From the recording Lightened By Love - Download
7. Snowbird (3:57) (Gene MacLellan; EMI Blackwood Music Inc.)
I was a big Anne Murray fan back in the day, and this song has been in my repertoire for decades. One of the keys to doing cover songs is to not go for exact duplication of the original (unless you are in a cover/tribute band), but to try and present them in a different way - changing the genre style, etc. Being a balladeer at heart, I chose to slow it down a bit and take it from a pop-type original to a more folk-like sound. As a vocalist, it makes it easier to sing, easier to get that focus on the lyrics.
Lyrics
Beneath its snowy mantle cold and clean
The unborn grass lies waiting for its coat to turn to green
The snowbird sings the song he always sings
And speaks to me of flowers that will bloom again in spring
When I was young my heart was young then, too
And anything that it would tell me, that's the thing that I would do
But now I feel such emptiness within
For the thing that I want most in life's the thing that I can't win
Spread your tiny wings and fly away
And take the snow back with you where it came from on that day
The one I love forever is untrue
And if I could you know that I would fly away with you
The breeze along the river seems to say
That he'll only break my heart again, should I decide to stay
So, little snowbird, take me with you when you go
To that land of gentle breezes where the peaceful waters flow
Spread your tiny wings and fly away
And take the snow back with you where it came from on that day
The one I love forever is untrue
And if I could you know that I would fly away with you
Spread your tiny wings and fly away
And take the snow back with you where it came from on that day
The one I love forever is untrue
And if I could you know that I would fly away with you
Yes, if I could you know that I would fly……..
Away with you