"BIRDS OF A FEATHER" by Billie Eilish // Urban Outfitters exclusive olive green 7" vinyl + song review
"BIRDS OF A FEATHER" by Billie Eilish is a sweet and simple love song, one unlike anything she has ever made before. Nearly left off the tracklist of HIT ME HARD AND SOFT due to how much she and Finneas overthought it, the song ultimately went on to quickly become one of the most beloved in her entire discography. This is also pretty much the first love song Billie ever wrote, and easily the poppiest up to this point in her career too with such a bright, soaring melody. At the same time, it still carries a morbid edge, infused with her signature dark humor, while still remaining undeniably heartfelt.
The song radiates so much joy, yet its lyrics lean into themes of death and devotion in a way that feels both intense and endearing. "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," she sings in the opening verse. "If you go, I'm goin' too, 'cause it was always you and if I'm turnin' blue, please don't save me, nothin' left to lose without my baby". That contradiction between the production and lyrical themes is very representative of the emotional core of HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. The tension between light and dark, love and loss, happiness and sadness, are all central themes that make up the album in different ways, with "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" being a defining example of that.
"This was not a happy album like literally at all. This is how I wished that I was feeling and I wasn't really but I was like I'm just going to try to pretend," Billie said in an episode of the Story of My Song series for American Express, reflecting on the emotional contrast within "BIRDS OF A FEATHER".
"We overthought this sort of simple song so hard," Finneas recalled in the same episode of Story of My Song. Billie echoed the sentiment, saying, "We kept getting lost in the maze on this song. I don't think we've ever overthought another song more." They worked on it for months, constantly rewriting and refining, dedicating nearly a full year to getting it just right.
The sentiment of the song is so pure, and sonically, it radiates joy in a way she had never explored before. It has always reminded me of a lot of the solo work Finneas has created in the past, as he has written so many gorgeous love songs that reflect the same pure sentiments as this. While he and Billie collaborate on all of her music, there has always been a distinct separation between his solo projects and the work they produce together, so I love hearing those ideals shine through in this too.
"And I don't know what I'm cryin' for, I don't think I could love you more," she sings in the pre-chorus, "It might not be long, but baby, I, I'll love you 'til the day that I die".
"We kept saying, it's like—how do you make 'I love you till the day that I die' a punchline? Not just something saccharine and meaningless," Finneas continued in Story of My Song. "I know that 'I'll love you till the day that I die' shouldn't be meaningless, but it felt a little empty before we got 'might not be long'—like, not necessarily going to live another 80 years, but I'll love you till the day that I die, even if that's only a few days. So that was our big setup. We had different rhythms, different melodies for a while."
The second verse is one of the most striking moments in the song, both lyrically and emotionally. I love the perspective Billie wrote it from, it feels deeply personal to her own experience, but also is able to be interpreted into so many different ways. Unlike the rest of the song, she has spoken about writing exactly how she really did feel in that moment, rather than how she wishes she felt. The lyrics capture the frustration of watching someone struggle with self-doubt, unable to see themselves the way others do.
"I want you to see, how you look to me," she sings. "You wouldn't believe if I told ya, you would keep the compliments I throw ya, but you're so full of shit, tell me it's a bit, say you don't see it, your mind's polluted, say you wanna quit, don't be stupid". In her episode of Story of My Song, she talked about the meaning behind that verse for her, "You're so obsessed with the idea that you're this, you know—unaccomplished, ugly, whatever someone might talk down about themselves and think. And it's like—you don't even know how you look to me. Like, in my mind, you are beautiful, special, talented. It's not actually possible to see ourselves how somebody else sees us, but if it was, you literally wouldn't believe it. Like, if I could give you my view of you—you would be so shocked and so stoked, 'cause it's awesome."
Billie truly pushed her vocals to new heights throughout the entirety of HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. She was obviously already an incredible singer, but this album feels like the moment where she fully unlocked a new level of her vocal range, which is made clear throughout every single song. Her growth is especially evident on songs like "THE GREATEST" and "WILDFLOWER", but also especially the breathtaking end of "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" as well.
"This song has that ending where I just keep going—it's the highest I've ever belted in my life," Billie said in an interview with Apple Music. "I was alone in the dark, thinking, 'You know what? I'm going to try something.' And I literally just kept going higher and higher. This is a girl who could not belt until I was literally 18. I couldn't physically do it. So I’m so proud of that. I remember coming home and being like, 'Mom! Listen!'"
Beyond the vocals, the layers and intricate details of this song are so stunning and every single time I listen to it I discover a new element of it that I love. Every song on this album is such a masterpiece and meticulously crafted in every way.
One of the most beautiful lyrics on the album, and possibly one of my favorites she and Finneas have ever written, is subtly tucked into the background of the final moments of "BIRDS OF A FEATHER". She sings, "I knew you in another life, you had that same look in your eyes, I love you, don't act so surprised".
This vinyl single for "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" was sold exclusively at Urban Outfitters for their annual Singles Day in November 2024. It was limited to just 7500 copies worldwide and is pressed on a opaque olive green vinyl. I was lucky to be able to order one because it sold out very quickly! There was another slightly different variation also sold on Billie's webstore around this time too. I love collecting Billie's music on vinyl, especially 7" singles like this.
The photo on the front and back cover is taken of Billie in a field of flowers, with her face slightly obscured from the view of the camera. It is assumed to be a shot from the original draft of the "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" music video Billie directed, but ended up not releasing because she wasn't able to quite capture her vision for it. Some of the scrapped visuals were also shown on the screen while she performs this song on tour, which was very cool to see in person!
The song definitely radiates that feeling of running through a field of flowers, at least sonically, so I definitely understand the direction she was going in initially with the video. She ended up releasing a different version of the "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" music video, which was directed by Aidan Zamiri. It is very simplistic and abstract, making it a really raw interpretation of what this song represents. If the song itself is sort of an embodiment of the soft side of HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, then the video is more of a visual representation of the harder, more intense elements, which creates a striking contrast and only further enhances how meaningful this entire album is.
It's crazy to think that "BIRDS OF A FEATHER", a song that was nearly scrapped from the album, has now become one of the biggest and most beloved track of Billie's career thus far. Its rise was entirely organic too, it wasn't even promoted as a single at first, but it naturally gained traction, following the release of the rest of the album.
Billie didn't release any singles for the album prior to it's release, which really was the perfect decision on her part to put it all out at once. Dropping the entire album at once allowed listeners to experience it without preconceived expectations, giving them the freedom to latch onto different songs in their own way. That approach has undoubtedly contributed to the album's longevity and it only continues to evolve with each listen. A similar phenomenon is happening with "WILDFLOWER" too, as fans have embraced it in an entirely organic way. It's always special to see a song take on a life of its own, becoming something deeply personal to those who connect with it.
The song has also gone on to unexpectedly be a massive commercial success, not only was it personally one of my most played songs of 2024, but it was also the highest streamed song released that year on Spotify, narrowly surpassing Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso". In May 2025, "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" became the highest streamed song by a female artist this decade with over 2.5 billion streams, just a few weeks shy of its one year anniversary. I have no doubt that this song will continue to thrive and cement itself as one of the defining tracks of 2020s music.
I continue to love "BIRDS OF A FEATHER", along with the rest of the songs from HIT ME HARD AND SOFT more and more with every single listen. It's quickly become one of my favorite albums ever, an instant classic that I know I'll love forever + ever (might not be forever, but if it's forever, it's even better) ☆
Thanks for reading! I have written extensively about this song and the rest of HIT ME HARD AND SOFT many times - check out my full in-depth album review, the Record Store Day isolated vocal vinyl, and my experience seeing her perform this incredible album in New York City. It also made it to the top of my favorite albums of 2024 list, which I'd also love for you to check out! I have also written about the rest of Billie Eilish and Finneas' music many times as well, all of which are linked below. ☆
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