Katherine Jung ‘26 is a journalist, Calliope editor, and writing center tutor at Pingry. She is also a dedicated violinist, studying at Juilliard Pre-College and playing in Pingry’s string orchestra. In her column, For the Record, she hopes to connect the community through music and personal stories.
To My Friends
On October 18, Billie Eilish performed at Madison Square Garden as part of her 2024 tour. She had an amazing tracklist, from elementary school classics like Bad Guy to What Was I Made For? from the iconic Barbie movie. If you were to ask me my favorite out of all twenty-two songs she performed, it would be a hard decision to make. But I would have to say Birds of a Feather, the fourth track on Hit Me Hard and Soft. Music reviewers called it the song of the summer (which I might have to debate as a loyal Sabrina Carpenter and Kendrick Lamar fan). The Los Angeles Times described it as a “breezy neo-new-wave jam,” but under the upbeat instrumental theme and airy mood, her lyrics reflect a sense of longing and melancholy.
Billie and her brother Finneas, the co-producers of Hit Me Hard and Soft, wrote the song with a romantic relationship in mind. Yet the song is almost intentionally vague; Billie even states in a sixteen-minute video on her channel that any song is up to the listener to define. The repeating chorus of “Birds of a feather / We should stick together” reminds me more of friendship between two people who are so close that they don’t know what they’d do if they lost each other. As I take walks around campus with my friends and plan funny Halloween group costumes, I can’t help but hope we’ll stay together “until I’m in the grave,” so to speak.
The song’s title itself comes from the old English saying, “birds of a feather flock together,” stating that people with similar natures and interests become closer. While I won’t deny that I share many defining characteristics with the people around me, the popular saying works in the opposite direction as well. To paraphrase a quote I’ve been thinking about lately, we are a mosaic of the people around us—and even when we gradually grow apart or move away, their influence remains. We can never truly forget someone if they have made their mark on us, no matter how small. I still have a playlist of my old friends’ music recommendations, subconsciously say the same phrases that I used to hear, and even use the same emojis while texting (I apologize to all of my friends who have to witness me saying skibidi and spamming the fire emoji in random situations).
When talking about Birds of a Feather, Billie said that she especially loves the second verse: “I want you to see / How you look to me / You wouldn’t believe if I told ya / You would keep the compliments I throw ya.” We often self-reflect for the purpose of criticizing ourselves, picking apart every detail. If only we could see ourselves through someone else’s eyes—I’ve never looked at my friends performing in concerts or playing in tournaments with anything less than pure admiration and happiness. Looking in the mirror every morning while trying to straighten out each strand of hair and cover dark circles is something I’m very much guilty of (I may have given up on the latter goal, as my Nars concealer can’t compete with the four hours of sleep I get every day). However, I remind myself that when I see my friends, I don’t think about how tired or disheveled they look. They truly look perfect to me, simply because I’m glad to see them. Someone once told me that one of the greatest honors in life is being the reason that someone genuinely looks forward to waking up each day, and told me I was their reason. Likewise, I’d like to thank my closest friends for making each early morning alarm worth it.
I’ve been listening to music across many different time periods lately, and one of the most meaningful songs I’ve discovered is That's What Friends are For by Dionne Warwick. The song was written to raise money for AIDS research and prevention after seeing many of her loved ones suffer from the disease. The tune reminds me of the classic ’80s ballad, with its strong beat and powerful chorus. She sings about two people who stay with each other through the good and bad times, and support each other through all the ups and downs. I was able to push past the lowest points of my life with the help of people who have been with me since day one. It sounds cliché, like something that I would have hated to hear in an assembly—but over the years, I’ve realized that close relationships with other people are truly a psychological need.
The structure and style of music have changed drastically from That’s What Friends Are For to Birds of a Feather, yet the theme of friendship persists and will continue to persist across the ages. As Billie says, these moments might not be forever. But for now, I’ll enjoy dropping life updates between classes, completing quests on Brawl Stars (a hobby that teachers might not exactly endorse), and running to Starbucks on Amsterdam Street for watered-down matcha—all things made ten times better with the people I love next to me.
Oh, and since Halloween isn’t just the holiday that comes before Christmas…have a very happy (and Charlie-Brown-esque) Halloween!
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To contact the author: Katherine Jung '26