Why do birds suddenly appear? You asked Google – here’s the answer | Susanna Rustin

Every day millions of internet users ask Google life’s most difficult questions, big and small. Our writers answer some of the commonest queries

Perhaps some people Google this question in search of an explanation for the sudden appearance of birds – before an electrical storm, say, or on the second day of Christmas. Most, though, are looking for Burt Bacharach’s famous song, using its first line rather than its clumsy title: (They Long to Be) Close to You. The song was a huge hit for the Carpenters, and the question it opens with – “Why do birds suddenly appear / Every time you are near?” – is the one I’m going to answer.

To state the obvious, it’s a rhetorical question. As the singer well knows, it’s because she is in the sweaty yet vice-like grip of infatuation. This state of mind is the point of the song, which doesn’t tell any kind of story. Who she is, who he is, where they met (if they’ve even met), we don’t know. (And before you ask: no, she’s not a stalker – as the gentle sway of the tune makes plain, there is nothing sinister about this crush.)

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from The Guardian http://ift.tt/2EHm647