This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Through clear skies tracking lightly from far down the line
No fanfare, just a blip on the screen.
No quick conclusions now everything will be fine,
Short-circuit glitch and not what it seems.
Fylingdale Flyer you're only half way there,
Green screen liar for a second or so we were running scared.
On late shift, feeling drowsy eyes glued to the display.
Dead cert alert, lit match to the straw.
One last quick game of bowls we can still win the day.
Fail-safe; forget the things that you saw.
Fylingdale Flyer you're only half way there,
Green screen liar for a second or so we were running scared.
They checked the systems through and they read A-O.K.
Some tiny fuse has probably blown
Sit back; relax and soon it will just go away,
Keep your hands off that red telephone.
Fylingdale Flyer you're only half way there,
Green screen liar for a second or so we were running scared.
Fylingdale Flyer you're only half way there,
Green screen liar for a second or so we were running scared.
No fanfare, just a blip on the screen.
No quick conclusions now everything will be fine,
Short-circuit glitch and not what it seems.
Fylingdale Flyer you're only half way there,
Green screen liar for a second or so we were running scared.
On late shift, feeling drowsy eyes glued to the display.
Dead cert alert, lit match to the straw.
One last quick game of bowls we can still win the day.
Fail-safe; forget the things that you saw.
Fylingdale Flyer you're only half way there,
Green screen liar for a second or so we were running scared.
They checked the systems through and they read A-O.K.
Some tiny fuse has probably blown
Sit back; relax and soon it will just go away,
Keep your hands off that red telephone.
Fylingdale Flyer you're only half way there,
Green screen liar for a second or so we were running scared.
Fylingdale Flyer you're only half way there,
Green screen liar for a second or so we were running scared.
Lyrics submitted by inpraiseoffolly
Fylingdale Flyer Lyrics as written by Ian Anderson
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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As Massapequa correctly says, the song is named for the Ballistic Missile Early Warning Station at Fylingdales Moor in Yorkshire, and may have been inspired by reports of spurious warnings generated by the early warning system throughout the cold war. The song urges caution ("Sit back; relax ... keep your hands off that red telephone") in the face of computer glitches, given that the consequences of reacting prematurely would be so devastating.
The line about "one last quick game of bowls" probably refers to the famous but possibly apocryphal story in which Sir Francis Drake, a British naval commander, insisted on finishing a game of bowls before responding to reports of the approach of a Spanish invasion fleet, the Armada. The implication is that not responding impulsively to threats is a particularly British virtue.
The lyrics neither explicitly nor implicitly indicate whether the green blip was a malfunction or an actual attack. However, the implication of the song is that no matter whether or not an indicated attack is real, the human tendency would be to irrationally rationalize--"Naw, it can't be a real attack!"--therefore rendering the early warning systems completely useless in the event of a real attack.
The song is about a nuclear missile approaching, and the observers not being sure if they are dealing with a real attack or just a technical glitch.
inpraiseoffolly: The great thing about Jethro Tull is that they have music to appeal to just about anybody, however not everyone will like the same things. A happens to be one of my favorite albums. However, I'm not a huge fan of Crest of a Knaive, while just about everyone else loves it.
For the record, the song is FYLINGDALE FLYER, not Flyingdale.
Fylingdale Moor, North Yorkshire, was the former home of Britain's missile early warning system. Three giant golf ball-shaped domes dominated the skyline for miles around, and were the source of Britain's "four minute warning" of impending nuclear attack
The title of the song is "Fylingdale Flyer", not "Flyingdale Flyer".
Well, this album is better than Under Wraps, at least. I just cannot believe that my second favorite band would release an album as bad musically as Under Wraps (the lyrics are not first-rate, but with listen-toable music, they would be reasonable.
Honestly, after I heard Under Wraps, I had to clean out my ears.
Under Wraps and A, so far, at least, are the two worst Jethro Tull albums, though A is an order of magnitude above Under Wraps.