We Fly So Close Lyrics
Soon they'll disappear
Alone I sit in darkness
Hoping someone might come near
Though I wait, though I try
No one ever comes
And the feelings that I have flood over me
The river starts to run
We fly so close
Sometimes we fly too close
Everywhere you turn
There are places that you know you should not go
But some bridges just won't burn
All my life, though I try
I cannot change the past
And the ghosts that come back to haunt you
Make you realize at last
We fly so close
Sometimes we fly too close
We fly too close
Life passes before my eyes
Some things I see, they make me smile
Some things, they make me cry
So I look, so I try to find
A lesson I can learn
The passing of time hasn't changed my mind
And the ghosts I know return
We fly so close
Sometimes we fly too close
We fly too close
You and I sometimes
Sometimes we fly so close
We'll never know how many times
We fly so close
We fly so close
To me, this song speaks of the mistakes we make that haunt us: the relationships we didn't work hard enough at, the poor judgments we can't take back, and the urge to fix the mistakes that are in the past. "There are places that you know you know you should not go, but some bridges just won't burn" speaks directly to this. We know we should just leave it behind and get on with our lives, but we'll never be able to truly let go.
For me in particular, this song reminds me of my high school girlfriend. We dated off and on for some seven years (including 4 in high school). We were great together but something always pushed us apart, and I'm a big enough man to admit it was me and the fact that I didn't grow up fast enough for her. I did a lot of damage trying to stay close to her, and I know I hurt her in ways I can't fully appreciate, and I would give the world to fix it.
So she's always in my heart, always so close, and yet a world away.
Beautiful song. I saw Phil in concert in '94 and he said this song is about our constant brushes with disaster.