Magpies on Fire Lyrics
Making love like little wolves
Out on the porch
Can lead to medicine
Oh well I’m game
For anything at all
Spins a yarn and no one
Ever checked it out
To see if it was real
Sold you the moon
Now it’s time to fall
It’s like a bird
Who’s trapped alone
Inside your cage, love
How much more can you take
I love my mistakes
I've been here before
All and all
It’s just the call
Of something wild
Beyond your room
Of the major chord
Your minor threat
Will do…love
Shot myself instead
I guess I always knew
I’d be the one to lose
That screen door slams
Time to make a move
To live at half your age, girl
A bird who’s
Never really had a say
She’s like a bird
Who’s now been freed
From someone’s cage
To me this song is about growth, about looking back and figuring out what parts of your life were true and what survived through the lies. A.K has made references in his book Scar Tissue about looking out his window at the birds flying by. He identified with them detailing how he always felt like he was a bird flying along always looking in at the world. I find myself among similar feelings and moods. Magpies On Fire gives credence to an idea that we each sum up our lives by the mistakes we make and what we learn from them. Sometimes we lock ourselves up, afraid of misstep, afraid of what may happen. Only when we break free and reflect on the good that has come from our mistakes are we truly free. There couldn't be a more beautiful way to illustrate these ideas in such a song.
"Scarecrow's a liar Spins a yarn and no ones ever checked it out to see if it was real sold you the moon and now its time to fall"
To me this part is pretty easy to understand as the songs is about himself as someone else mentioned before me, A.K explains this in his book Scar Tissue. I dont know if this is a global thing or a british thing but the phrase "spinning a yarn" means telling a story of lies.
"Sold the moon" to me feels like he is saying that he was sold something that was already free.
"now its time to fall" the moon is mentioned in a lot of RHCP songs as something to set as a goal for example in scar tissue the song he sings "I'll make it to the moon if I have to crawl", So I think here he is talking about falling back down to earth after he saw the illusion.
all in all its like the bird whos trapped alone inside your cage love what more do you want? how much more can you take? I love my mistakes Ive been here before
this part has something I thought was very deep emotionally, "I love my mistakes, Ive been here before" Most times you hear a lyric saying I have been here before its about regrets, with this song A.K tells you he loves his mistakes, thats why he keeps repeating them.
I could be wrong but it is how I read RHCP music