NEW JOHN DUGGLEBY SONG: IM FLYING

Older people may sleep a lot, but perhaps it's because they're reliving their glory days. This song was inspired by one of my favorite "sleeping seniors", Korean War fighter pilot Lt. Richard Duggleby-- a.k.a. my dad. Lyrics follow:
I’M FLYING, by John Duggleby, © 1/2021
You ask why I creep into hours of sleep, leaving you all for a while But under this sheath where I’m trying to breathe, I wear a flight suit and a smile The cockpit’s my home, in a jet all alone, flattening my face with its power With a wild screaming sound, five miles above ground, at 600 miles an hour
I’m flying, higher than you’ll ever ponder, just dying to soar through the wild blue yonder
In a silver shark shredding the clouds, you’re never a face in the crowd And I feel like singing out loud when I’m flying
There’s no time to see ya, I’m over Korea, dive bombing an enemy town Above me are Migs, below ack-ack rigs, all hell-bent on shooting me down My comrades were trapped, so I entered their scrap, that day I was giving my best We got back to base, they called me an ace, and the brass pinned a cross to my chest.
I was flying, higher than you’ll ever ponder, just dying to soar through the wild blue yonder In a silver shark shredding the clouds, you’re never a face in the crowd And I feel like singing out loud when I’m flying
So please don’t disturb me, you’ll only perturb me, I need to make one final flight I’m streaking the plains, ahead of the rains, touch down in Des Moines before night The end of the day and I’m on the runway, taxiing after I land I’ll soon be off duty with a redheaded beauty and a little boy squeezing her hand
We’ll be flying, higher than you’ll ever ponder, just dying to soar through the wild blue yonder In a silver shark shredding the clouds, you’re never a face in the crowd And I feel like singing out loud when I’m flying