Pink Floyd – Learning To Fly
About The Song
“Learning to Fly” is a song by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, written by David Gilmour, Anthony Moore, Bob Ezrin, and Jon Carin. It was the first single from the band’s thirteenth studio album A Momentary Lapse of Reason.
The song was primarily written by David Gilmour, who developed the music from a 1986 demo by Jon Carin, while the lyrics were written by Anthony Moore. The notable rhythm pattern at the beginning of the song was already present in the demo, and Carin stated that it was influenced by Steve Jansen or Yukihiro Takahashi.
The inspiration for the lyrics came about as Gilmour was learning to fly aeroplanes at the time of the recording, often spending time in the air during the mornings before arriving at the studio in the afternoon. It has also been interpreted[by whom?] as a metaphor for beginning something new, experiencing a radical change in life, or, more specifically, Gilmour’s feelings about striking out as the new leader of Pink Floyd after the departure of Roger Waters. Gilmour stated on Westwood One’s Pink Floyd 25th Anniversary Special in 1992 that “we were, as Pink Floyd, learning to fly again.” Also an avid pilot, drummer Nick Mason’s voice can be heard at around the middle of the song. “Learning to Fly” was included on Pink Floyd’s greatest hits collection Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd.
It reached number 70 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart in September, 1987, remaining three consecutive weeks at the top position in the autumn of the same year.
