--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Birds are the first and the greatest…" description: "\"Birds are the first and the greatest performers.\" — Olivier Messiaen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/olivier-messiaen-48831_bird_birds-are-the-first-and-the-greatest-per_601710.jpg" --- # Birds are the first and the greatest performers. ![“Birds are the first and the greatest performers.” quote by Olivier Messiaen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/olivier-messiaen-48831_bird_birds-are-the-first-and-the-greatest-per_601710.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/olivier-messiaen-48831_bird_birds-are-the-first-and-the-greatest-per_601710.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/olivier-messiaen-48831_bird_birds-are-the-first-and-the-greatest-per_601710.jpg) > “Birds are the first and the greatest performers.” [Olivier Messiaen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-messiaen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Music can be a profound form of expression, surpassing spoken language in emotional depth. **In simple terms:** Music expresses what words cannot. Key Takeaway Listen deeply to music’s emotional language. Themes art expression nature performance Mood reflective inspired Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - concert listening - creative writing - mindfulness meditation - educational workshops Key Concepts aesthetic acoustic perception cultural symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How does music move you beyond words? - What emotions does a bird song evoke? A Different Perspective Music may not convey precise information like speech. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Birds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birds/) [Performers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performers/) ## Related quotes > [It's probable that in the artistic hierarchy birds are the greatest musicians existing on our planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-messiaen/it-s-probable-that-in-the-artistic-hierarchy-birds-are-the-greatest/) [Olivier Messiaen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-messiaen/) > [I learned how to sing in front of a lot of people and to hone my skills alongside some of the greatest performers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlene-carter/i-learned-how-to-sing-in-front-of-a-lot-of-people-and-to-hone-my/) [Carlene Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlene-carter/) > [It has been my experience that the greatest performers in the genre of sports-entertainment are usually natural extensions of their own, true personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ross/it-has-been-my-experience-that-the-greatest-performers-in-the-genre/) [Jim Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ross/) > [I love Vegas. It really has the most wonderful shows, the greatest performers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-robuchon/i-love-vegas-it-really-has-the-most-wonderful-shows-the-greatest/) [Joel Robuchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-robuchon/) > [The Australian wedge-tailed eagle has enormous eyes, both in absolute terms and compared with most other birds, and as a result has the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-birkhead/the-australian-wedge-tailed-eagle-has-enormous-eyes-both-in-absolute/) [Tim Birkhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-birkhead/) > [“If birds can fend for themselves, it means there’s hope for our tomorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdulazeez-henry-musa/if-birds-can-fend-for-themselves-it-means-there-s-hope-for-our/) [Abdulazeez Henry Musa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdulazeez-henry-musa/) > [How can you expect the birds to sing when their groves are cut down?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/how-can-you-expect-the-birds-to-sing-when-their-groves-are-cut-down/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“It is as simple as that. Birds fly because they have wings and so when you can’t grow the wings, you can’t be called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/it-is-as-simple-as-that-birds-fly-because-they-have-wings-and-so-when/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I'm terrified of heights, but I think there's something really beautiful about birds and soaring, having a bird's-eye view of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindy-booth/i-m-terrified-of-heights-but-i-think-there-s-something-really/) [Lindy Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindy-booth/) > [“If you see birds flying high in the sky, it means clear weather. However, if you see a lot of birds roosting on power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-mckay/if-you-see-birds-flying-high-in-the-sky-it-means-clear-weather/) [Brett McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-mckay/) > [You would not think that birds who have no brain at all could become so friendly. I swear some of them are more intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-aston/you-would-not-think-that-birds-who-have-no-brain-at-all-could-become/) [Elizabeth Aston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-aston/) > [“Birds fly with their wings, people with their happiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/birds-fly-with-their-wings-people-with-their-happiness/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Birds are an ecological litmus paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-tory-peterson/birds-are-an-ecological-litmus-paper/) [Roger Tory Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-tory-peterson/) > [I don't like small birds. They hop around so merrily outside my window, looking so innocent. but I know that secretly, they're watching my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-like-small-birds-they-hop-around-so-merrily-outside-my-window/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) ## More by Olivier Messiaen > [I give bird songs to those who dwell in cities and have never heard them, make rhythms for those who know only military marches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-messiaen/i-give-bird-songs-to-those-who-dwell-in-cities-and-have-never-heard/) [Olivier Messiaen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-messiaen/) > [A true music, that is to say, spiritual, a music which may be an act of faith; a music which may touch upon all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-messiaen/a-true-music-that-is-to-say-spiritual-a-music-which-may-be-an-act-of/) [Olivier Messiaen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-messiaen/) > [My faith is the grand drama of my life. I'm a believer, so I sing words of God to those who have no faith.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-messiaen/my-faith-is-the-grand-drama-of-my-life-i-m-a-believer-so-i-sing-words/) [Olivier Messiaen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-messiaen/) > [The human being is flesh and consciousness, body and soul; his heart is an abyss which can only be filled by that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-messiaen/the-human-being-is-flesh-and-consciousness-body-and-soul-his-heart-is/) [Olivier Messiaen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-messiaen/) > [It's probable that in the artistic hierarchy birds are the greatest musicians existing on our planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-messiaen/it-s-probable-that-in-the-artistic-hierarchy-birds-are-the-greatest/) [Olivier Messiaen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-messiaen/) > [No one should be allowed to make music as if he were made of wood. One must reproduce the musical text exactly, but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-messiaen/no-one-should-be-allowed-to-make-music-as-if-he-were-made-of-wood-one/) [Olivier Messiaen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-messiaen/) > [My faith is the grand drama of my life. I'm a believer, so I sing words of God to those who have no faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-messiaen/my-faith-is-the-grand-drama-of-my-life-i-m-a-believer-so-i-sing-words-2/) [Olivier Messiaen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-messiaen/) [Explore all 8 Olivier Messiaen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-messiaen/) ## More Bird quotes > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. He stares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-schuyler/he-unfixes-the-metal-notch-and-slips-his-hand-around-the-body-of-the/) Nina Schuyler > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/) [Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/) > [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/) > [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) [Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Birds are the first and the greatest performers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olivier Messiaen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-messiaen/birds-are-the-first-and-the-greatest-performers/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bird" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-messiaen/birds-are-the-first-and-the-greatest-performers/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/olivier-messiaen-48831_bird_birds-are-the-first-and-the-greatest-per_601710.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/olivier-messiaen-48831_bird_birds-are-the-first-and-the-greatest-per_601710.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/olivier-messiaen-48831_bird_birds-are-the-first-and-the-greatest-per_601710.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Birds are the first and the greatest performers.” — Olivier Messiaen", "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": "Olivier Messiaen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-messiaen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Birds are the first and the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-messiaen/birds-are-the-first-and-the-greatest-performers/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-messiaen/birds-are-the-first-and-the-greatest-performers/#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 } } ] } ```