Mudcat Café message #1236236

He was a flyer for the Air Force,
On a plane from San Antonio.
I was travelling to London,
He was going off to Buffalo.
Changing planes in Pittsburgh,
We got grounded in a storm.
And, I would give anything,
To be on that flyer's arm.

We played cards, mostly blackjack,
As we sat out on the tarmac.
We sang songs we knew in Spanish,
As we both loved songs of language.
And he'd heard me on the radio,
I'd seen the flyers of San Antone.
And, I would give anything,
To have that flyer for my own.

God bless the flyer,
Who would be flying home tonight.
'Cause I would give anything,
To see that flyer, flyin' tonight.

He said he'd never married,
'Cause his heart was in the clouds.
And I said I was too clumsy,
That I broke the wings of the loves I found.
And he shouted out his name to me,
As I ran to make my flight.
I would give anything,
To see that flyer, flyin' tonight.

One year I watched a war in London,
In the airport leaving London.
And I wondered if I'd know him,
If I saw his wings in motion.
Did I leave my heart in Pittsburgh,
In the lightning of that flight?
I wish that you could tell me now,
Will he be flyin' home tonight?

God bless the flyer,
Who would be flying home tonight.
'Cause I would give anything,
To see that flyer, flyin' tonight.

Yeah, God bless the flyer,
Who would be flying home tonight.
'Cause I would give anything,
To see that flyer, flyin' tonight.

Written by Nanci Griffith.
(© Rondor Music (London) Ltd.)
From "Flyer", © 1994, MCA.

Source: Coquet Shack, © 2004, John D. Lewis.