Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft is filled with a vast variety of sounds from the nine-time Grammy Award winner. Birds of a Feather is arguably the most resounding song on the album—describing love as something to hold on to even after death.
“There’s a lot of songs about dying for somebody and loving them until they die, and I thought it was really fun to lean in,” Billie’s brother Finneas says in a video about the making of the song. However, Billie wanted to go the extra length in getting that heartfelt feeling in. “It’s almost like someone slamming you into a wall and being like ‘You look really pretty!’ and you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s really a lot!’” she explained. “That’s what I wanted the verse to do. I wanted it to feel, like, toxic and a little bit love-bomby.”
Related: The 20 Products Billie Eilish Uses for Her Tour Glam
Despite her intentions, Billie lets the listeners uphold their interpretations. “With music, my whole thing is that it’s for the listener to decide what it means,” she said in the video. “It doesn’t matter what I wrote it about, what Finneas wrote it about, it really doesn’t matter, as long as you interpret however you need to.”
I want you to stay
‘Til I’m in the grave
‘Til I rot away, dead and buried
‘Til I’m in the casket you carry
If you go, I’m goin’ too, uh
‘Cause it was always you (Alright)
And if I’m turnin’ blue, please don’t save me
Nothin’ left to lose without my baby
Billie’s devotion to her lover transcends earthly possessions and life itself.
Birds of a feather, we should stick together, I know
I said I’d never think I wasn’t better alone
Can’t change the weather, might not be forever
But if it’s forever, it’s even better
Despite every circumstance keeping them apart, Billie feels really attracted to her lover and wants to spend lots of time with them.
And I don’t know what I’m cryin’ for
I don’t think I could love you more
It might not be long, but baby, I
Emotions can be so overwhelming when you’re infatuated with someone! Billie can’t control her feelings any longer.
I’ll love you ’til the day that I die
‘Til the day that I die
‘Til the light leaves my eyes
‘Til the day that I die
Pretty self-explanatory lyrics. Love is forever.
I want you to see, hm
How you look to me, hm
You wouldn’t believe if I told ya
You would keep the compliments I throw ya
But you’re so full of shit, uh
Tell me it’s a bit, oh
Say you don’t see it, your mind’s polluted
Say you wanna quit, don’t be stupid
Billie wants their lover to see how much in love they are. She playfully tells them they’re full of shit for thinking that they don’t see the love she gives to them.
Birds of a feather, we should stick together, I know (‘Til the day that I die)
I said I’d never think I wasn’t better alone (‘Til the light leaves my eyes)
Can’t change the weather, might not be forever (‘Til the day that I die)
But if it’s forever, it’s even better
I knew you in another life
You had that same look in your eyes
I love you, don’t act so surprised
Love lasts further than a lifetime and it seems like Billie believes in the past lives concepts where soulmates are connected through time.
