Song Lyrics

They say there's an underground river
That none of us can see
And it flows through winding tunnels
On its way to a tide-less sea

And across that sea is an island
A paradise we are told
Where the toils of life are forgotten
And they call it the Island of Souls

For only a soul can go there
A soul that's been set free
From the confines of a working life
To find eternity

Your old man had a cage for his pigeons
But that's really where he kept his soul
And when he watched them fly he would see himself
Least that's how it was told

But his soul was still trapped in the cage son
While the birds they soared to the sky
But he couldn't find his own way out
Least not 'til the day he died

Oh, a man builds a cage with the tools he is given
His casket is sealed with a riveter's gun
This solitary madness is where he is driven
It was him who was trapped in the soul cage son
It was him that was trapped in the soul cage

I know that he loved you, but he hadn't the words
He'd be easier speaking the language of birds
For to speak of emotion, it just wasn't done
It was him who was trapped in the soul cage son
It was him that was trapped in the soul cage

A man builds a cage with the tools he is given
His casket is sealed with a riveter's gun
The solitary madness is where he is driven
It was him who was trapped in the soul cage son
It was him that was trapped in the soul cage

Gordon Sumner, Robert Mathes

The duration of Language of Birds is 3:30 minutes and seconds.