Chris
Oh Very Young
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Post by Chris on Mar 29, 2002 1:02:58 GMT -5
This is a wonderful song, but Cat isn't real expicit as to his meaning in this song.
Could he be talking about a girl who has fallen ill and sadly dies, or could it be more along the line of a suicide? Hmmmmm.... Or is it perhaps something I have over looked?
What is your take on this song?
And is it just me, or does Hummingbird and Sad Lisa have a similar feel to them?
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Post by Vivian on Mar 29, 2002 8:24:48 GMT -5
Well, it could very well be about suicide! But not Cat's! Obviously, she was someone who was close to his heart! Perhaps his first childhood crush! And YES, I do think that Hummingbird and Sad Lisa have the same feel! Is it possible that the two songs are about the same person! We do know that Sad Lisa was about a girl he knew in Sweden! And we do know that young Steve went to school in the yearly years in Sweden, so Lisa may be a young school mate that Steve knew, who was perhaps Steves first crush! Maybe he couldnt 'help her which would be where Hummingbird came in! Even though Sad Lisa came out AFTER Hummingbird, MAYBE it was written first!
Peace,Vivian
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Post by Bootmiester on Mar 29, 2002 11:00:28 GMT -5
My take on this song revolves around the very notion of the fragility of life. A retrospective account of someone very close. But obviously this is just my opinion, as always, Cat's songs can be interpreted in a million different ways, by a million different individuals.
One thing that has always puzzled me though! Why place "Hummingbird" directly after "Come On and Dance"? Two complete opposites!
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Chris
Oh Very Young
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Post by Chris on Mar 29, 2002 11:28:20 GMT -5
Thats true boot, but it seems he did the same thing with "Sad Lisa" and " Miles from Nowhere"
Sad Lisa is a girl *person* desperately seeking some sort guidence/help from lonliness and depression, and 'Miles from Nowhere' is about a person, who seems to be able to seek and ultimately achieve his dreams and goals through his own power of positive thinking. I wonder if he subconscously placed these songs this way, or if he placed them back to back on purpose?
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Post by 70sCat on Mar 29, 2002 11:37:27 GMT -5
Hello everyone! I haven't heard that song...  Is it posted somewhere here on Majicat? Salaams, Susan |
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Chris
Oh Very Young
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Post by Chris on Mar 29, 2002 11:41:10 GMT -5
Vivian , I have two accounts of Sad Lisa. Once I heard, the song is about his mother, the other he is talking about himself.
As for Hummingbird, I have no idea who she may have been or if she even existed. But my take on the song is just perhaps he felt like the hummingbird, he was there lovingly watching over his mother after his parents divorce?
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Chris
Oh Very Young
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Post by Chris on Mar 29, 2002 11:46:55 GMT -5
Hello everyone! I haven't heard that song... Is it posted somewhere here on Majicat? Salaams, Susan Susan, I don't have it on real audio, but here are the lyrics to the song. It's on Cats 1st LP Mathew & Son Hummingbird
There's a yellow flower by your bed
Sadly droopin' it's perfumed head
So you won't smell it, I know what you'll miss
And there's a hummingbird, a hummingbird,
A hummingbird, a hummingbird,
Oh there's a hummingbird singing.
There is the hat you made, the clothes you wore
Lying down on the cold, dirty floor.
The colors are fading, they'll never shine again.
And there's a hummingbird, a hummingbird,
A hummingbird, a hummingbird,
Oh there's a hummingbird singing.
Now the road is turning gray,
There's a shadow where you once lay.
They'll find it tomorrow, and think you went alone.
But there's a hummingbird, a hummingbird,
A hummingbird, a hummingbird,
Ah there's a hummingbird crying.
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Post by Bootmiester on Mar 29, 2002 12:08:57 GMT -5
Chris, my opinion is that your matriarchal explanation is the more accurate.
But consider this, does the Hummingbird necessarily represent a person?
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Daisy
Katmandu Member
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Post by Daisy on Mar 29, 2002 13:02:30 GMT -5
I never heard the Hummingbird. This is also the first time I heard the lyrics. Could the lyrics have something to do with the choice of the hummingbird as opposed to another type of bird? For instance the way the hummingbird draws the sweetness out of a flower , or the way it hovers?
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Post by Lucy13 on Mar 29, 2002 18:11:12 GMT -5
The Hummingbird audiofile can be found on Harry Schmieder's wonderful website (the German Cat Stevens site on Christine's Links button).
If I'm not mistaken, Harry has at least AS big a collection of Cat audiofiles as John has, except Harry's are in working order. ;D I don't think many people realize this.
When you get to Harry's site, just click on "LPs" in the left menu bar.
Or try this (not sure if I got it right... it MAY work):
pnm://www.cat-stevens.de/hummbird.ram
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Post by MissKitty on Mar 29, 2002 19:16:25 GMT -5
If you read the interview that came out last year in Goldmine Magazine, Yusuf answers the question about Sad Lisa. He says that she was indeed a young Swedish girl he knew but then he chuckles and says he used a lot of poetic liscence and embellished the story. He seemed to get quite a kick out of saying it was all made up. So I feel like he created a story to use it as an alegory about himself and lonliness just like he wrote other songs about himself but disguised them in this fashion. It seems to have amused him no end that we spend a lot of time disecting the songs. Got to love his humor...
~~cheers
MissKitty
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Post by 70sCat on Mar 29, 2002 19:56:47 GMT -5
Peace to you all,
Susan
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Post by hummingbird on Mar 29, 2002 21:22:32 GMT -5
Oh darn!! When I saw this topic I thought that Christine was announcing I had won the March contest!! HA!
As for the song Hummingbird...this one I kind of thought was just 'made up.' Young Steve admitted he was a little fascinated about 'death' there for a while. I think he liked romantic tragedies. To me it was always just a simple lyric about a young girl who takes ill and dies. Why he chose a hummingbird...hmmm. Not sure, but maybe because they are fragile and beautiful and flit about in a fleeting sort of way. It kind of ties into the theme about a young life being taken too soon.
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Post by Vivian on Mar 29, 2002 22:29:26 GMT -5
Interesting ideas, folks! And how right you are about there being a zillion different ways to disect Cat's songs by a zillion different people!
Peace,Vivian
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Post by Aisha on Mar 30, 2002 0:59:02 GMT -5
Okay, I used to put hummingbird feeders around my home in Georgia and I would watch these precious creatures doing their thing. Firstly, they only have a tube-like thing for a beak and I have never heard them sing. Maybe it has nothing to do with the song but the fact that (I am not 100% sure of this) these birds don't sing makes me wonder.
I think the song is about someone who has died and maybe the hummingbird is the symbol of grief. As I said in another post, we all interpret Cat's songs in various ways so it could mean so many different things. But it seems to deal with a memory of someone and the tone of the song makes me think of death.
Love,
A'isha
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Post by Play_and_play on Mar 30, 2002 4:19:59 GMT -5
How about the hummingbird being the reincarnation of the person that has passed away?
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Post by Lucy13 on Mar 30, 2002 22:18:18 GMT -5
Jen, once again I think you hit the mark. You seem to really have your finger on Steve's pulse.
REALLY! (well, in MY opinion... but what do I know!)
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Chris
Oh Very Young
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Post by Chris on Apr 2, 2002 17:56:07 GMT -5
I still think he is talking retorically. He was known for doing just this in many of his songs... Lady D, Into White, Lilywhite, Just Another Night to name a few.
To me, it seems to be more about a relationship that has died, rather than a person whose died. But then, everyone can look at each of Cats songs in a different manner/view. It's sort of like looking at an abstract painting, everyone sees something different. That is what makes Cats songs so interesting.
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Is it posted somewhere here on Majicat?
