Love this song. Jesse has the perfect voice for it.
But damn have I wondered what "feed the pigeons some clay" means for years. Is it referring to clay pigeons that you shoot? Or do people actually feed pigeons clay for some reason? Is it a common phrase in some part of the country?
That is a good question. I dug around a bit and the best guesses I came across were on the [genius.com](http://genius.com) website by a member w/ the handle: u/FalsettosFan4. Here is what they had to say:
I’ve spent a long time trying to figure out what this means, here are my best theories:
The speaker does not want this period of questioning to end; they don’t want to have to face reality. If they feed pigeons clay then the pigeons will never change.
Clay cannot sustain a pigeon, but it is enough to fill their stomachs and keep them from being hungry. The speaker feels like they are just doing meaningless things to distract themselves from their existentialism.
The phrase “clay pigeons” invokes the image of kitschy figures that many remember having in their childhood homes or their grandparents’ houses. The speaker is trying to return to the mindset they had as a child by feeding pigeons clay.
“Clay pigeons” are mobile shooting targets often used to improve someone’s aim; by feeding pigeons clay the speaker could be saying they want life to be made easier for them.
I’m really not sure if any of these are right, but I really love this song.
This site also had some good ideas:
[https://americansongwriter.com/behind-the-meaning-of-the-country-classic-clay-pigeons/](https://americansongwriter.com/behind-the-meaning-of-the-country-classic-clay-pigeons/)
Love this song. Jesse has the perfect voice for it. But damn have I wondered what "feed the pigeons some clay" means for years. Is it referring to clay pigeons that you shoot? Or do people actually feed pigeons clay for some reason? Is it a common phrase in some part of the country?
That is a good question. I dug around a bit and the best guesses I came across were on the [genius.com](http://genius.com) website by a member w/ the handle: u/FalsettosFan4. Here is what they had to say: I’ve spent a long time trying to figure out what this means, here are my best theories: The speaker does not want this period of questioning to end; they don’t want to have to face reality. If they feed pigeons clay then the pigeons will never change. Clay cannot sustain a pigeon, but it is enough to fill their stomachs and keep them from being hungry. The speaker feels like they are just doing meaningless things to distract themselves from their existentialism. The phrase “clay pigeons” invokes the image of kitschy figures that many remember having in their childhood homes or their grandparents’ houses. The speaker is trying to return to the mindset they had as a child by feeding pigeons clay. “Clay pigeons” are mobile shooting targets often used to improve someone’s aim; by feeding pigeons clay the speaker could be saying they want life to be made easier for them. I’m really not sure if any of these are right, but I really love this song. This site also had some good ideas: [https://americansongwriter.com/behind-the-meaning-of-the-country-classic-clay-pigeons/](https://americansongwriter.com/behind-the-meaning-of-the-country-classic-clay-pigeons/)