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Birdy was born on 15 May 1996, in Lymington, England, United Kingdom. Her father is Rupert Oliver Benjamin van den Bogaerde, a writer; her mother is Sophie Patricia (née Roper-Curzon), a concert pianist. Birdy learned to play the piano at the age of seven, and began writing her own music at the age of eight. She stated that listening to classical music and the songs her mother played has been a big influence on her sound. Her parents were married in 1995 and have two other children: Jake, born in 1997, and Caitlin in 1999. She also has two elder half-brothers, Moses and Sam, from her father's first marriage.

Birdy studied at Durlston Court Prep School in Barton on Sea, at Priestlands School, and at Brockenhurst College, a sixth form college in the New Forest. Her maternal grandfather was Captain John Christopher Ingram Roper-Curzon, the 20th Baron Teynham, and she grew up on Pylewell Park, the family estate near Lymington, Hampshire. Her great-uncle was the actor Sir Dirk Bogarde. She has English, Belgian (Flemish), Dutch and Scottish ancestry.

Traffic drummer Jim Capaldi started writing this song in Morocco, where he was getting ready to make a movie called Nevertheless with actor Michael J. Pollard. The film project fell through, but did lead to one of Traffic's best-known songs. Said Capaldi: "Pollard and I would sit around writing lyrics all day, talking about Bob Dylan and the Band, thinking up ridiculous plots for the movie. Before I left Morocco, Pollard wrote in my book 'The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.' For me, it summed him up. He had this tremendous rebel attitude. He walked around in his cowboy boots, his leather jacket. At the time he was a heavy little dude. It seemed to sum up all the people of that generation who were just rebels. The 'Low Spark,' for me, was the spirit, high-spirited. You know, standing on a street corner. The low rider. The 'Low Spark' meaning that strong undercurrent at the street level.