--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's a story... a legend, about a bird…" description: "\"There's a story... a legend, about a bird that sings just once in its life. From the moment it leaves its nest, it searches for a thorn tree... and nev..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/colleen-mccullough-7229_agony_there-s-a-story-a-legend-about-a-bird-th_1593811.jpg" --- # There's a story... a legend, about a bird that sings just… ![“There's a story... a legend, about a bird that sings just once in its life. From the moment it leaves its nest, it searches for a thorn tree... and never rests until it's found one. And then it sings... more sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth. And singing, it impales itself…” quote by Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/colleen-mccullough-7229_agony_there-s-a-story-a-legend-about-a-bird-th_1593811.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/colleen-mccullough-7229_agony_there-s-a-story-a-legend-about-a-bird-th_1593811.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/colleen-mccullough-7229_agony_there-s-a-story-a-legend-about-a-bird-th_1593811.jpg) > “There's a story... a legend, about a bird that sings just once in its life. From the moment it leaves its nest, it searches for a thorn tree... and never rests until it's found one. And then it sings... more sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth. And singing, it impales itself on the longest, sharpest thorn. But, as it dies, it rises above its own agony, to outsing the lark and the nightingale. The thorn bird pays its life for just one song, but the whole world stills to listen, and God in his heaven smiles.” [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A creature sacrifices everything for a single, transcendent act that brings universal awe and divine approval. **In simple terms:** Great sacrifice for a single profound act. Key Takeaway Embrace purpose over comfort. Themes sacrifice art divine legacy pain Mood awe reflective somber Type mythic inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - artistic creation - spiritual devotion - personal sacrifice - public performance - ritual offering Key Concepts mythic symbolism transcendence beauty mortality Questions to Reflect On - What would you give up for a single masterpiece? - Is ultimate sacrifice necessary for lasting impact? A Different Perspective The act may glorify but also glorifies suffering, risking glorification of self‑destruction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agony/) [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Legends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legends/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Nightingales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightingales/) [Rise above](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rise-above/) [Singing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singing/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Whole world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“There is a legend about a bird which sings just once in its life, more sweetly than any other creature on the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/there-is-a-legend-about-a-bird-which-sings-just-once-in-its-life-more/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“There is a legend about a bird which sings only once in it's life, more beautifully than any other creature on the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/there-is-a-legend-about-a-bird-which-sings-only-once-in-it-s-life/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [The thorn tree just began to bud And greening stained the sheltering hedge, An many a violet beside the wood Peeped blue between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clare/the-thorn-tree-just-began-to-bud-and-greening-stained-the-sheltering/) [John Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clare/) > [I'm digging my way to something better. I'm sowing the seeds I take for granted. This thorn in my side is from the tree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-digging-my-way-to-something-better-i-m-sowing-the-seeds-i-take/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I think,' said Lyndall, 'that he is like a thorn-tree, which grows up very quietly, without any one's caring for it, and one day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-schreiner/i-think-said-lyndall-that-he-is-like-a-thorn-tree-which-grows-up-very/) [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) > [Into the woods, my Master went, Clean forspent, forspent, Into the woods my Master came, Forspent with love and shame. But the olives they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/into-the-woods-my-master-went-clean-forspent-forspent-into-the-woods/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [This thorn in my side is from the tree I planted, ooh it tears me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/metallica/this-thorn-in-my-side-is-from-the-tree-i-planted-ooh-it-tears-me/) [Metallica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/metallica/) > [“ Caged Bird A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream till the current ends and dips his wing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/caged-bird-a-free-bird-leaps-on-the-back-of-the-wind-and-floats/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I would like to paint the way a bird sings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-would-like-to-paint-the-way-a-bird-sings/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [“I’ve figured it out, something that was never clear to me before–how all creation transposes itself out of the world deeper and deeper into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-ve-figured-it-out-something-that-was-never-clear-to-me-before-how/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“And while he waited in the castle court, The voice of Enid, Yniol's daughter, rang Clear through the open casement of the hall, Singing;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-tennyson/and-while-he-waited-in-the-castle-court-the-voice-of-enid-yniol-s/) [Alfred Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-tennyson/) > [A bird sings, a child prattles, but it is the same hymn; hymn indistinct, inarticulate, but full of profound meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-bird-sings-a-child-prattles-but-it-is-the-same-hymn-hymn-indistinct/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The true self is not aware that it is a self. A bird, as it sings, sings itself. But not according to a picture.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-true-self-is-not-aware-that-it-is-a-self-a-bird-as-it-sings-sings/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [“A bird sings in the morning, an owl hoots at night...it's still a bloody bird.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-reed/a-bird-sings-in-the-morning-an-owl-hoots-at-night-it-s-still-a-bloody/) [Oliver Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-reed/) > [“A bird that sings too much will only lose its voice, but a bird that does not sing at all will lose its symphonies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/a-bird-that-sings-too-much-will-only-lose-its-voice-but-a-bird-that/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) ## More by Colleen McCullough > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“For the best is only bought at the cost of great pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/for-the-best-is-only-bought-at-the-cost-of-great-pain/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [My fictitious characters will take the bit between their teeth and gallop off and do something that I hadn't counted on. However, I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/my-fictitious-characters-will-take-the-bit-between-their-teeth-and/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [I want to know what they look like, their height, and colouring, physique and speech pattens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/i-want-to-know-what-they-look-like-their-height-and-colouring/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Old age is an ordeal, of flesh and mind. Of winding down, of slowing down, of dying cells. It's accepting the loss of physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/old-age-is-an-ordeal-of-flesh-and-mind-of-winding-down-of-slowing/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“But not we men. We weren't fit to be told. For so you women think, and hug your mysteries, getting your backs on us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/but-not-we-men-we-weren-t-fit-to-be-told-for-so-you-women-think-and/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [How frightening, that one person could mean so much, so many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/how-frightening-that-one-person-could-mean-so-much-so-many-things/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“It's not worth getting upset about, Mrs. Dominic. Down in the city they don't know how the other half lives, and they can afford…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/it-s-not-worth-getting-upset-about-mrs-dominic-down-in-the-city-they/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“You still think love can save us. It's more killing than hate. Hate is so clean, so simple. Like being in the ring. With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/you-still-think-love-can-save-us-it-s-more-killing-than-hate-hate-is/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“You still think love can save us. It’s more killing than hate. Hate is so clean, so simple. Like being in the ring. With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/you-still-think-love-can-save-us-it-s-more-killing-than-hate-hate-is-2/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [If you love people, they kill you. If you need people, they kill you. They do I tell you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/if-you-love-people-they-kill-you-if-you-need-people-they-kill-you/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“The law should not be a huge and weighty slab which falls upon a man and squashes him into a uniform shape, for men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-law-should-not-be-a-huge-and-weighty-slab-which-falls-upon-a-man/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [duty, the most indecent of all obsessions, was only another name for love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/duty-the-most-indecent-of-all-obsessions-was-only-another-name-for/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [There is no doubt that it is more difficult to read and more difficult to write but I still manage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/there-is-no-doubt-that-it-is-more-difficult-to-read-and-more/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [It's a woman's book but I think the men will read it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/it-s-a-woman-s-book-but-i-think-the-men-will-read-it-too/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) [Explore all 82 Colleen McCullough quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) ## More Agony quotes > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [“aaron would not come out aaron entered into agony.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/aaron-would-not-come-out-aaron-entered-into-agony/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [As we look upon that agony and those tearful prayers, let us not only look with thankfulness; but let that kneeling Saviour teach us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/as-we-look-upon-that-agony-and-those-tearful-prayers-let-us-not-only/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Love masters agony; the soul that seemed Forsaken feels her present God again And in her Father's arms Contented dies away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keble/love-masters-agony-the-soul-that-seemed-forsaken-feels-her-present/) [John Keble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keble/) > [I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/i-have-seen-war-i-have-seen-war-on-land-and-sea-i-have-seen-blood/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [“Anger was a reliable defense, but one that allowed no chance of final victory. Anger was a medicine but never a cure, briefly numbing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/anger-was-a-reliable-defense-but-one-that-allowed-no-chance-of-final/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [The cure is in the house, not brought by other hands from distant places, but by its own, in agony and blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-cure-is-in-the-house-not-brought-by-other-hands-from-distant/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Sometimes, a lie is told in kindness. I don't believe it ever works kindly. The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/sometimes-a-lie-is-told-in-kindness-i-don-t-believe-it-ever-works/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [The young man shivered. He rolled the stock themes of fantasy over in his mind: cars and stockbrokers and commuters, housewives and police, agony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-young-man-shivered-he-rolled-the-stock-themes-of-fantasy-over-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Being ill like this combines shock - this time I will die - with a pain and agony that are unfamiliar, that wrench me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/being-ill-like-this-combines-shock-this-time-i-will-die-with-a-pain/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [One often learns more from ten days of agony than ten years of contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-shain/one-often-learns-more-from-ten-days-of-agony-than-ten-years-of/) [Merle Shain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-shain/) > [There’s been a problem, a problem eating away at me from the inside out. I’ve become weak, I’ve shown human compassion, and it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kane/there-s-been-a-problem-a-problem-eating-away-at-me-from-the-inside/) [Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kane/) > [Pay special attention to their agony so I might take some pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/pay-special-attention-to-their-agony-so-i-might-take-some-pleasure/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Die, enemies of Ra!" Sekhemet yelled. "Perish in agony!" "She's almost as annoying as you," I told Horus. "Impossible," Horus said. "No one bests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/die-enemies-of-ra-sekhemet-yelled-perish-in-agony-she-s-almost-as/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) [Browse all 813 Agony quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agony/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's a story... a legend, about a bird that sings just once in its life. From the moment it leaves its nest, it searches for a thorn tree... and never rests until it's found one. And then it sings... more sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth. And singing, it impales itself on the longest, sharpest thorn. But, as it dies, it rises above its own agony, to outsing the lark and the nightingale. The thorn bird pays its life for just one song, but the whole world stills to listen, and God in his heaven smiles.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Colleen McCullough" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/there-s-a-story-a-legend-about-a-bird-that-sings-just-once-in-its/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Agony" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/there-s-a-story-a-legend-about-a-bird-that-sings-just-once-in-its/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/colleen-mccullough-7229_agony_there-s-a-story-a-legend-about-a-bird-th_1593811.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/colleen-mccullough-7229_agony_there-s-a-story-a-legend-about-a-bird-th_1593811.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/colleen-mccullough-7229_agony_there-s-a-story-a-legend-about-a-bird-th_1593811.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's a story... a legend, about a bird that sings just once in its life. From the moment it leaves its…” — Colleen McCullough", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Colleen McCullough", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There's a story... a legend, about...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/there-s-a-story-a-legend-about-a-bird-that-sings-just-once-in-its/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/there-s-a-story-a-legend-about-a-bird-that-sings-just-once-in-its/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```