We Can Fly

To paraphrase a wise man, (forgive me, wise man, for not remembering who you are...) "Most of us can achieve what we want, once we know what it is we want to achieve." Of course, there's always a lot of sweat and hard work that goes into it. That's the message of this song. We CAN fly if we're willing to work hard and take a risk or two. Zig Ziglar said, "If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time." Hopefully this song will spark discussion about what we want to set our sights on, and how we set ourselves up for success: Things like researching your goal, finding a mentor, studying how others have achieved similar goals, and asking lots of questions!

As far as the music goes, this is a hard-driving, high energy, fun song to sing. You may stylize the vocal approach to the extent to which you and your choir are comfortable. We sang it the way we felt it, which you will hear on the recording. Feel free to notch it back a bit if it helps your group. You'll hear some scoops and some interesting articulations, particularly at the end of the lines of the verse where the singers slide down to the last note. You may exaggerate it even more if you like. You must also exaggerate the pronunciation of "fly" at the end of the chorus – "flyee-yi-yi!"

The bridge introduces the optional second part. It's up there range-wise, but adds some punch to the last choruses if you have the numbers for it. Otherwise part 1 works pretty well on its own. You can find a part 2 rehearsal mix of this song on our web site to make it easy to learn. (See details on page 75.) - Mike