Bird on the Wire
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"Bird on the Wire" is one of Leonard Cohen's signature songs. It was included on his 1969 album Songs from a Room. A previous recording produced by David Crosby was never finished. Judy Collins was the first to release the song on her 1968 album Who Knows Where the Time Goes.
In the 1960s, Cohen lived on the Greek island Hydra with his girlfriend Marianne (the woman depicted on Songs from a Room's back cover). She has related how she helped him out of a depression by handing him his guitar, whereupon he began composing "Bird on the Wire" – inspired by a bird sitting on one of Hydra's recently installed phone wires, followed by memories of wet island nights. He finished it in a Hollywood motel.
Cohen has described "Bird on the Wire" as a simple country song, and the first recording, by Judy Collins, was indeed done in a country setting. He later made various minor changes, such as the modifications present on Cohen Live. Different renditions are included on all of his live albums. On occasion he also performed Serge Lama's French version, "Je veux vivre tout seul", in concert.
Several artists have covered the song, often as "Bird on a Wire" (indeed, this variation appears in the compilation Essential Leonard Cohen), including:
- Joe Cocker on Joe Cocker! (1969) and the live album Mad Dogs & Englishmen (1970)
- Tim Hardin on the album Bird on a Wire (1971)
- Pearls Before Swine on the album Beautiful Lies You Could Live In (1971)
- Rita Coolidge on the album The Lady's Not for Sale (1972)
- Jennifer Warnes on the tribute album Famous Blue Raincoat (1987)
- Tom Cochrane and Red Rider on The Symphony Sessions (1989)
- The Neville Brothers on the album Brother's Keeper (1990), also included in the movie by the same name
- The Lilac Time on the tribute album I'm Your Fan (1991)
- Johnny Cash on the album American Recordings (1994), and also live with orchestra (released on the 2003 compilation Unearthed)
- Willie Nelson on the tribute album Tower of Song (1995)
- Stina Nordenstam on the album People Are Strange (1998)
- k.d. lang on the album Hymns of the 49th Parallel (2004)
- Perla Batalla on the album Bird on the Wire - The Songs of Leonard Cohen (2005)
- The Bobs on the album Cover the Songs of... (1994) in a skate-punk style
The Norwegian band Midnight Choir had its name from the song's opening lines, "Like a bird on the wire, like a drunk in a midnight choir, I have tried in my way to be free." Kris Kristofferson has stated that this is his epitaph.
