“Red Bird” is a song inspired by The Year of Jubilee, a semi-autobiographical novel set in 1963 at the height of the civil rights movement. It’s about the constant and changing things in life as represented by the red bird. It is sung from the perspective of the protagonist, Grace Mockingbird. Grace and family face a profound tragedy and great loss. At the same time, they navigate integration in a small coal mining town in Eastern Kentucky.