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Learning to FlyPink Floyd

Released: September 7, 1987

Songwriter: Jon Carin Bob Ezrin Anthony Moore David Gilmour

Producer: Bob Ezrin David Gilmour

The song was primarily written by David Gilmour. It describes Gilmour's thoughts on flying, for which he has a passion (being a licensed pilot with multiple ratings), though it has also been interpreted as a metaphor for beginning something new, experiencing a radical change in life, or, more specifically, Gilmour's feelings about striking out as the new leader of Pink Floyd after the departure of Roger Waters. Gilmour confirmed the latter interpretation on the Pink Floyd 25th Anniversary Special in May 1992. Read more on Last.fm.

Length: 5:46

[Verse 1]
Into the distance, a ribbon of black
Stretched to the point of no turning back
A flight of fancy on a windswept field
Standing alone my senses reel
A fatal attraction is holding me fast
How can I escape this irresistible grasp?

[Chorus]
Can’t keep my eyes from the circling sky
Tongue-tied and twisted
Just an earthbound misfit, I

[Verse 2]
Ice is forming on the tips of my wings
Unheeded warnings, I thought I thought of everything
No navigator to find my way home
Unladen, empty and turned to stone

[Pre-Chorus 1]
A soul in tension that’s learning to fly
Condition grounded but determined to try

[Chorus]
Can’t keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted
Just an earth-bound misfit, I

[Verse 3]
Above the planet on a wing and a prayer
My grubby halo, a vapor trail in the empty air
Across the clouds I see my shadow fly
Out of the corner of my watering eye
A dream unthreatened by the morning light
Could blow this soul right through the roof of the night

[Pre-Chorus 2]
There’s no sensation to compare with this
Suspended animation, a state of bliss

[Chorus]
Can’t keep my mind from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted
Just an earth-bound misfit, I

Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd was a British rock band who managed to carve a path for progressive and psychedelic music in a way that was uniquely fascinating at the time and has remained equally momentous in the modern age. The name “Pink Floyd” came from two blues musicians that founding member Syd Barrett idolized—Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.

The band was formed in 1965 London by Barrett (guitars, vocals), Nick Mason (drums), Roger Waters (bass), and Richard Wright (keyboards). Sometime after releasing their debut album, 1967’s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, the group saw the addition of a second singer-guitarist, David Gilmour. This acted largely as a means of replacing Barrett, who was forced to leave in 1968 for mental health reasons, resulting in Waters taking over as the main vocalist.

The band broke into the mainstream with 1973’s Dark Side of the Moon, an album that became one of the best-selling and most influential records in music history. Their follow-up efforts, 1975’s Wish You Were Here and 1977’s Animals, also sold well. However, the band started to see some in-fighting while making their next album, a rock opera about how Waters felt frustrated and detached from his audience. Waters seemingly became extremely controlling, firing Wright over disputes about touring and his contributions to the album. The result, 1979’s The Wall, became the best-selling double album of all time. It spawned iconic songs such as the #1 hit, “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2,” and the melodic “Comfortably Numb.”

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