What does Little Bird mean?

Ed Sheeran: Little Bird Meaning

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Album cover for Little Bird album cover

Little Bird Lyrics

If we take this bird in
With its broken leg
We could nurse it
She said
Come inside
For a little lie down with me
If you fall asleep
It wouldn’t be the worst thing
But when I wake up
Your make-up is on my shoulder
And tell me, if I lie...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Feb 28th 2013 !⃝

    This song is all about how Ed Sheeran was walking with his girlfriend and they saw a little bird with a broken leg. Since his girlfriend was studying to be a veterinarian, she wanted to nurse it back to health. Ed then goes on to say that he just wanted to have some tea and sleep and the bird ended up dying. He says he wrote this song as an apology to his girlfriend for distracting her and that it's his fault the bird died, but I think it's about more than that. I think it is about him and his girlfriend maybe having a confusing relationship in which they aren't together any more, but he wishes they were. I think this because of the lyrics "darling how I miss you" and "your'e my little bird" suggesting that the bird with the broken leg is really their relationship. I chose this song because Ed Sheeran's voice is so pure and absolutely perfect. Also, this song really spoke to me from how one little mistake can really make or break something.

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    May 12th 2012 !⃝

    I thought the bird was a metaphor for their love, but that's just me :)

  3. anonymous
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    Oct 26th 2018 !⃝

    It doesn’t matter in my eyes what Ed had said the song meant in the first place the fact that we all came here anyway shows that we found a deeper meaning in the song on our own and that I believe is more beautiful than any apology song he could’ve written

  4. anonymous
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    Jul 28th 2017 !⃝

    1."You're my little bird"
    2."im not certain about your love"
    3."you made me scream (becuase of the frustation of being not certain about her love)
    4."but then i made you cry when i left that little bird with it's broken leg to die"

    So!!, it's like this in my head. Little bird is his ex, they were couple. They broke up because he wasn't feeling certain of the love he got, so he left her. then he missed her deeply. he regret everything. he perhaps realized he was in the wrong and he thinks he owe her that much. THE ENDS

  5. anonymous
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    Apr 13th 2017 !⃝

    Apparently ed sung this to a dying Irish teenager over the phone. Nothing to do with the meaning just wanted to let u know what I've heard.

  6. anonymous
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    Feb 3rd 2017 !⃝

    I think it's 2 people that have feelings for eachother but don't necessarily want to be in a relationship or at least not yet. They spend time with eachother and love eachothers company, he's trying to tell her how he feels by kissing her and reading the truth from it but he doesn't want to ruin the friendship by rushing anything or if the feeling isn't reciprocated. The little bird with the broken leg symbolises their friendship and that they can't really be just friends. He eventually lets the friendship die and she has to chose love or nothing.

  7. anonymous
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    Jul 9th 2015 !⃝

    That may be what they song means to him. But it means something good different to each of us. Like maybe they are friends but want more but don't want to rush it. "If I kiss you will your lips read this truth" it's not complete yet must not get our feet wet diving in too soon leads to regreat"

  8. rabbitninja
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    Jun 28th 2015 !⃝

    this "bird" i think is a baby. they have a baby, and start raising him/her.it goes well. But then he leaves the baby with the mom; "im not quite certian of our love... when i left that little bird with its broken leg to die" meaning he left his wife and baby with no-one to die. but then he feels bad and wishes to come back.

  9. anonymous
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    Jun 27th 2015 !⃝

    I'm reading everyone else's comments about it being an apology to Ed Sheeran's nurse friend. But I think there is an extra layer somewhere. "I’m not quite certain of your love" and "And you made me scream but then I made you cry when I left that little bird with its broken leg to die". Ed doesn't have to say the real reason behind the song, maybe he doesn't even have a nurse friend. Regardless of if e has a nurse friend or not, this song is deeper than he presents it.

  10. anonymous
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    Mar 3rd 2013 !⃝

    I also thought it was a metaphor too..but I guess not.

  11. Ezmryder
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    Dec 11th 2012 !⃝

    i like this song its definetly about where there relationship is going

  12. anonymous
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    Oct 16th 2012 !⃝

    according to ed.....
    one day he was out with is friend who is a girl (not his girlfriend) they see a bird and she decides to nurse it because she was studying to be a nurse and ed goes along with is because he wanted some were to sleep and have a cup of tea but whilst hes busy with her they weren't paying much attention to the bird and it died he felt bad and felt like it was all his fault so he wrote a song about it also ed said it was a chicken :/

  13. anonymous
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    Oct 15th 2012 !⃝

    Its basically about Ed, he was dating a girl who was studying to be a veterinarian. They were somewhat walking one day, and they saw a bird or chicken on the road with a broken leg. Since she was studying to be a veterinarian, she wanted to nurse it but Ed suggested to leave it and just go home with tea and sleep, or just cuddle with his girlfriend. He just wanted to leave the bird alone. Later on he finds out that the bird died so he wrote this song as an apology. He explains this himself on a USTREAM gig.

    It wasnt really deep, it was more like an apology for letting the bird die

  14. anonymous
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    Sep 1st 2012 !⃝

    This song is just about an injured bird they find, however Sheeran wouldn't of written about it and published the song if it didn't mean more than that. It is obviously a memory Sheeran will remember, whether that's for the right reasons or the wrong reasons we don't know. Overall this song describes his relationship with his girlfriend, and highlights their differences. The girlfriend being light-hearted and caring, and Sheeran being less so. We get the impression Sheeran cares more about the girlfriend than the bird, as he's trying to maintain the relationship. This is shown by the lines 'but if I kissed you' and 'I'm not quite certain of your love'

  15. anonymous
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    Nov 11th 2011 !⃝

    I remember, a few weeks back I was watching Gig at Your Gaff on YouTube. Ed Sheeran explains the meaning of the song. He basically says that it's all about how he and his girlfriend found a bird with a broken leg. His girlfriend wanted to be a vet so she decided to try and nurse it. Ed didn't want to nurse it so he went to bed and when he woke up it was dead. This songs basically about him and his girlfriend and the bird. Also, he is trying to make it up to her by kissing her.


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