Hymns Through History - I'll Fly Away

Hello All and welcome back to HTH! You may have noticed that I skipped a week . . . and that was because I was too busy preparing for Five Fall Favorites  to get a post up. Plus, I was getting ready to visit a dear friend, so I kinda let it slide.
But this week, I'm back! I've had a wonderful week in the beautiful NC mountains, and I can't beelive it's only four more days till I have to go home. Time flies a lot faster then I would like. ;)

Anyway, enough of my talking. Here's the next installment in the Hymns Through History blog series!

I'll Fly Away

Ahh, yes. One of my very favorite songs ever. Not onlly are the words so amazing, the tune is upbeat and joyful. It's one of the few songs that makes me think of warm summer days driving down a dirt road with the window open. (Because . . . yeah, I do that when I listen to the song.)

After deciding to have a theme song for A Question of Honor, I knew I wanted one in the next book as well.  

But how did this particular song make its way into A Question of Courage?  Well, Rafe is a pilot. And he's one of those kinds of people that never seems to slow down. He can put a smile on everyone's face, and he brightens even the dreariest of days. Though no one would readily admit it, he's the kind of person they all want around. So it only seemed right that he would be whistling a gospel tune, right?

Yup. That was one of the reasons that I chose this song for the book. Not only is he a pilot whistling about flying (which he thinks is great) . . . he also loves the song because of the promise of eternity that it brings. And that's all I'm gonna say on that accont because I dont want to give away any spoilers. 

To be honest, to date I think this is one of the favorite books I've ever written. In ways it's different they my other books, but at the same time, I leanred a lot while writing it.  And, like Rafe Sullivan, I'll Fly Away will always hold a special place in my heart. 

About the Song 

(Information taken from Wikipedia) 

Albert E. Brumley has been described as the "pre-eminent gospel songwriter" of the 20th century with over 600 published songs. Other titles of his include "Jesus, Hold My Hand", "Turn Your Radio On", "I'll Meet You in the Morning", and "This World Is Not My Home". 

According to interviews, Brumley came up with the idea for the song while picking cotton on his father's farm in Rock Island, Oklahoma. Brumley says that as he worked he was "humming the old ballad that went like this: 'If I had the wings of an angel, over these prison walls I would fly,' and suddenly it dawned on me that I could use this plot for a gospel-type song.” 

It was an additional three years later until Brumley worked out the rest of the song, paraphrasing one line from the secular ballad to read, "Like a bird from prison bars has flown" using prison as an analogy for earthly life. Brumley has stated, "When I wrote it, I had no idea that it would become so universally popular

Some glad morning when this life is o'er, 

I'll fly away; 

To a home on God's celestial shore, 

I'll fly away (I'll fly away). 

Chorus 

I'll fly away, Oh Glory 

I'll fly away; (in the morning) 

When I die, Hallelujah, by and by, 

I'll fly away (I'll fly away).

When the shadows of this life have gone,
I'll fly away;
Like a bird from prison bars has flown,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away)

Just a few more weary days and then,
I'll fly away;
To a land where joy shall never end,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away) 

And that's all for today! Do you love this song as much as I do? ;) What's a favorite gospel song of yours?