Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: emo
Song Meaning of “Birch Hill” by The Starting Line
The Starting Line’s song “Birch Hill” is an anthem to embracing change. It describes one’s acceptance of the changes life throws their way, while still mourning the past. The narrator of the song reflects on the life they up until that point experienced, and how the person they had been is no longer present.
The lyrics describe a place that ” nobody’s been been since it all changed” and that is part of why the narrator appears to be mourning what had come before. It can also be interpreted that the narrator is perhaps learning to accept a new version of themselves and the life they once had.
The chorus speaks of the narrator’s ability to move on, to “head towards something new.” They recognize the beauty of what could be while understanding that no matter how hard they fight they can’t stay. The chorus speaks of the fact that change is inevitable, and with strained reluctance, the narrator has to accept that.
The narrator also speaks of how this change is hard for the people around them, as “all their stories fit into another man’s plan.” This could represent how the people in the narrator’s life are coping with the change the narrator is going through. Rather than going towards something new, they are instead fitting themselves into a pre-existing “plan.”
The song encapsulates the process of mourning what life used to be while embracing new beginnings. Despite all the obstacles in the narrator’s life, they know that even “in the darkest times // I can always turn my head towards the daylight,” signaling one’s undying ability to stay optimistic and strive forward despite the difficulties.
Finally, the song is characterized by a simple guitar riff and a mellow pace, signaling a period of introspection and understanding for the narrator. The song, ultimately, is an uplifting ode to the beauty of change, and the changing of seasons in life.