, 'A Better Moon' refers to a work by
Balraker while L.S.Lowry, who is famous for his
townscapes peopled by matchstick-like figures, was
somewhere in the back of my head while I was writing the
song 'Circular Breathing'. Even the songs not directly
connected to a painting or artist start from
pictures, when I go on tour or holiday it is always
visual references that are the genesis of the lyrics to
my songs. I tend to be an illustrator in that sense, I
use lyrics to substitute for the paintings I don't paint,
it's my stock in trade."
"The favourite over-asked question is
whether I write the music or lyrics first. It's never the
same thing sometimes it's a title, a line of melody or a
chord progression, or it can be more cerebral an
intellectual proposition or a gut feeling that I want to
express in words."
"Sometimes the music comes and already has a degree
of completeness and doesn't require to be developed
necessarily with lyrics. Equally there are occasions when
I think, I really like this lyric, what a shame I have to
ruin it by putting it to music, but I'm not a poet
and never wanted to be, so I end up having to find some
music to go with them. Then again I can just have a nice
little tune, but just scratch my head for hours and still
not come up with a title I'm comfortable with. It often
helps to have a title in the first place and a picture in
my head, that's the ideal. It doesn't have to be a
big colour glossy image, it could be a simple black &
white, but the form, line and tone are just the same
tools of expression that the visual artist uses, they all
cross over very neatly in to the musical domain. The
semantics are the same, but the end results are poles
apart, yet in some ways irrevocably linked."
* Ian Anderson; from the Papillon Press Release "The
Secret Language Of Birds"
Ian's comments in the album booklet are
added to each track. He warns us not to take it all too
seriously: "Don't be upset with the above. It's just
the quick crossword puzzle, with monkeys in hiding".
*
Ian Anderson in the album booklet.
Annotations
The Secret Language Of
Birds
"The big dawn chorus. Morning
after a night before. Could turn out to be the
special person. Everything's riding on this
one".
* Ian Anderson in the album
booklet.
As I interpret them, the call to "learn
the secret language of birds" is a call
to a loved one to escape with the singer of these
lines from the hustle and bustle of every day
life. After all, it takes extensive periods of
quiet listening to learn that secret language of
birds. Take the first verse for example:
"This sparkling
wine is all but empty", (too much
to drink so one can't drive anywhere), "Too
late for trains and no taxis", (can't
leave by those means either),
"I know the
feeling, seems all too contrived" (did the
singer of these lines purposely arrange things
that way?),
"There was no master-plan,
but the fact is" (no he
didn't, but...)
"You must stay me,
and learn the secret language of birds". (no
choice but stay, forget about the outside world,
enjoy quiet time together).
* RBofC
I would agree for the better part,
but still interpret the lyrics just slightly
differently. To me the situation seems like this:
the protagonist had a lady over for dinner. After
that they had a cosy evening and drank some
wine (like in Norwegian Wood). Then the lady
says: 'Oh my, is that the time? I must go home
now!' (like ladies do). The host then tries to
convince her to stay over for the night, the last
train already went, too late for taxi's, etc. Of
course, she heared that all before, and he
realises that. He assures her he didn't plan it
that way ("there was no
master-plan"). But he
just wants her to stay the night, until the next
morning when the first birds begin to whistle. He
tries to seduce here by (jokingly?) implying that
he could learn her the secret language of birds
when she's stay until the next morning, which,
regarding the lateness of the hour, isn't all
that far away ("attend to the
dawn about to be breaking"). He knows
women like that kind of poetic language. This
'charmeur' even tries to impress her with his
mentioning of a famous French painter. Secretly,
he already has a vision (he's really a wicked,
smooth talking casanova, the one your mother
warned you about, ladies) of her hair on the
pillow in his bed. A vision of this woman lying
in his bed carelessly, after a romantic and
fulfilling night with him, lying down now,
together listening to the chorus of the
birds. It's obvious to me: this song is a lesson
in seduction.
* Jeroen Louis
"....
on a Rousseau garden with monkeys in hiding". The
reference is to the French painter Henri Rousseau
(1844-1910), on whose style the cover-art for
'The Secret Language Of Birds' is based. Here is
an extract from Anderson's press conference in
Santiago, April 18th 1993: "I don't really
like classical orchestras and the people who have
learnt music by reading books. I am a naive
musician. I make music like the naive painter
Henri Rousseau. It may look pretty and have nice
colours, but the images are naive and childlike
-- like my soul [exaggerated waggling of
eyebrows]." Anyone unfamiliar with his works
can see some fine examples at The
Artchive.
* Andy Jackson
"If you're lucky enough to live
in the country, and wake up in the morning to the
sound of birds, you may wonder sometimes what it
is those birds actually see as the not so silent
witnesses to bedroom shenanigans. In 'The
Secret Language Of Birds' I'm imagining the
ultimate in corny chat up lines, where the guy
says to the girl 'Hey, come home with me and
learn the secret language of birds!"
* Ian Anderson; from the Papillon Press Release
"The Secret Language Of Birds"
In medieval times in the arcane
occult world of the alchemists and
philosophers there was a quest almost important
as turning lead into gold and fortelling the
future - learning the secret language of
birds! It appears it was believed that the
answers to the great mysteries of life and the
universe etc were known by birds and that
all would be revealed if the language could be
learned. However the quest to learn the
language was difficult an obtainable by only the
most learned and pure of heart (or something). There is an
E-book on this subject, written by William Henry:
"The language of birds, our angelic
connection", available at: http://www.williamhenry.net/ebooks.htm#lob Knowing
there is actually a secret language of birds
changes the complexion of the song a bit.
The protagonist is actually offering his lady
insight into the great mysteries of life if she
stays! To me it gives, what is still a
frivilous song, extra depth.
* Matthew Korn
The Little Flower Girl
"Sir William Russell Flint's
fully clad but coquettish flower girl. Was it his
favourite model Cecilia? Just showing up for
anotherday's work. Hats off to one of the
greatest technical watercolourists of all
time".
* Ian Anderson in the album
booklet.
The song was probably inspired by
William Russell Flint's painting 'The Little
Flower Girl, Senlis':
* Courtesy: David Tatham, source: The
Sir William Russell Flint site:
http://www.russell-flint.co.uk/
Montserrat
"Been there. Between eruptions.
Last gasp of colonial betrayal. Heart goes out.
Dwarf Poincianas still growing strong, here at
home. Ashfall wasteland where I picked
them".
* Ian Anderson in the album
booklet.
"The island has a profound
degree of Irish heritage attached to it. The
shamrock is a sort of national emblem of
Montserrat, and the colour green, and it all
struck me, again the artist in me was struck by
the optical opposites of colours. The luminous
reds and oranges against the pastel shades of
green, growing together. In the 'Habanero
Reel' I made reference to "Orange order in a
field of green" because the Habanero is
usually orange . . . ."
* Ian Anderson in "A New
Day",March 2000
Montserrat is an island in the
Caribbean Sea. The Soufrière
Hills under Chances Peak are
situated on the southern part of the island:
The song is about a period of
volcanic activity, that started in 1995 and
reached its peak in 1997, eventually leading to
the evacuation of the island's population. There
is more and detailed information, including
pictures, maps and animations at Soufrière
Hills, from which the above map is
borrowed.
* Jan Voorbij
Postcard Day
"Holiday guilt. Having a simply
wonderful time. Wish you were here, but sort of
glad you're not".
* Ian Anderson in the album
booklet.
"The song 'Postcard Day' is
really about the point in mid-holiday when that
sense of guilt comes upon you and you think 'God,
I'd better send some postcards home, cos if I
leave it to the end, we'll get home before they
do' - which rather negates the point."
* Ian Anderson; from the Papillon Press Release
"The Secret Language Of Birds"
The Water Carrier
"H2O at any price. No Delhi
Belly. No regrets. No small change left. The best
earthenware pots by Sir W.R.F. and Walter
Langley. Would they have as lovingly executed the
form and colour of the 1.5 litre plastic bottle?
Of course".
* Ian Anderson in the album
booklet.
"...
lush on a Naïn carpet". Nain is a
small town in the province of Isfahan, and it is
situated on the edge of the desert uplands of
central Iran. Until the beginning of this
century, the main craft in Nain was the weaving
of costly woollen cloth. The import of textiles
from the west lead to the decline of this craft,
and the Nain craftsmen switched to carpet making.
They were soon to gain a place among the quality
carpet producers of Iran. There is more detailed
and technical information on this site.
* Koen Wynkoop
Set-Aside
"Pointless and undignified
prevarication".
* Ian Anderson in the album
booklet.
'Set Aside' probably doesn't mean a
lot to our friends in North America, but the
agricultural policies that are necessary, it
would appear, in this day and age are to
literally set aside areas of agricultural land in
rotation, in order NOT to produce crops. The
ridiculous irony is that although there are
millions of starving people throughout the world.
In richer Western countries farmers are actually
being paid not to grow anything. This song dwells
on the dereliction that attaches itself to farms
and farmers from this policy, because it becomes
a sadly infectious, depressive state of mind
which visits itself upon those farmers who are
intrinsically paid not to grow crops. It's
a sad world, make the best of it."
* Ian Anderson; from the
Papillon Press Release "The Secret Language
Of Birds"
"Set-Aside" is the
(British) name of the agricultural policy within
the European Union, whereby a farmer is paid a
government subsidy NOT to cultivate part of a
farm. I've never really understood WHY this
is, but I presume it's to regulate agricultural
productivity and the market prices of commodities
on n ational and international levels. I can
quite imaging Ian having a view on the
subject....
* Neil Thomason
A Better Moon
"Sultry and sub-tropical images
of a Foweraker fantasy five thousand miles from
home".
* Ian Anderson in the album
booklet.
'A Better Moon' refers to a work by
Foweraker.
* Ian Anderson; from the
Papillon Press Release "The Secret Language
Of Birds"
The song was inspired by the
painting "Moonlight" by Arthur Moulton
Foweraker (1873-1942). Apparently there are two
paintings: "Moonlight, Newton St Cyres"
(Devon), sold at auction in May 1998 for
£1725.00 and "Moonlight, a courtyard,
Grenada", sold in June for £ 3450.00.
Arthur Moulton Foweraker: Born 1873, the
son of the bishop (?) of Exeter
Cathedral. Graduated from Christ's College,
Cambridge, in 1893 with a general science degree.
Perhaps he intended specialising in the
scientific field, but his love of painting
gradually gained more importance for him? By
1898 he was still living in Exeter, and had begun
to exhibithis paintings in various British
galleries. By 1901 he had made his home in Carbis
Bay, St Ives, Cornwall, and in 1902 he was made a
member of the Royal Society of British Artists
(RSBA). He was known as a flower and landscape
painter primarily, and, during his travels, seems
to have been attracted to Spanish
landscapes. He specialised in water colour
and must have travelled and painted extensively
in Spain.. Many of his paintings appear to
have been night-scenes. The bulk of his work was
exhibited between 1898 and 1912, mostly at the
RSBA (52 exhibits), with a handful scattered
around the regional galleries in Birmingham,
Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow. Perhaps
his particular style became less popular after
this date. If he was a 'traditional',
amateur painter, the arrival of Modernism in the
early 1920s would have made his work obsolete in
critical circles. He died 14th January 1942.
* Andy Jackson, Emil Ingelund,
Koen Wynkoop, Maureen Algar
I have a feeling that this painting
is something Ian has seen relatively recently,
perhaps in the past five years. Something
which caught his eye. So there is a good possibility
that he owns this painting himself, or that
Jeffrey Hammond owns it. Maybe Ian spotted it
during a visit. I can only suggest that this
painting is in private hands, and within Ian's
regular field of vision somehow. Here are the
only two examples of Foweraker's work that I've
foond on the internet:
* Andy Jackson
You
mention on your site that you can only find 2 examples of Albert
Moulton Foweraker paintings so I thought I'd send you this link to
many, many more at: The
Albert Moulton Foweraker Gallery. From a happy owner of
a beautiful Foweraker. * *Alison
Stenning
Foweraker: Santa
Maria, Antequera
Foweraker: Convent
of the Trinity, Antequera
Sanctuary
"Dear
uncle sold her into, into the purest kind of
slavery": Here Ian
refers to the very sad and real situation.Young
girls are trafficked from Nepal by underworld
gangs with police consent. They are held in a
slave market and brothelers visit the slave
auction to buy the girls. Most of them become
child prostitutes, others are sold to spend their
days toiling in workshops. One of these
"Streets Of Shame" is 14th Street in
Bombay's red light district, where caged naked
children are for sale and where young girls sold
to the brothels must work to pay off their debt.
This debt bondage keeps them in virtual slavery.
I found the shocking story of one of this girls -
Gitta - at the site of Jubilee
Campaign and I'm sure Ian drew the
inspiration for this song from a story like
Gitta's. There are more facts to be found on this
site about child prostitution and its relation
with poverty and economic underdevelopment. In
the same story incidental police raids to free
these girls are mentioned as well as the efforts
of church workers to help these girls. Are these
the "Good
angels brought her back to a last Nepal
summer"?
I'm pretty sure that Ian refers here
specifically to the situation in Bombay: we
should bear in mind that the confrontation with
poverty inspired him to write the song
"Beside Myself" for the Roots To
Branches album.
* Jan Voorbij
* Continuation
|
Introduction 