fretless (2008 Feb 4 at 6pm) quotes Airmail Special as beginning "When you wake this morning honey, keep your head up to the sky", but googling that brings only one hit:fretless's post of 2008.

I suspect Jim and Jesse were the first to record Airmail Special, in 1953. They begin it "Left New York this mornin early packed with mail so wide and high", yet every website I can find has "Left New York this mornin early traveling south so wide and high", which is nonsense, when you think about it. Traveling south so high, yes, that makes sense, but wide? What was it traveling wide of?

And another thing: is it a direct flight? Because if it is, do you go south from NY to get to California? Parts of California are further north than NY, according to my Odhams New Illustrated Atlas of the World!

Hartford, Seeger and Grisman -- could there be a more trustworthy trio? -- sing "packed with" as do three or four others on Spotify, though not all -- and they're not easy to find as there is a much-recorded jazz standard of the same name -- also, both songs are written airmail and air mail, in total disregard of poor internet-bound saps like me trying to search!

Anyway, I've settled on:
Left New York this morning early
Packed with mail so wide and high
Sailing through the wide blue yonder
It's that air mail special on the fly

Listen to her motors humming
She is streaking through the sky
Like a bird that's flying homeward
It's that air mail special on the fly

Over plains and high dark mountains
Over rivers deep and wide
Like a mighty gallant warrior
It's that air mail special on the fly

Over clouds so dark and stormy
Over rugged peaks so high
Carrying mail to Californi'
It's that air mail special on the fly

Watch her circle for a landing
Hear her moan and cough and sigh
Now she's coming down the runway
It's that air mail special on the fly

Does anyone have any corrections? fretless? I'm sure the blue yonder is wide and not wild, as some singers seem to sing. I would expect the mountains to be high-topped, but they do actually seem to be "high dark".

Anyway, it's a belting song if you can get it up to speed!