Heartwarming / Andrew Bird

• "Tables and Chairs" manages to be heartwarming despite being about the apocalypse. He's described it as "romanticizing the apocalypse because at least it'll change the status quo," and sure enough, the lyrics are mostly focused on reconnecting with old friends and celebrating within the "crumbled financial institutions of this land" with pony rides, dancing bears, and snacks.
• His cover of the Handsome Family's "Don't Be Scared" is extremely sweet, perhaps due to the simple yet poignant lyrics and the gradually swelling instruments.
• "Danse Caribe" is about an anecdote from Bird's youth where he tossed all of his stuffed animals out of his crib and his mother told him he had "declared his autonomy." The warm Caribbean/Celtic-sounding instrumental adds to the sweet and sentimental feel.
• His more recent albums often include deeply sincere love ballads. Standouts include "Sifters" from Break It Yourself, with lyrics co-written by a longtime friend of his, and "Cracking Codes" from the otherwise bleak My Finest Work Yet.
• A lot of songs on Are You Serious, his first album written after getting married and having a son, are very sweet. In "Puma," he talks about wishing he could be with his wife during her cancer treatments, while "The New Saint Jude" (which coincidentally has an almost identical chord progression to the aforementioned "Danse Caribe") describes how much better Bird has felt after distancing himself from religion and focusing on self-improvement.
• These lyrics from "Make a Picture".
  All those scowling faces
  All those furrowed brows
  All those burned-out cases
  Make 'em take a bow
  A bunch of smiling faces
  Come on and show us out
  Never mind the braces
  Love you anyhow