Welcome back to this week’s edition of the Wichitan’s Song of the Week. This week’s pick is “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by California-born singer-songwriter Billie Eilish.

Released May 17, 2024 as the fourth track on her third studio album “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT,” “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” is Eilish’s most powerful love song to date.

The song is a love story between Eilish and a special someone where she is falling in love and wishing  for that feeling to never end. She ties the feeling of being in love with the happiest moment of her life and just as the title suggests, she hopes her special someone sticks with her like birds of a feather.

Eilish narrates the ups and downs of a relationship through the eleven tracks of “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT.” She often narrates all the times in her life a relationship has been bad but in “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” she explains that falling in love and being in a relationship can and should be happy, fun and good.

Born in Los Angeles, Eilish is an award-winning singer-songwriter best known for her debut single, “Ocean Eyes.” With the help of her award-winning songwriter and  producer brother, FINNEAS, Eilish’s musical career has been filled with praise and recognition.

I have been a fan of Eilish and FINNEAS since the start of both of their musical careers so it was a no brainer to present this song for Song of the Week. I chose this song for a multitude of reasons.

Firstly, ever since the release of “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT,” I have been obsessed with the song. It is a song that not just I but many people can easily relate to.

Secondly, I believe this song to be Eilish’s best song to date. It is her best song vocally, lyrically and musical composition-wise.

Vocally, this has been her most challenging song ever.

Eilish’s singing style and vocal range has primarily been breathy, soft and low enough to be categorized as a mezzo-soprano or a contralto. This does not mean she has not gone outside of this before, evident in “No time to Die” and “Happier Than Ever.”

In “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” she sings with a brighter tone than she is used to. The song also features the hardest and highest belt she has ever done in her career. Eilish and FINNEAS are the songwriters for the song to no surprise as he has co-written most of her hits.

After being raised by two musicians and taking songwriting lessons for most of his life, FINNEAS is no stranger to how important songwriting is. Utilizing different songwriting styles to portray Eilish’s feelings, FINNEAS co-wrote an amazing love song for the ages.

Just as he is a songwriter for his sister, FINNEAS is also Eilish’s primary musical producer and he produced every song on the album.

“BIRDS OF A FEATHER” is in D major and has a tempo of 105 RPM, which helps its theme centered around love, energy and mortality.

It also utilizes drums and a simple synth in the beginning and then adds strings in the background all to create a soundscape that not only complements Eilish’s vocals, but also explains the emotional message of the song. Lastly, this lo-fi mix of pop and indie music is a testament to Eilish’s’ commitment to authenticity and emotional depth.

“BIRDS OF A FEATHER” is my favorite song from the album and one of my favorites from Eilish’s entire discography. In “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” Eilish sings about how it feels to be in love.

She begins the song by saying that she wants her ‘person’ to stay and be with her. She describes how she wants to be with this person until either they have passed away or she has. In the refrain and pre-chorus of the song, she describes this feeling by relating it with the classic English saying, “Birds of a feather, flock together.”

She says that she knows she can be alone, but she does not want to and that she would love to be with her person even if it is not forever.

In the chorus, she finally professes her love. She uses the phrase, “‘Til the day that I die” three times in the chorus to emphasize that nothing can break her love but death.

In the second verse, she tries to reassure her person that she is serious and her love is real. She acknowledges that she can see that her declaration of love can be seen as a joke but she explains that her constant compliments and admiration is not a bit.

In the post-chorus, she ends the song by saying that if her love seems familiar it is because she “knew them in another life” and that she remembers everything about her person from that past life. She does this to emphasize that her love is eternal, a juxtaposition of her original comment of death being the only thing that could end her love.

As stated in previous editions of the Song of the Week, lyricism is an important aspect of any song and FINNEAS and Eilish understood that when writing “BIRDS OF A FEATHER.”

With their background and growing up in their mother’s songwriting classes and their many awards, nominations and recognition in songwriting, FINNEAS and Eilish are no strangers to expressing emotions through lyricism. In “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” the songwriters utilize storytelling and pathos to tell Eilish’s feelings and to give a powerful love ballad. My favorite lyric in the entire song are:

“And I don’t know what I’m cryin’ for

I don’t think I could love you more

It might not be long, but baby, I

I’ll love you ’til the day that I die

‘Til the day that I die

‘Til the light leaves my eyes

‘Til the day that I die”

At its core, “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”  is a love song that captures the universal longing for an unbreakable and lasting connection.

It highlights love’s ability to triumph over challenges and celebrates the profound emotional bonds that can form between two individuals.

With its poignant lyrics and haunting melody, the song delivers a powerful and unforgettable listening experience.