Story Behind The Song

Ready to Fly was inspired by a Bread and Roses benefit concert our band Calaveras performed at a nonambulatory senior facility in Mill Valley California. Afterwards, we spoke to several members of the audience. They told us the music brought back memori

Song Description

This song is an anthem about the hope and faith of three people soon to face death. It won the Kerrville New Folk Contest, the Napa Emerging Songwriter Showcase, and has been recorded by several artists.

Lyrics

Ready to Fly


I am standing on the edge of the water
And I am watching the wild birds fill the sky
And I am longing to be lifted up among them
I am not dying I?m getting ready to fly.

I am an old man and these old hands tell my story
Fifty years on the Boston piers took their toll
Faded faces smile from those places I cannot return to
Til my days are done and they take me home

And I am standing on the edge of the water
And I am watching the wild birds fill the sky
And I am longing to be lifted up among them
I am not dying I?m getting ready to fly.

I was a young wife with my whole life still before me
It was the last year of the last great war
My darling Edward never returned from Normandy
But soon I will see my Edward once more.

And I am standing on the edge of the water
And I am watching the wild birds fill the sky
And I am longing to be lifted up among them
I am not dying I?m getting ready to fly.

My memory is fading like an ember
But I remember a promise I once made
I said dear Father I?ll be faithful forever
And as he draws near me he can hear me pray

I am standing on the edge of the water
And I am watching the wild birds fill the sky
And I am longing to be lifted up among them
I am not dying I?m getting ready to fly.

© Greg Beattie 2004