REMEMBERING 9/11: LIVING COLOUR’S “FLYING”
Music can have an incredible emotional impact on the listener, at times overwhelming. When you write about music for a living it’s impossible not to be become jaded, and those times when music completely takes you over grow ever farther between. But watching this live performance of “Flying” — Living Colour’s 9/11-inspired song and, IMO, the best 9/11-inspired song ever-written — is sending chills down my spine and had me on the brink of tears for a moment. It’s that powerful.
“Flying” is a moving song on its own, but this performance, filmed in New Jersey on the 8th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, takes it to another level. Cory Glover is one of the most emotional singers in the world; at a private performance of their new album The Chair in the Doorway in 2009, Glover broke down into tears after introducing and then launching into a song about his late mother. You can feel it in this performance of “Flying” too… Living Colour are a true New York band, and the 9/11 attacks affected all of us in a profound way. These lyrics, and the accompanying music — including Vernon Reid’s extended guitar solo — capture the emotions we all feel so perfectly.
I jumped out the window to get to the parking lot
I’m writing this little song on my way down
Never in my life have I felt a heat so hot
I had to get outSuch a lovely day to go flying
The sky’s so clear, the sun is shining
Fate has given me wings
Such a terrible funny thingI was gathering up my nerve to ask out Carmen
She glanced out the window
Oh my God
The room It went away, now we’re holding hands
Just not the way I planned
