#22: Rock And Bird by Cowboy Junkies

City: Burnaby, BC
Radio Station: CFML
Peak Month: October 1990
Peak Position in Burnaby ~ #6
Peak position in Vancouver ~ Hit Bound
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Rock And Bird”
Lyrics: “Rock And Bird”

The Cowboy Junkies were formed in 1985 by Alan Anton on bass guitar, Michael Timmins on guitarist, Peter Timmins on drums and Margo Timmins on vocals. The three Timminses are siblings. Alan Anton worked with Michael Timmins during their first couple of bands prior to the formation of the Cowboy Junkies, including the Hunger Project. This was followed by an improvisational band named Germinal. In 1985, a fourth sibling, John Timmins, was also member of the band. But he but left the group before the recording of their debut studio album in 1986. The band line-up has never changed since: Margo, Michael, and Peter Timmins, and Alan Anton. All were born in Montreal. Michael and Alan in 1959, Margo in 1961, and Peter Timmins in 1965. When Margo was lobbied to join the Cowboy Junkies, she recalls, “I was contemplating going on to graduate school, staying in school. That was safe. I never wanted to be a musician or be onstage.”

The slow musical tempos and whispery, hushed tones that defined the Cowboy Junkies early work was not just musical inspiration, but came about by necessity. Their recording studio was their repurposed garage, which was just behind the house and bordered closely with their neighbours. On their first jam session, the police showed up due to a noise complaint from the neighbour. According to Michael Timmins, “We realized we had to tone down. One thing fed into the other: Margo began to realize that her singing voice was more effective quiet. We began to realize, if we can get down underneath Margo, the sound will be more effective. Pete picked up brushes – he was just learning to play drums at that point. Everything sort of came down. We learned to play with less volume.”

In 1986, the alternative country-folk-rock band released their debut album Whites Off Earth Now!! Michael Timmins is the principal songwriter for the group.

In 1988, the Cowboy Junkies released The Trinity Session. Using the ambisonic microphone, and a mix of blues, country, folk, rock and jazz, the band won both critical attention and a strong fan base. The Los Angeles Times named the recording one of the 10 best albums of 1988. The album reached #26 on the Billboard 200 Pop Album chart, and also on the New Zealand album chart, and #28 in Canada. In Australia the album stalled at #76.

The lead single from the album, “Sweet Jane”, climbed to #4 in Windsor (ON), and Lynn (MA), #13 in Los Angeles, #17 in Hamilton (ON), #23 in Cleveland, and charted in Vancouver (BC) and Melbourne, Australia. In Australia, the song reached #87 on the national pop chart. A second release from the album, “Misguided Angel”, reached #24 on the Canadian RPM Top 100 singles chart in 1989. A third single, “Blue Moon Revisited”, charted to #87 on the UK Singles chart in the winter of 1989.

In 1990, the band released The Caution Horses. The album peaked at #10 in Norway, #11 in Canada, #27 in New Zealand, #33 in the UK, #40 in Sweden, and #47 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It also sold well in Australia and the Netherlands.

The debut single, “Sun Comes Up, It’s Tuesday Morning”, reached #22 on the RPM Top 100 singles chart in Canada. It also climbed to #5 on the Adult Contemporary chart in Canada. It was followed by “‘Cause Cheap Is How I Feel”. Both of these singles also charted in the UK.

The Cowboy Junkies had this to say about “Rock And Bird” in the liner notes to the song. “The lyrics of “Rock and Bird” explore the themes of control, freedom, and betrayal within the context of a relationship. The woman in the song represents someone who seeks to balance stability (Rock) and freedom (Bird) within her life and in her relationships. By capturing both Rock and Bird and making them prisoners until they acknowledge who is in control, she symbolizes the struggle for power and dominance in relationships. The woman’s decision to release them and have Rock become her anchor while Bird becomes her dream illustrates the dual nature of love and the constant push and pull between security and freedom. The setting of the forest with Rock beneath her and Bird above her serves as a powerful metaphor for the complexity of relationships, with the woman caught between the stability of the past and the longing for freedom and new beginnings. The lyrics of the song ultimately speak to the pain of betrayal in love, with Bird singing songs of love’s betrayal and the woman expressing her disappointment and sense of loss.”

“Rock And Bird” peaked at #6 in Burnaby (BC). On the RPM Top 100 Singles chart in Canada the single peaked at #34, and #11 on the national Adult Contemporary chart.

In 1992, the Cowboy Junkies released Black Eyed Man. The album climbed to #8 in Canada, #21 in the UK, and #32 in New Zealand. The debut single, “Southern Rain”, peaked at #6 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and #20 in the RPM Top 100 Singles chart in Canada.

In 1994, Pale Sun, Crescent Moon was released. “The Anniversary Song” became their highest charting single in Canada where it reached #10 on the pop chart and #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart. That year “Sweet Jane” was included in the Soundtrack for the film Natural Born Killers. As a result, it sold many more CDs.

The 1996 album Lay It Down spawned more hit records for the Cowboy Junkies. “A Common Disaster” made it to #11 on the Canadian pop chart, and #12 on the RPM Adult Contemporary chart. While “Angel Mine” reached #7 on the RPM Top 100 Singles chart in Canada. Their 19th and final single release, “Star of Our Stars”, was in 2004.

Over the decades, the Cowboy Junkies have released twenty studio albums. Their most recent is Such Ferocious Beauty (2023).  In 2019, the Cowboy Junkies were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Over the decades, the Cowboy Junkies have appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno, The David Letterman Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Later… with Jools Holland, CBC’s The Strombo Show, Saturday Night Live and many others. They have also performed at the Canadian Music Hall of Fame ceremonies, the Quebec City Summer Festival, with the Boston Pops at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and many other venues.

March 20, 2026
Ray McGinnis

References:
Kembrew McLeod, “An interview with Michael Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies,” Little Village, Iowa City (IA), October 23, 2013.
Robert Hilburn, “The Cowboy Junkies Addicting Vision: At its best the band plays country music with a Velvet Underground twang,” Los Angeles Times, January 1, 1989.
George Lenker, “Cowboy Junkies reflect on 30 years before Northampton show,”  Mass Live, Springfield (MA), April 4, 2018.

CFML 940-AM Burnaby (BC) | October 29, 1990