Notes:
On the face of it, this is a song of a man to a bird, begging for a sympathetic ear for a man hopelessly in love; on another level, bryd has the double meaning, of "burde", as in a young woman — when this would be sung in the hall, she might recognize herself and take pity. The third level is "Brid" as St. Bride, or St. Brighid, the fair one. In any case, the song is among the first (extant) English love lyrics.