Lyrics of
Flightless Bird, American Mouth

Flightless Bird, American Mouth was written and performed by Sam Beam, under his stage name Iron & Wine. It was released as the final track on his third studio album The Shepherds Dog. The songs lyrics reflect on loss of innocence, change, and nostalgia. It gained significant popularity after being featured in the Twilight movie soundtrack, especially during the prom scene.

I was a quick wet boy
Diving too deep for coins
All of your street light eyes
Wide on my plastic toys
And when the cops closed the fair
I cut my long baby hair
Stole me a dog-eared map
And called for you everywhere

Have I found you?
Flightless bird, jealous, weeping
Or lost you?
American mouth
Big pill looming

Now I’m a fat house cat
Nursing my sore blunt tongue
Watching the warm poison rats
Curl through the wide fence cracks
Pissing on magazine
Photos, those fishing lures
Thrown in the cold and clean
Blood of Christ mountain stream

Have I found you?
Flightless bird, grounded, bleeding
Or lost you?
American mouth
Big pill, stuck going down