Song Stories: "If I was a Blackbird"

A tale of heartbreak

I wrote a micro story for a challenge earlier this summer that I wanted to share, but since it was so short, I knew I needed something else to write about. Then I remembered hearing a folk song about a blackbird. And after a bit of searching, I finally found it! The song speaks of abandonment and unfulfilled love. These sorts of stories have always appealed to me – perhaps because I immersed myself in classic literature that contained these themes (ex: Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, and the poetry of John Keats). Heartbreak is something all of us can relate to – it’s a very human emotion, and indulging in these sad stories from time to time makes us more empathetic, which is such a necessary thing in our modern age of apathy. I chose Elír’s rendition because her melancholy voice expresses the wistful longing of the young woman’s plight.

LYRICS

I am a young maiden, my story is sad

For once I was carefree and in love with a lad

He courted me sweetly, by night and by day

But now he has left me and gone far away.

Oh, if I was a blackbird, could whistle and sing

I’d follow the vessel my true love sails in

And in the top rigging, I would there build my nest

And I’d flutter my wings o’er his broad golden chest.

He sailed o’er the ocean, his fortune to seek

I missed his caresses and his kiss on my cheek

He returned and I told him my love was still warm

But he turned away lightly and great was his scorn.

He offered to take me to Donnybrook Faire

To buy me fine ribbons to tie up my hair

He offered to marry and to stay by my side

But then in the morning, he sailed with the tide.

Oh, if I was a blackbird, could whistle and sing

I’d follow the vessel my true love sails in

And in the top rigging, I would there build my nest

And I’d flutter my wings o’er his broad golden chest.

Ships in a Gale, 1660, by Willem van de Velde the Younger

There are many folk songs about sailors going off to sea and leaving their loves behind. That was certainly a reality for thousands of years. Vikings, raiders, pirates, explorers, naval ships, merchant ships, workers on steamer ships, and fishermen all spent a great majority of their lives at sea. They bid goodbye to their families, and many never saw their loved ones again. Jane Austen’s most romantic novel, Persuasion, is about an eight years separation between Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth during the Napoleonic Wars. They were reunited, but so many couples were not. Perhaps the wistful longing we feel for the sea is a result of the ancestral memories we still carry.

Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash

The story I wrote for a

Written Tales

challenge was inspired by the red-wing blackbirds that visited my backyard this summer. Until I moved to Maine, I had never heard one before. They are such comical little birds! Here’s what they sound like:

As for the story itself, it’s a departure from what I usually write since it ends on a sad note. But after witnessing the habitat loss in Colorado, I wanted to write something with this important theme.

The Blackbird

Once upon a time, there was a red-winged blackbird who loved to soar over the meadow. He would watch as the vibrant butterflies flitted from flower to flower. He would listen as the worker bees hummed songs about their Queen. Even on gloomy days, there was plenty of entertainment to be had. The wind would whisper through the grass, gossiping about all the creatures who called the meadow home. Did you know that poor Rabbit has toothache? And that Mrs. Dove has laid three new eggs? Oftentimes, Blackbird was the one who had some news to report, and he’d call out a headline or two: “Cricket has finally found a mate! Chipmunk beat Kestrel in a race!” And Wind would reply with a thrilled gust that lifted Blackbird’s wings. As day faded to evening, he’d perch himself in my branches and wait for the show to begin. One by one, the fireflies switched on their lanterns, and oh, how lovely their twinkling lights looked against the dark blue sky! Yes… I can still remember the beauty of the meadow before the bulldozer came… before the black tar smothered the ground. I miss everything, but Blackbird most of all.