The Winged Life (revisited)

[Christopher Stewart]

(« The Winged Man » by Odilon Redon)

« The Winged Life » takes its name from William Blake's poem « Eternity » :

He who binds himself to a joy
Does the winged life destroy
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sunrise

This piece is a singularity as far as the poligrafic repertoire is concerned. I didn't aim for innovation or cleverness as I often do because I felt that the best way to let the message through was to keep the music simple. Thus, the composition is about four minutes long and stays within a fairly standard structure.

The song starts in a negative, finger-pointing, minor mode, and progressively evolves to a positive, hope-fostering mood. It ends on a reprise of the instrumental section, harmonized to an uplifting variation of the original minor chord progression.

The lyrics have been slightly reworked since the original publication. They have been stepped up from the « almost done yet still tentative » status to the « nearly complete yet there is still time to find even better » status.

I remember quite well
Seems not so long ago
You had to face a choice
At last you had your chance to grow

You said you would I can recall
Your mind made up, you couldn't fall
But when came time to break the news
Who could deny you were confused ?

Heartbreak and time alone
Letting the dust settle
Anxiety built up
Pressure that you could not handle

Spitting your flames, playing your games
Never taking part of the blames
And after all this much abuse
Who could deny there was no use — in going on ?

Because you didn’t believe in us
You're not part of the team — oh believe that
Because you didn't hear faith but fear
You’re not part of the dream

We have wings, when we refuse to cry
We have wings, when we refuse to lie
We have wings, none of us can deny
We have wings, why be afraid to fly ?

Believe, you have to believe in us
Play your part in the team — oh believe
Believe, you have to hear faith, don't fear
Be your part of the dream

We have wings, when we refuse to die
We have wings, when we stand up and try
Trust your wings, and stop to ask why
You have wings — just jump up and fly !