Musical Montage: The Neville Brothers “Bird on a Wire”
Taking its title from the Leonard Cohen song, the 1990 movie Bird on a Wire featured a new version of the song from The Neville Brothers on its soundtrack. The movie stars Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn, with Gibson’s character in witness protection and Hawn as his ex-girlfriend whom he unexpectedly runs into. The pair is forced on the run from corrupt DEA agents. The song “Bird on a Wire” was released in 1969 by Cohen and included on his album Songs from a Room. It became one of his signature songs. There were several cover versions, including ones from David Crosby and Joe Cocker. The Neville Brothers’ version came out in 1990 and was featured on their album Brother’s Keeper, charted in New Zealand, the UK, and Germany. The song received a music video, but it doesn’t feature any clips or tie-ins to the movie. You can check it out below.
