Hummingbird by K.I.A.

A song of love. From the downtempo side of the Sonorous Susurrus release. (Vocals by Larissa Gomes).

LISTEN TO HUMMINGBIRD ON SPOTIFY: LINK

LISTEN TO HUMMINGBIRD ON APPLE MUSIC: LINK

LYRICS:

life is
so wonderful
wonder
wonderful

humming
hummingbird
laughing
laughingbird

my pretty girl
such a busy girl
here there everywhere
when she's glad
when she's glad
maggie magnificent
magnificent
maggie magnificent
magnificent

she talks with
delicate hands
two tiny hummingbirds
when she's mad
when she's mad
elo, eloquent
so eloquent
elo, eloquent
so eloquent

life is
so wonderful
wonder
wonderful

humming
hummingbird
laughing
laughingbird

she tries to
fly away
on little lies
when she's bad
when she's bad

pretty pretend
pretend
pretty pretend
pretend

turns my heaart
to a flower
has to hover near
when she's sad
when she's sad

heaven heavensent
heaven-sent
heaven heavensent
heavensent

life is
so wonderful
wonder
wonderful

humming
hummingbird
huming bird (fly away)
dancing
dancingbird (hover near)

humming
humminbird
laughingbird
lovingbird

SONG STORY:

I was in an old building with large windows, right next to Naka-Meguro train station. It was a typical Toyko summer, super humid, and the windows were open to try and create a breeze (there was no air-con).

A bird flew in and settled on a desk before looking around. When it noticed its salaryman surroundings (shady, but sllim-food-pickings), it decided to leave. It immediately crashed into a closed window, then looped out and tried again, and then again, smacking into more and more invisible walls. As it grew crazier in its flight it drew more attention, and people were trying to open all the windows they could. They were also getting brooms and shaking newspapers and waving their arms to try and direct the little bird out. Nothing worked.

Eventually, after an especially loud thump on the window, it fell to the floor. (It remained on its feet, like an aging professional boxer near career's end.)The bird, a sparrow, was near me at this point, so I slowly shifted, carefully extended my arm, and snatched quickly. I grabbed it from behind, and as my fingers curled around to its breast, my index finger landed on its heart, and I could feel its fast-fast beat.It was a strange moment-- papers and brooms and arms waving, a train roaring past, people clamoring, the oppressive humidity... all of it collapsed to the tip of my finger.

I managed to get the bird to the window without it getting away or crushing it, and when it flew out, the world restarted. (And it was good.)A year or two later, someone was coming from L.A. to visit me in Tokyo. Any airport is chaos, but an airport where the language is not the one you grew up with is chaos cubed. I wasn't even sure if I'd recognize this friend-- it'd been a long time since we'd seen each other-- and I was late and a little stressed out. But there she was, and she came over and gave me a big hug. And the world collapsed again-- I was now used to bowing from a distance, but I felt her heartbeat against mine, I felt her tiny ribcage in my arms (she's slight, and beautiful, like an exotic little bird), and all the airport anarchy just dropped away for a moment. (And it was great.)

Much later, and in another country, I now have a daughter (with the woman above!) She's sad, in the way only a three-year-old can be, she sees I'm busy working and knows not to interupt-- but she's hovering around me like a hummingbird around a flower, getting closer, getting closer. So I pick her up... and the world collapses. I feel her tiny ribs, and her little heart, and her melancholly melts away, and she smiles. (And it's wonderful.)