Songfacts, "Hummingbird by Seals & Crofts"

Songfacts is a long running music reference site specializing in documented song meanings and songwriter interviews. Its entry on Hummingbird carries a direct quotation from a 1991 interview in which Jim Seals himself explains the song: that it addresses how each of the world's religious teachers, when they come, are misunderstood and struck at, jailed or tortured, and that the refrain Hummingbird, don't fly away is a plea for forgiveness spoken on humanity's behalf. Its strength is a primary quotation from the song's own co-writer explaining his intent, rather than a secondhand paraphrase. Its limit is that it is a reference and fan-facing site rather than a newspaper of record or a peer reviewed source, so it is cited here for its direct interview quotation rather than as an independent critical assessment.