Blues-rock singer-songwriter Lena Morris has released an upbeat and empowering new single ‘Little Bird’ from her debut album New Blood. You can listen to the track on Spofity now (click on the link at the bottom of this article).
Morris: ‘Little Bird’ advocates a woman’s ownership over her sexual desire. She knows what she wants, how, where, when and with whom she wants it. She doesn’t bother telling her sex partner in the bluntest way. The first verse ‘saw my wings if you want me tonight, so many reasons to go fly high’ depicts her empowered sexual freedom. She has full command of her pulsions, and consequently of her life.”
It’s refreshing to hear such playfulness in a track, even if the lyrics can be graphic such as “Rough is better/don’t tell my father/break my feathers…”.
Morris: “I’m not saying all women should act like this. The meaning here is whatever your thing is, go for it, don’t hide, and don’t be afraid to be judged. To each her own”.
So why the title ‘Little bird’?
Morris: “I like the ironic dichotomy between the song’s meaning and the title. That woman really is everything but a little bird, everything but a frail prey. The title and the chorus are very much mocking that assumption of women being fragile, lost, in need of a strong male shoulder to lean on… I say: “enough of that cliché” but I say it with a smile”.
That just leaves us with one more question, what was the driving force behind the lyrical meaning?
Morris: “I wrote this song in the context of the explosive Me Too campaign a few years back. A bunch of brave women finding the strength to denounce an age-old culture of male predation was an inspiration. Not that my modest stone was needed by the cause, but I guess it was my way to tell them: “I’m with you, I’m your ally”. That woman in ‘Little Bird’ can be any of us really. I do believe the rejection of her presupposed status of a desirable object to burst a desiring self, should be a guideline to all women today. This movement has come a long way, but far from complete. Not only when it comes to sex, by the way. The meaning of the lyrics applies to many sides of women’s life. All in all, ‘Little Bird’ embraces women’s struggle against abusers of all kind by voicing their inalienable right to free will.”
