Folk song about flying and it's risks written the day the space shuttle Columbia was destroyed during re-entry. Vocal solo with one acoustic guitar played finger style.
acoustic guitar
I'm a folky acoustic guitar player/singer. I thought this might be a good place to make some of my music available on the web.
Story behind the song
This is a folk song about flying and it's risks written Feb. 1, 2003, the day the space shuttle Columbia was destroyed during re-entry. I am a pilot and the event was very emotional for me. I grabbed my guitar for some comfort as I watched the news reports and started playing some mournful sounds. The words came and soon I had a song.
Lyrics
Broken feathers fall from the sky
We're looking up and wondering why?
Our best and our brightest with courage to spare
Consider the cost and then take to the air
Knowing today could hold a terrible blow
The unforgiving earth is always waiting below
Experience is blank if your answer's always "no"
A box of hope and balsa wood wings
To let it soar free with no strings
With weeks of care and a critical eye
And days of waiting for slow glue to dry
Delicate wings with gossamer glow
The wind can be a fickle friend you know
But to see it fly you have to let it go
Form and function, an artful machine
With lines and symmetry, balanced and clean
A joy to behold when the work is all through
But outside beckons a huge sky of blue
Wheels lift from the ground on bright wings that gleam
Cleverly outwitting gravity�s scheme
The heart is pounding as reality meets dream
Terminal velocity
Choose your life philosophy
Pull on your boots or just sit in a chair
The thrill of the rush and the depths of despair
Stay on the ground and you may never cry
But God be with those who determine to try
We�d rather die than to miss our chance to fly
