Stian Fjelldal has a plan. Or at least he did. And as he trades under the moniker of Birds are Better we should probably call it Plan B.
Stian has fluttered this way twice before, with ‘Marigold’ in October 2022 and then ‘Super Highway’ in March of this year.
‘The Plan’ is the first single from his forthcoming follow up-album ‘The Island – Part II’ which should be out early next year. The first part was released in May of this year.
‘Super Highway’ in particular is a good example of how he writes about simple subjects and themes but with often with a twist, or a double entendre, or an open ended question.
He’s as much a poet as a songwriter.
Looking back on ‘Super Highway’ it was possible to interpret the lyrics in several ways and the one I opted for was that of a homecoming where the anticipated result (mutual joy) was not necessarily likely to be the actual one. I also noted “the stringy keyboard outro suggests ‘to be continued…’”
So is ‘The Plan’ somehow a continuation of that theme?
The ‘baby blue’ of the opening line could be suggestive of that (usually mild and temporary) post-natal sadness, sometimes a precursor to full-blown PND, other times not. Is it a happy family life that is no longer part of the plan that prompts him to reach out to the heavens for help, to the Holy Trinity of Jesus, God and the Lord?
The other image that came into my mind, and probably because the film has been on TV here several times these last few months, was that of Father Damien Karras’ battle with his faith in The Exorcist; one of many subplots that contrive to make it the greatest film ever in my opinion.
Lovers of ‘blue’ like to live their lives according to their ideals and beliefs. Is this a statement of his lost faith? And if so, in what? “Can you help an old altar boy, father?” as Regan/the Demon demands of the priest, mimicking the down-and-out in the subway station earlier in the film. “Could you please start giving me a hand, boy” he might have added (a line in the song).
Truth to tell I’m probably just rambling here. I have no idea what the song is about and the cleverly made video doesn’t offer much of a clue either.
But as I do believe I’ve said previously it is his ability to evoke starkly contrasting images that sets him aside from most other songwriters, as he once again proves here.
Postscript
There is always a danger of taking a song off an album that is a ‘concept’ one before it is released and misinterpreting the meaning but I’ll always have a shot at it at least.
Stian Fjelldal messaged me after the review was published to reveal that he wrote the song over three years ago as part of a concept album about a troubled seabird (a blue footed booby, hence ‘Baby Blue’).
Since then he says he has “kind of drifted off the narrative, although I do believe the song will make a bit more sense when it can be heard in the context of the album, after the tracks ‘The Storm’ and ‘The Dead’ where the protagonist loses it all and starts questioning the will and purpose of God.”
He adds, “I’m not a religious man myself, but I like to play with the “concept”.
I’m happy to set the record straight on that. I would never have guessed the song concerned a blue footed booby! Perhaps a dodo or an albatross might turn up eventually in the catalogue. There are many birds that have their own story around which a tale might be woven.
Find him on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/birdsarebetter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StianFjelldal
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stianfjelldal/
Song lyrics:
Oh, my baby blue, where did you go
I’m looking for a clue in the scattered den
A feather soaring steady to and fro
Do I have to deal with this again?
Jesus, I don’t have a plan
Could you please start giving me a hand, boy?
Jesus, I don’t have a plan
I don’t have a plan, boy
God almighty, did you run away
Or is this just some kind of play
Oh, my dearest Lord, are you out of reach
Or are you just as blind and weak as me
Jesus, I don’t have a plan
Could you please start giving me a hand, boy?
Jesus, I don’t have a plan I don’t have a plan, boy
Jesus, I don’t have a plan
Could you please start giving me a hand, boy?
Jesus, I don’t have a plan
Please give me a hand, boy.
