The B-52's

Released: April 27, 1983

Songwriter: The B-52's

Producer: Steven Stanley

There's a big bird over my house
Go away, go away
There's a big bird flying over my house
And it looks like it's decided to stay
It's making a mistake...a big mistake
Big bird
Big bird
Big bird
Big bird
I pinch myself
I think I'm not dreamng
I'm not
I hear screaming!
C'mon! Get it out now
Wants to use me to feather its nest
Now it wants the rest
It's swooping from the branch
It's swooping from the sky
Spreadin' its feathers
Cuttin' out-flying
There's a big gray bird flying over my house
What do you think I am?
I'm not a louse!
There's a big bird over my house
There's a big, big, big bird
Over my house
What's it doing?
What does it want?
I pinch myself
I think I'm dreaming
I'm not...I hear screaming!
C'mon! Let it out now
Wants to use me to feather its nest
Now it wants the rest
It's swooping from the branch
Swooping from the sky
Spreadin' its feathers
Cuttin' out-flying
There's a big gray bird circling
'Round my house
Circling 'round and 'round
Circling 'round my house
There's a big bird over my house
There's a big, big, big bird
Over my house

The B-52’s, (now stylized as The B-52s) are an internationally successful New Wave band also known for their campy fashion. The group’s original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson and Ricky Wilson. Originally, all members of the band played multiple instruments. However, after Ricky Wilson’s tragic AIDS-related death in 1985, instead of hiring a full-time replacement, Strickland transitioned to primarily playing guitar, and the band has used various other musicians for recording and touring purposes.

Their self-titled first album The B-52’s was released to critical acclaim in 1979, spawning the Canadian chart-topping hit “Rock Lobster”, which was also successful in Australia, New Zealand, the US and the UK. Rolling Stone magazine later placed the album at #152 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Their second album, Wild Planet, released in 1980, spawned another minor US hit with “Private Idaho”. Whammy! followed in 1983, giving the band a third minor US hit with “Legal Tender”. Their fourth album, Bouncing Off the Satellites, was recorded and mixed but not yet released when Ricky Wilson died in October 1985. It was nearly a year before the album was released, in September 1986. It is the band’s only album that does not feature a picture of its members on the cover.

more tracks from the album

Whammy!

From the album

Whammy! (1983)

The B-52's popular songs

Big BirdThe B-52's

The B-52's

Whammy!