Next, we take a day trip to the Caribbean and perform a syncopated and upbeat song, Yellow Bird.
Yellow Afterglow| Waiʻanae Range at dusk | Peter Kun Frary
Yellow Bird Musings
Yellow Bird is a late 19th-century Haitian song, Choucoune, written by Michel Mauléart Monton with lyrics by Oswald Durand. It was rewritten with English lyrics in the 20th century and retitled Yellow Bird. Arthur Lyman, a Hawaiian musician, recorded it in 1961, mingling hints of calypso and Hawaiian music. He scored an international hit, lighting up the Billboard charts at number 4.
Yellow Bird Lyrics
Yellow bird, up high in banana tree
Yellow bird, you sit all alone like me.
Did your lady friend leave the nest again?
That is very sad, makes me feel so bad.
You can fly away, in the sky away.
You're more lucky than me.
I also had a pretty girl, she's not with me today.
They're all the same those pretty girls.
Take tenderness, then they fly away.
Yellow bird, yellow bird.
Did your lady friend leave the nest again?
That is very sad, makes me feel so bad.
You can fly away, in the sky away.
You're more lucky than me.
Wish that I were a yellow bird, I'd fly away with you.
But I am not a yellow bird, so here I sit Nothing I can do.
Yellow bird, yellow bird.
Study Tips
Yellow Bird is arranged as a trio, a piece with three separate ʻukulele parts: ʻukulele 1 (melody), ʻukulele 2 (chords) and ʻukulele 3 (bass). The chords for ʻukulele 2 are notated with specific rhythms: dotted half note and quarter note strum pattern for the first half and a flat-four strum for the remainder of the piece.
Yellow Bird should be performed with a cheerful allegro tempo (120+ BPM).
The PDF scores for the individual parts are linked at the bottom of this page.
Listen to the Track
Before practicing, listen to the audio track and familiarize yourself with the sound and feel of Yellow Bird. If playing ʻukulele 1, practice counting out the introduction rests with the audio track.
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Yellow Bird Musings
Study Tips
Listen to the Track
