Why Do Birds Sing?

Why Do Birds Sing? is the fifth studio album by Violent Femmes, released on April 30, 1991. It was the band's last album with original drummer Victor DeLorenzo, who left two years later to devote his time to acting, and was produced by Michael Beinhorn, best-known then for his work with Red Hot Chili Peppers on Mother's Milk and The Uplift Mofo Party Plan.

Why Do Birds Sing?
Studio album by Violent Femmes
Released	April 30, 1991 (1991-04-30)
Recorded	1990
Genre	Folk rock[1]
Length	42:20
Label	Reprise
Producer	Violent Femmes, Michael Beinhorn
Violent Femmes chronology
Debacle: The First Decade (1990) Why Do Birds Sing? (1991) Add It Up (1981-1993) (1993)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
New Noise Magazine	[3]
Pitchfork	7.9/10[4]

The album featured the single "American Music," which rose to number 2 on Billboard's Modern Rock chart during the week of May 18, 1991,^[5] and became a staple of the band's live shows.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"American Music"		3:49
2.	"Out the Window"		2:52
3.	"Look Like That"		2:45
4.	"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?"	George O'Dowd, Mikey Craig, Roy Hay, Jon Moss, Gano	4:50
5.	"Hey Nonny Nonny"	Shepard Tonie, Gano	4:34
6.	"Used to Be"		3:38
7.	"Girl Trouble"		2:57
8.	"He Likes Me"		3:07
9.	"Life is a Scream"		1:54
10.	"Flamingo Baby"		2:37
11.	"Lack of Knowledge"		1:54
12.	"More Money Tonight"		3:58
13.	"I'm Free"		3:25

All tracks are written by Gordon Gano, except where noted

Personnel

Violent Femmes

• Gordon Gano – vocals, guitar
• Brian Ritchie – bass, guitar, bouzouki, banjo, ukulele, mouth harp, didgeridoo, xylophone, glockenspiel, vocals
• Victor DeLorenzo – drums, percussion, tranceaphone, vocals

Additional musicians

• Michael Beinhorn – Hammond organ on "American Music", Mellotron on "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" and "Used To Be", piano on "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" and "I'm Free", harmonium on "Used To Be"
• Sid Page, Suzie Katayama, Ilene Novog, Larry Corbett – strings on "Used To Be"
• Tommy Mandel – keyboards on "American Music"

Production

• Violent Femmes – Producer
• Eric "ET" Thorngren – Engineer, mixing
• David Vartanian – Mixing
• Susan Rogers – Engineer
• Tom Fritze – Assistant engineer
• Lori Fumar – Assistant engineer
• Mike Kloster – Assistant engineer
• Howie Weinberg – Mastering
• Mary Jones – Photography

Charts

Chart performance for Why Do Birds Sing?

Chart (1991)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[6]	26
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7]	67
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[8]	31
US Billboard 200[9]	141

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[10]	Gold	35,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Ankeny, Jason. "Violent Femmes Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
2. Thomas, Fred. "Why Do Birds Sing? - Violent Femmes | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
3. Moore, John (October 7, 2021). "Album Review: Violent Femmes – Why Do Birds Sing? [Vinyl Reissue]". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
4. Deusner, Stephen M. (October 18, 2021). "Violent Femmes: Why Do Birds Sing? (Deluxe Edition)". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
5. "Violent Femmes - Alternative Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
6. "Australiancharts.com – Violent Femmes – Why Do Birds Sing?". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
7. "Offiziellecharts.de – Violent Femmes – Why Do Birds Sing?" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
8. "Charts.nz – Violent Femmes – Why Do Birds Sing?". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
9. Whitburn, Joel; Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums, 1955–1996; p. 819. ISBN 0898201179
10. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1995 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 28 November 2021.