Songfacts®:

• This Memphis-soul-influenced track finds Avril Lavigne singing of feeling trapped "like a bird locked up in a cage." She penned the tune with producer J.R Rotem, who has also worked with Jason Delrulo on several of his hit tunes.
• Lavigne told Entertainment Weekly that she had the song's concept in her head a couple of years before she wrote it.
  
  "I was feeling bad," Lavigne explained. "I kept saying to myself, 'I feel like I'm a bird locked up in a cage. I feel like I'm in jail.' I was just stuck with a bunch of s–t. That's where that concept came from."
• In December 2014, Lavigne was diagnosed with Lyme disease, a condition that left her bedridden for five months. While some of the other songs on Head Above Water are about the singer's illness, she explained "Birdie" is about other stuff in her life.
  
  "I love that song because it has an empowering message of standing up for yourself, doing something about a situation you're in, taking charge, and removing yourself," Lavigne added. "I think a lot of people can relate to that whether that's a toxic relationship they're in, or they're not happy with their job."