--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And now above and beyond the birds' song…" description: "\"“And now above and beyond the birds' song, Andy hears a more distant singing, whether of voices or instruments, sounds or words, he cannot tell. It is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/wendell-berry-236_animals_and-now-above-and-beyond-the-birds-song_176985.jpg" --- # And now above and beyond the birds' song, Andy hears a… ![“And now above and beyond the birds' song, Andy hears a more distant singing, whether of voices or instruments, sounds or words, he cannot tell. It is at first faint, and then stronger, filling the sky and touching the ground, and the birds answer it. He understands presently that he is hearing the…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/wendell-berry-236_animals_and-now-above-and-beyond-the-birds-song_176985.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/wendell-berry-236_animals_and-now-above-and-beyond-the-birds-song_176985.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/wendell-berry-236_animals_and-now-above-and-beyond-the-birds-song_176985.jpg) > ““And now above and beyond the birds' song, Andy hears a more distant singing, whether of voices or instruments, sounds or words, he cannot tell. It is at first faint, and then stronger, filling the sky and touching the ground, and the birds answer it. He understands presently that he is hearing the light; he is hearing the sun, which now has risen, though from the valley it is not yet visible. The light's music resounds and shines in the air and over the countryside, drawing everything into the infinite, sensed but mysterious pattern of its harmony. From every tree and leaf, grass blade, stone, bird, and beast, it is answered and again answers. The creatures sing back their names. But more than their names. They sing their being. The world sings. The sky sings back. It is one song, the song of the many members of one love, the whole song sung and to be sung, resounding, in each of its moments. And it is light.”” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes an awakening to a universal, luminous harmony that connects all living things through light and song, suggesting a spiritual unity beyond ordinary perception. **In simple terms:** A deeper sense of unity and harmony in nature is felt through light and sound. Key Takeaway Recognize and attune to the subtle, shared harmony of life. Themes spirituality nature unity perception harmony Mood awe contemplative inspired Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - forest walks - meditation - sunrise watching - creative writing - environmental activism Key Concepts cosmology interconnectedness transcendence Questions to Reflect On - How can you experience this sense of unity in everyday moments? - What practices help you hear the 'song' of the world? A Different Perspective The metaphor may be abstract and hard to apply concretely in daily life. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-making/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [“I distinctly heard the blackbird from the top of a spruce tree, and clear as glass I heard the lark high up and several…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-distinctly-heard-the-blackbird-from-the-top-of-a-spruce-tree-and/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [The air is like a butterfly With frail blue wings. The happy earth looks at the sky And sings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-kilmer/the-air-is-like-a-butterfly-with-frail-blue-wings-the-happy-earth/) [Joyce Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-kilmer/) > [You must hear the birds song without attempting to render it into nouns and verbs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/you-must-hear-the-birds-song-without-attempting-to-render-it-into/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The song that we hear with our ears is only the song that is sung in our hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ouida/the-song-that-we-hear-with-our-ears-is-only-the-song-that-is-sung-in/) [Ouida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ouida/) > [“We were a song that had been sung from the very first ember of light in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/we-were-a-song-that-had-been-sung-from-the-very-first-ember-of-light/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“Our story has been told, our song has been sung. You're a road I’ve already traveled, and from it, I have moved on. "Already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shay-leigh/our-story-has-been-told-our-song-has-been-sung-you-re-a-road-i-ve/) [Shay Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shay-leigh/) > [“I want to read every book that’s written hear every song that was sung I want to gaze at every cloud and hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanober-khan/i-want-to-read-every-book-that-s-written-hear-every-song-that-was/) [Sanober Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanober-khan/) > [I have not yet worked with A.R. Rahman and it is my hearty desire to do so. In Jugni both of us have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahat-fateh-ali-khan/i-have-not-yet-worked-with-a-r-rahman-and-it-is-my-hearty-desire-to/) [Rahat Fateh Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahat-fateh-ali-khan/) > [May your heart always be joyful. May your song always be sung.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/may-your-heart-always-be-joyful-may-your-song-always-be-sung/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [It's very hard for me to write a generic song that could be sung by anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-dream/it-s-very-hard-for-me-to-write-a-generic-song-that-could-be-sung-by/) [The-Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-dream/) > [You're ever song I have ever sung. I'll never let anything hurt you again. For the first time in my life, my dreams aren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/you-re-ever-song-i-have-ever-sung-i-ll-never-let-anything-hurt-you/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [“You do not like me too good. This is a sad thing, eh?” With a sweep of his hand, he indicated the world around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-anderson/you-do-not-like-me-too-good-this-is-a-sad-thing-eh-with-a-sweep-of/) [Catherine Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-anderson/) > [Song Sung Blue took a lot of compressing and refining, and it has one of my favorite lyrics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-diamond/song-sung-blue-took-a-lot-of-compressing-and-refining-and-it-has-one/) [Neil Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-diamond/) > [My problem starts when I see that in a situation when the girl is telling her feeling, say crying or laughing, the song is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neeti-mohan/my-problem-starts-when-i-see-that-in-a-situation-when-the-girl-is/) [Neeti Mohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neeti-mohan/) > [There's a song that wants to sing itself through us. We just got to be available. Maybe the song that is to be sung…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/there-s-a-song-that-wants-to-sing-itself-through-us-we-just-got-to-be/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. 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He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Animals quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) [Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And now above and beyond the birds' song, Andy hears a more distant singing, whether of voices or instruments, sounds or words, he cannot tell. It is at first faint, and then stronger, filling the sky and touching the ground, and the birds answer it. He understands presently that he is hearing the light; he is hearing the sun, which now has risen, though from the valley it is not yet visible. The light's music resounds and shines in the air and over the countryside, drawing everything into the infinite, sensed but mysterious pattern of its harmony. From every tree and leaf, grass blade, stone, bird, and beast, it is answered and again answers. The creatures sing back their names. But more than their names. They sing their being. The world sings. The sky sings back. It is one song, the song of the many members of one love, the whole song sung and to be sung, resounding, in each of its moments. 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