Madds Buckley’s “DogBird”: a tale of a self-fulfilling prophecy
The tears usually start somewhere around the end of the bridge, although in truth, my eyes start to well up much sooner. I knew from the first frame of the music video that this song had some sort of pull on me, something I couldn’t exactly explain. The song DogBird is one of the singles off of the new album by Madds Buckley entitled ‘My Love is Sick’. Madds Buckley stated in an interview with Christopher Gonda “DogBird is a queer story at its core, about loving someone while fighting your upbringing, but is truly for anyone who’s ever become their own worst fear: hurting the one you love most.” I think the familiar fear of hurting someone we love is something most people can relate to, but to have it explained in such a way really resonates with the soul. How could these hands of mine hurt another without my consent if it were not in my nature to do so? You say ‘I’ll only hurt you’ and when they don’t believe you, you prove it. The song starts with the thunder of the guitar and a crash of the drums,
“I’m sorry I’m scared of thunder like a dog, I know that you love rain but I cry when something shakes the walls.”
In the video we see a character grip their partner’s arm in fear tight enough to leave a bruise. The first line introduces the audience to the dog and bird motifs present throughout the album, as well as expresses the idea that ‘Dog’ doesn’t like making noise or taking up space. The visual, however, is used to begin the recurring idea that love isn’t always healthy for those involved. “I can’t stand you in my bed, I need you to hurt me back instead…little bird, won’t you fly away” Buckley uses a pleading voice as the chorus ends, begging Bird to leave. A comedian named Taylor Tomlinson has a joke in which she says her therapist calls her a self-fulfilling prophecy, as in, if you treat someone like they will leave you, they will eventually prove you right. We can see here this concept where Dog believes for one reason or another that Bird will leave her, so she does everything within her power to prove that her preconceived notions are correct.
In the second verse, the lyrics start “Sorry that I roll over to my folks. It’s not that I’m ashamed, but they keep me on the leash to choke.” Dog blames her parents for the behavior she exhibits, which to some extent I understand. Buckley has shared that she relates more to the character of Dog, and despite how hard I seem to be on the character, I do too. The feeling that your parents or your background have such a hold on you that it is almost suffocating. On Buckley’s social media, she posted a video with the caption “You can’t ‘love the sinner hate the sin’ when you are the sin.”
Having grown up in a religious family I understand feeling like something in you is wrong just because of who you are, or being told you are wrong because of who you love. The second verse continues “ I’m a hunting breed and bird is all they eat. If they sniff you out, they gnash their teeth. I’m a coward scared of living outside, even if it means I crush you at my side.” this lyric portrays the pull that Dog’s upbringing has on how she sees herself. She is afraid of being out in the open even if staying still means holding someone else back and so once more we hear
“Little bird, won’t you fly away”
We see the peak of the music volume in the bridge which relies heavily on the drums and guitar that we had heard before, this time with a much more aggressive sound than before. The bridge is the explosion, the final act of lashing out from Dog. In this part, we hear the culmination of the resentment and the ‘proof’ Dog had promised to show. “I’m an instinct. Don’t you fear me? Hunting songbirds in my sleep.” If you truly believe yourself incapable of change then there isn't anyone who can change your mind, but knowing any different isn’t an excuse for not trying.
The breakdown is a part that in my opinion brings the entire album together and quite honestly is one of the saddest elements of the song. The breakdown layers the melodies and different lines from other songs on the album that tell the story of the relationship at the center of it all. It uses the words seen in many of the songs “My love is sick” to show just how this love had brought it all to ruin. It also layers the words “I’m a twisted thing” from the song Paper and Ink, which solidifies the idea that there is something too broken in Dog to love, whether it is true or not.
The last verse of the song, once again, takes on a softer vocal styling as Dog apologizes one last time
“Sorry that I don’t treat you like I should”
We also hear the guitar settle in this last piece as the song comes to a close. The song, as previously stated, is meant to tell a story. It is the 10th song on the album that is essentially the fall of the relationship. In my opinion, I’d say the song is meant to speak to those in similar situations. There is a song on the album entitled “Wine and Wheat” that describes catholic guilt from the perspective of a queer individual and, with that context, I’d say that the song is almost meant to be a cautionary tale of sorts.
The first song that was released from the album after it was announced was the title song “My Love Is Sick”, and as a long-time follower of Madds Buckley, I was over the moon to hear she was releasing a new album. I had been waiting for DogBird to be released for a while and after the first listen I was hooked. I sat in tears listening to the song and wondering just how someone had seen me so easily.
I think that is what good music is meant to do, make you feel seen even if you have never met the artist. It feels as if they know you, Or at the very least it helps you feel like you can see them.
