The Birdman

Infobox Single
Name = The Birdman
Caption =
Artist = Our Lady Peace
from Album = Naveed
Released = January 17, 1994
Genre = Alternative rock
Label = Columbia Records
Writer = Raine Maida
Producer = Arnold Lanni
Last single = "Out of Here" (1992)
This single = "The Birdman" (1994)
Next single = "Starseed" (1994)
Misc =

"The Birdman" is Our Lady Peace's first single off their debut album "Naveed". Because of the "Naveed" cover, Saul Fox is best known for being "The Birdman".

Meaning

The song is about a man that lead singer and lyricist Raine Maida once saw on the street. The Birdman was the nickname of a serial killer, Robert Stroud who was once imprisoned at Alcatraz.

"I assumed he was some kind of politician that lost it and was living on the streets and just going nuts all night. It was strange; I just caught a few words as I passed by him, and he was one of the most intelligent people I have ever heard speak. Right then I had this enlightenment. I did not give him a chance and there are probably times where you miss opportunities because you form opinions so quickly." - Raine Maida

"I was in Kansas city a while back and there was this man on the street. I was in my hotel room and I couldn't sleep ‘cause this guy was just yelling through a megaphone and he was yelling about a bunch of propaganda and stuff but the next day when I went down from the hotel and he was outside still. I had a chance to pass by, read his booklet and stuff and I heard him talking to some other people and the song encompasses the thing where it's kinda like a serial killer where on the surface he's just a ruthless, kinda no conscience, no remorse killer but underneath the serial killer there's obviously a really intelligent, very calculating kind of person and that's is what I wanted to get in the lyrics of the song. There's so many different ways and so many different perspectives to look at somebody.This thing, the birdman is just that in itself, that there's always something deeper when you look into it." -Raine Maida