“White Bird,” a 1969 deep track by It’s a Beautiful Day,

From the album It’s a Beautiful Day, Songwriters:

Linda Baker LaFlamme; David LaFlamme.

My dear Friends, writers of Wattpad,

Do you like deep tracks?  I have one today.

If you listen, you will surely be glad,

Gain a new favorite song, I daresay.

You may have never heard “White Bird;”

It’s likely you were not born then.

This masterpiece my soul’s depths stirred,

Made me wonder where I had been.

So, story tellers and poets,

May your spirits fly free in bliss,

While music metaphors show us,

Timeless meanings we hear in this.

“White Bird”

White bird in a golden cage,
On a winter's day,
In the rain

White bird in a golden cage,
Alone

The leaves blow 'cross the long black road
To the darkened sky
In its rage

But the white bird
Just sits in her cage
Unknown

White bird must fly
Or she will die

The White bird dreams of the aspen trees
With their dying leaves
Turning gold

But the white bird just sits in her cage
Growing old

White bird must fly
Or she will die

The sunsets come
The sunsets go
The clouds roll by
And the Earth turns slow
And the young bird's eyes do always glow

And she must fly
She must fly
She must fly

White bird in a golden cage
On a winter's day
In the rain

White bird in a golden cage
Alone

White bird must fly
Or she will die (3x)

White bird must fly

.

“White Bird’s” 1969 release by San Francisco based band,

It’s a Beautiful Day, was poorly timed.  Running over six minutes

long, it received little air time.  FM radio, where lengthier songs

were played, had not yet become popular.

“White Bird” falls into the progressive rock genre.  It’s a Beautiful

Day was an up-and-coming group, relatively unknown, with “White

Bird’s” release falling into the “Summer of Love” in 1969.  The

group was considered to perform at Woodstock, but lost in a coin

toss to Santana, whose appearance made them an instant success.

The group has stated that “White Bird” was written in the winter of

1968, when the penniless artists all lived together in the attic of a house

in Seattle, WA, the lodging and a small food allowance provided by their

manager. The dreary imagery was their view from the small attic window.

Their lodging, though depressing, was provided for them, hence the

“golden cage.”  It was a creative time for the artists, the “white bird”

representing their unknown talent. 

This interpretation is the documented meaning of this magnificent piece. 

But I only recently heard this song, and when I look at the lyrics, there

is a timelessness that opens my mind to other meanings.  So, let’s listen,

and see what we get out of the words.

 White bird in a golden cage,
On a winter's day,
In the rain

White bird in a golden cage,
Alone

The “white bird” brings to my mind several images, such as

a unique, individualistic soul, or a gifted genius,  perhaps a

wealthy person, or a virginal person.  The white bird is

sequestered, protected in its “golden cage,” yet misery surrounds

it.  It’s winter and rainy, and the white bird is alone and trapped.

The leaves blow 'cross the long black road
To the darkened sky
In its rage

But the white bird
Just sits in her cage
Unknown

White bird must fly
Or she will die

The winter imagery intensifies.   The fierce winds swirl the leaves; the

sky is dark and raging.  The white bird is trapped; no one pays attention

to it.  Despite the harsh conditions, its urgency to escape is clear:

“White bird must fly, or she will die.”

The White bird dreams of the aspen trees
With their dying leaves
Turning gold

But the white bird just sits in her cage
Growing old

.

Life goes on all around the white bird, as she grows old in her

cage.  She dreams of living in the freedom of the beautiful aspen

trees, whose leaves are golden as they fall for the winter.

The sunsets come
The sunsets go
The clouds roll by
And the Earth turns slow
And the young bird's eyes do always glow

And she must fly
She must fly
She must fly

The days go slowly for the white bird, “and the young bird’s eyes

 do always glow.”  This tells me that though time is passing, the

white bird never loses hope that it will escape from the cage,

because it  is destined to fly: “ And she must fly, she must fly,

she must fly.” 

This moving song ends with a hopeful warning, a prediction, a

 mantra that the “white bird must fly, or she will die.”

I hope you have enjoyed listening to this song, which I am so glad

I found accidently, better late than never.  The songwriters of “White

Bird” divorced, and the band returned with LaFlamme and his second

wife. 

Pattie Santos, who shares the lead vocal with LaFlamme, was

killed in an automobile accident in 1989.  RIP, Pattie Santos.  Her

voice lives on as long as there are listeners.  <3