Words and music © 2007 by Tom Maynard
Tom Maynard: Vocals, guitars
Joe Clapp: Bass, percussion
The myth of Icarus has always fascinated me, and I’ve wanted to use it as the basis of a song for a long time. Every time I’ve tried, I’ve been stymied by the many other wonderful songs already written, by people like David Wilcox, Dan Fogelberg, and Greg Greenway. So I punted, and instead wrote a song about songs about Icarus.
Lyrics
Flying high, flying free
A recurring reverie
Every nighttime the same dream
It’s just as curious as it seems
Out of reach, out of touch
It’s all too clear it’s far too much
Patently impossible
Conclusion inescapable
But songs of Icarus ignite
A longing for his fabled flight
Uncertain lift from waxy wings
Still I’ll raise my voice to sing
Chorus
I’m learning to fly
I’m learning to fly
I’m learning to fly, oh
Note to note, beat to beat
Phrases rise, then fall to meet
Silence resting, waiting there
As fledgling feathers test the air
Feeling drawn towards the sun
Warming to what’s just begun
Letting flow and opening
Is this really happening?
Yet songs of Icarus inspire
A yearning to soar ever higher
Uncertain lift from waxy wings
Still I’ll raise my voice to sing
Chorus
Flying high, flying free
An astounding fantasy
Every nighttime the same theme
Up ’til now it’s just been a dream
Chorus
Tom Maynard 