Summary
Overview
Irish musician and songwriter Wallace Bird shares her journey from receiving her first guitar at six months old to becoming a performer known for her boundless energy and cosmic connection to music. In this TED conversation with Anna Bulbrook, Wallace performs three original songs and discusses her approach to songwriting, activism, grief, and the transformative power of music to create culture and bring people together.
The Flagship Song: To My Bones
"To My Bones" is Wallace's 15-year-old flagship song about joy and a perfect moment with friends in a disco pub where everyone spontaneously did the same dance choreography. The song celebrates those moments that feel too good to be true, with the repeated mantra "Oh life, I love you to my bones" expressing ecstasy beyond words. The song has brought her tremendous joy through the connections it creates, especially with children.
- The song is about 15 years old and is her flagship creation
- It captures a moment in a bar when strangers synchronized in dance and limbo
- The repeated line came from being unable to handle how good a moment felt
- Repetition is central to her style—building mantras that push further and further
" It's about joy and a perfect moment out with friends. And the way people have connected with it and the amount of joy that it's brought me and other people, especially kids, is really, really special to me. "
" It's just a mantra. It's just this keep going and keep going and go further and further and further, and I think that's just my calling. Keep going and go further. "
The Source of Boundless Energy
Wallace's signature million-watt stage presence comes from what she describes as a cosmic, outer-body source that she's learned to embrace rather than question. She maintains the same energy off stage, driven by a desire to connect rooms full of people and particularly to reach those who seem disengaged. Her approach is less about performance and more about guiding a space like a DJ, finding something that makes every person's eyes light up.
- Her stage energy comes from something cosmic and otherworldly that she feels strongly
- She can summon energy even when sick with flu, describing it as an outer body experience
- She targets people in the audience who seem uninterested, trying to connect with them specifically
- Wallace is essentially the same person off stage as on, genuinely enjoying people
" I just realized that it's something that was handed to me from elsewhere, something very cosmic. I feel it very strongly. "
" I get a real kick out of guiding a room. I tend to pinpoint people who are just stood there like this, I'm not into this, or I was dragged here. And I go straight to that person and try and find something that makes their eyes light up. "
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