Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Released: June 17, 1991

Songwriter: Tom Petty Jeff Lynne

Producer: Jeff Lynne Tom Petty Mike W. Campbell

[Verse 1]
Well, I started out down a dirty road
Started out all alone
And the sun went down as I crossed the hill
And the town lit up, the world got still

[Chorus]
I'm learning to fly but I ain't got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing

[Verse 2]
Well, the good old days may not return
And the rocks might melt and the sea may burn

[Chorus]
I'm learning to fly (Learning to fly)
But I ain't got wings (Learning to fly)
Coming down (Learning to fly)
Is the hardest thing (Learning to fly)

[Verse 3]
Well, some say life will beat you down
Break your heart, steal your crown
So I've started out for God knows where
I guess I'll know when I get there

[Chorus]
I'm learning to fly around the clouds
But what goes up (Learning to fly)
Must come down

[Outro]
I'm learning to fly (Learning to fly)
But I ain't got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing
I'm learning to fly (Learning to fly)
Around the clouds
But what goes up (Learning to fly)
Must come down
I'm learning to fly (Learning to fly, learning to fly)
I'm learning to fly (Learning to fly, learning to fly)
(Learning to fly, learning to fly)

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – an L.A.-based gang of sharp-dressed garage-rock refugees from Gainsville, Florida – released their debut LP in November 1976, featuring two tracks which are now part of their long list of hits, “Breakdown” and “American Girl.”

Since that first LP in ‘76, the band’s style has epitomized and largely defined the American “heartland rock” movement – a vintage-guitar twang, hard lyric truth, and searing vocal attitude.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been nominated for 17 Grammy awards and sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making them one of the world’s best-selling bands of all-time.

more tracks from the album

Into the Great Wide Open

From the albums

Into the Great Wide Open (1991)
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Greatest Hits (1993) (1993)
Playback (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) (1995)
Anthology Through The Years (2000)
Elizabethtown (Music From the Motion Picture - Volume 2) (2006)
The Best of Everything (2019)

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers popular songs

Learning to FlyTom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Into the Great Wide Open