I'm Like a Bird CD

When she first burst onto the scene in late 2000, Nelly Furtado made a very big impression. With a unique, if nasal, voice that made you stand up and take notice, she commanded respect from the very beginning. The first thing you noticed about her is that she was cool - very cool. A 20 year old Canadian chick singing about being a bird was different and very exciting. Was she the new Alanis Morissette? The new Fiona Apple? The new Tori Amos or Sarah McLachlan? No, she was none of these because Nelly is different to them all in that she is individual and completely unique from anything else out there. Her debut album "Whoa, Nelly!" was hailed by many critics as one of the most diverse and varied-sounding albums in years and she picked up much praise for this. The album went Platinum and sold around 7 million copies worldwide, making Nelly an international superstar. There wasn't many artists who had a bright and shining career ahead of them, but Miss Furtado was definitely one of them!

"I'm Like A Bird" was the first single to be taken from Nelly's debut album and quickly established her as a bona-fida pop bossa nova. Elements of Macy Gray and Gwen Stefani were all present, which made her accessible yet interestingly singular at the same time. The song became a smash hit on the charts, especially in Europe and a massive radio pop hit all over the world. The song opens with a brilliant violin that is now a modern-day classic in terms of song introductions. Everyone has heard this song and the intro is just infamous. The violin is fabulous and starts off very vividly, before Nelly opens with the first verse, "You're beautiful, that's for sure. You'll never ever fade. You're lovely, but it's not for sure. That I won't ever change." Nelly then starts singing the bridge, "And though my love is rare yeah. And though my love is true..."

She then moves swiftly into the majestic chorus which we all know and love, "I'm like a bird, I'll only fly away. I don't know where my soul is. I don't know where my home is (and, baby, all I need for you to know is). I'm like a bird, I'll only fly away. I don't know where my soul is. I don't know where my home is." Nelly then sings the second verse, "All I need for you to know is your faith in me brings me to tears. Even after all these years. And it pains me so much to tell, that you don't know me that well!" Nelly then sings the bridge and chorus again, before moving into the best part of the song where she sings, "It's not that I wanna say goodbye. It's just that everytime you try to tell me, me that you love me, oh boy. Each and every single day, I know I'm gonna have to eventually give you away." Nelly sings the bridge again with more passion and soul than on the last time, and she builds this up perfectly to the final swansong, the addictive chorus that blares out.

The song soon dies down and fades out to the end and so ends a fantastic pop classic! One of the many things that I adore about Nelly Furtado's music is her ability to capture a snapshot of my spirit and mind within her voice, her lyrics and the instruments used in her compositions. I adore Canada, and because she hails from there, I get lovely images of the Canadian outback everytime I listen to her music. The video to I'm Like A Bird kind of represents this, and I love the feelings of freedom and nature I get whenever I listen to this song!