Anybody know *for sure* who wrote this song?
Thanks,
Linda
Linda--despite the following official story, (which somewhat fudges why it
was an "olde camp meeting song" if he made it up..) I'm pretty certain
there are older versions from trad sources with the same tune and chorus,
at least, which you hear in recordings (black and white) before this 1932
version that follows
I had always been under the impression, before finding the following on the
Net, that it was one of those slave songs overtly religious but actually
talking about breaking loose and taking off for points north..but here's
one guy's story:
I'LL FLY AWAY (Albert E. Brumley)
© 1932, renewed 1960 Albert E. Brumley and Sons
ALBERT E. BRUMLEY: I was picking cotton on my father's farm and 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. About three
years later, I finally
developed the plot, titled it 'I'll Fly Away,' and it was published in 1932
[in "Wonderful Message,"
Hartford Music Co.]. Those familiar with the song will note that I
paraphrased one line of the old
ballad to read 'Like a bird from prison bars have [has] flown.' When I
wrote it, I had no idea that it
would become so universally popular.
Letter to Dorothy Horstman, 10 Jan 1973; reprinted in Dorothy Horstman,
Sing Your Heart Out, Country Boy, New York, 1976, p. 51
LYRICS AS REPRINTED IN "ALBERT E. BRUMLEY'S OLDE CAMP MEETIN' SONGS,"
Camdenton, Missouri, 1971, p. 11
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.
CHORUS: I'll fly away, O glory,
I'll fly away;
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away.
When the shadows of this life have grown,
I'll fly away;
Like a bird from prison bars has flown,
I'll fly away.
Just a few more weary days and then,
I'll fly away;
To a land where joys shall never end,
I'll fly away.
