Three Little Birds

"Three Little Birds" is a song by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It is the fourth track on side two of their 1977 album Exodus and was released as a single in 1980. The song reached the Top 20 in the UK, peaking at number 17. It is one of Bob Marley's most popular songs. The song has been covered by numerous other artists. One of the most notable covers was by British singer Connie Talbot, whose version reached number one on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chartin 2008.



Contents
[hide]  *1 Writing and inspiration  ==Writing and inspiration[ edit] == The source of Marley's inspiration for the lyrics of "Three Little Birds" remains disputed. They're partly inspired by birds that Marley was fond of, that used to fly and sit next to his home.[1]  Tony Gilbert, a long time friend of Marley, was present at the time he was writing the song and elaborated, "Bob got inspired by a lot of things around him, he observed life. I remember the three little birds. They were pretty birds, canaries, who would come by the windowsill at Hope Road."[1] However, three female singers from the reggae group I Threes who did shows with Marley claim it is a reference to them.[1]  I Threes member Marcia Griffithsremarked, "After the song was written, Bob would always refer to us as the Three Little Birds. After a show, there would be an encore, sometimes people even wanted us to go back onstage four times. Bob would still want to go back and he would say, 'What is my Three Little Birds saying?'"[1] ==Covers[ edit]  == ===Releases[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">]  === ===Other uses<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.363636016845703px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;">Baseball player Shane Victorino of the Boston Red Sox, a fan of Bob Marley, uses the song as his at-bat music. During the 2013 season, the crowd at Fenway Park would sing the chorus “Don’t worry about a thing, ‘cause every little thing gonna be all right” whenever Victorino comes to bat.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[2]  The song has become associated with the 2013 Red Sox team, which went on to win the World Series.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3]  At Amsterdam ArenA, they play the song during Ajax games near the end of half-time. The song was used in the Full of Life ad for Danone Actimel Ireland. ==Monty Alexander version<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.363636016845703px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;">Monty Alexander recorded a cover of "Three Little Birds" in January 1992 and, in 1999, he released it as a hit single. The Cover was also produced from him and unlike the original the Monty Alexander version is very Jazz-heavy. The original Length is 3:00. ===Track listings<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ==Connie Talbot version<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.363636016845703px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;">"Three Little Birds" was released as the first single by British child singer, Connie Talbot on 10 June 2008. It was taken from the 2008 rerelease of her 2007 album, Over the Rainbow. Talbot released a music video to publicise the single, which was filmed in Jamaica. The release reached number 3 on the UK Independent Singles Chart, and number 1 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart in the United States. ===Background<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.363636016845703px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;">After rising to fame on the first series of Britain's Got Talent, Talbot signed with Rainbow Recording Company and began production of her debut album, Over the Rainbow.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-DM1_4-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[4]  The album initially featured several Christmas themed songs, and the first single, "Over the Rainbow"/"White Christmas", was planned be released on 3 December 2007.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-DM1_4-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[4]  The single was then cancelled in favour of an album-first release.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-dream_of_hit_5-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[5]  The album was rereleased with more general tracks to replace the Christmas songs, and one of the new tracks was a cover of Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Three_Little_Birds_6-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[6]  The songs on the album were chosen with collaboration between Talbot and her management; first Talbot and her family wrote "a list of the songs that Connie would sing at her birthday party", and the management then thought "long and hard" about including the more adult songs, including "I Will Always Love You", but Talbot herself insisted.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[7]  The album was recorded in a bedroom studio, nicknamed "the hut".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[8] ===Release and reception<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.363636016845703px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;">"Three Little Birds" was released as Talbot's first single on 10 June 2008 in the UK,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[9]  and released alongside the album in the U.S. on 14 October.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[10]  Rashvin Bedi, writing for Malaysian newspaper The Star, said that "Three Little Birds" was her favourite song on Over the Rainbow.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11]  The single peaked at number 3 on the Independent Singles Charts in the United Kingdom,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ISC_12-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[12]  and entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 2, dropping to 3 the next week.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-BB_13-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[13]  It then raised back to number 2, and, on the sixth week, reached number 1.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[14]  Talbot received attention from the British press because of the single's success, with theDaily Mail and Daily Telegraph attributing her success in America to her appeal to the Christian market,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[15] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-snubbed_16-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[16]  and to the success of her videos onYouTube.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-snubbed_16-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[16]  Talbot's father, Gavin, spoke about the song reaching number one, saying "When we received the phone call we were driving back from doing a round of radio interviews in London and Connie was asleep in the back of the car. When we told her she just took it in her stride. I just cannot believe that she is number one in America. We are all very proud of her. It is a big achievement – people have just taken a shine to her." He also said it was "a big shock to hear she was number one. It is tremendous."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[17]  As of November 2008, the single has sold more than 250,000 copies worldwide.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[18] ===Music video<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">]  === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.363636016845703px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;">A music video for the song was shot in Jamaica in late March/early April 2008.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-teeth_19-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[19]  Talbot was quoted as saying that "going to Jamaica was the best thing I've done this year".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-teeth_19-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[19]  The video begins with images of Talbot skipping through a garden, which is then replaced with an image of her singing on a beach. She then joins a child whose parents had been arguing and plays with them and others in a field, then dances with them on the beach. The children are then lead to a stage, where Talbot performs as the others sing and play musical instruments. The video closes with Talbot in the garden, skipping away from the camera. After the success of the single in the U.S., the Daily Mail attributed much of Talbot's success to her YouTube videos, mentioning that the "Three Little Birds" music video had attracted more than 82 million views.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-snubbed_16-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[16] ===Chart performance<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ===Track listing<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ===
 * 2 Covers
 * 2.1 Releases
 * 2.2 Other uses
 * 3 Monty Alexander version
 * 3.1 Track listings
 * 4 Connie Talbot version
 * 4.1 Background
 * 4.2 Release and reception
 * 4.3 Music video
 * 4.4 Chart performance
 * 4.5 Track listing
 * 5 References
 * 6 External links
 * Karen David recorded and released the song on her 2012 EP, Touch.
 * Robbie Williams sings the song in his concert released on DVD.
 * Gilberto Gil recorded and released the song as a single.
 * Billy Ocean does a version on his 2005 greatest hits album "The Best Of...".
 * Ziggy Marley and Sean Paul recorded a cover for the 2004 animated film Shark Tale and its soundtrack.
 * Connie Talbot released a cover of the song as the first single from her album Over the Rainbow in June 2008.
 * The Postmarks covered this tune on their 2008 lp By the Numbers.
 * Alvin and the Chipmunks made a cover version of this song on their 2008 album Undeniable.
 * Jason Mraz also performs this song in conjunction with the song "I'm Yours" in concerts.
 * Panic! At the Disco's frontman Brendon Urie recorded a cover, which has become well known through YouTube.
 * Elizabeth Mitchell recorded a cover of "Three Little Birds" on her 2006 album "You Are My Little Bird" released by Smithsonian Folkways
 * Black 47 performed this song for Live In New York City, their seventh album.