GIVING BIRDS A VOICE
A new song to raise awareness of the plight of migratory birds is hitting the right notes
MIEL DE BOTTON sings “Let there be birds without borders, let there be men without guns”, her plaintive lament on the fate of millions of migratory birds. The song, born of a partnership between the singer and the RSPB, is her attempt to give a stronger voice to those birds that fall victim to illegal hunting and trapping on their long journeys between Africa and Europe every year. Miel’s relationship with birds began early in her life: “I grew up in Switzerland, and they have a very distinctive bird sound there, that I found very comforting. When I was sent to boarding school in England, it was one of the things that I really missed, so I recorded it and brought it over.” This love of birdsong has remained with her; “When I travel, I’m always listening out for the birdsong, and I always find it such a beautiful thing. It’s so delicate, so fragile, and yet so free.” And yet that freedom is being eroded every year as millions of migrating songbirds are blasted out of the sky, prevented from completing their epic journeys. Speaking from her London home,
When I travel, I’m always listening out for the birdsong, and I always find it such a beautiful thing
Miel says she was horrified to discover that millions of birds were being shot over the Mediterranean every year in the name of custom and tradition. “I was very upset. It was horrific. I talked to my children about it, and we wondered if there was anything we could do to help.” By pure coincidence, the very next day she was contacted by the RSPB themselves. “I had never had any personal links with the RSPB, but here they were, calling me at home and asking if I could write a song about the plight of migrant birds.” The singer says that she fell off her chair in shock at the coincidence, and immediately said yes. And so began a summer of songwriting, as her song, titled ‘Birds Without Borders’ like the campaign itself, came together. Paralleling the journey of the birds in question, and subconsciously the de Botton family’s own journey from Egypt to Switzerland and into England, ‘Birds Without Borders’ is influenced by the music of the Mediterranean, the classic French chansons of the 1940s, and by Celtic folk music. Miel has joined a growing number of people such as Chris Packham in vocal condemnation of the needless killings. “I hope the governments of these countries are really going to crack down and forbid the shooting,” she says. As a result of the song’s success, she has been asked if she would be willing to be even more of an ambassador for the RSPB, an opportunity she welcomes. Miel de Botton’s song Birds Without Borders can be downloaded or streamed for free at bit.ly/birdswithoutborders (although a donation to the RSPB would be very welcome) For more information on the RSPB’S Birds without Borders appeal, see their website at rspb.org.uk