I’ve got to leave for the airport
It’s almost time to catch my plane
Time is running out for me
I’ve got to leave again
Tomorrow I’ll sing for some different people
In a town a thousand miles away
They don’t know what it’s like for me
Flying every day
I’ve flown a thousand times before
And every time it’s the same
I get so scared, oh so scared
Every time I board that plane
The stewardess smiles but it makes no difference to me
When the plane takes off
It isn’t where I want to be
I sit in my seat, and never move
My hands are icy cold
People tell me there’s no danger
But fear of flying is all I know
Fear of flying is all I know
Fear of flying
Fear of flying
Fear of flying
Words and tune by Ken Wilson
Vocals: Ken Wilson
Backing vocals: Dede Wilson
Acoustic guitar: Kieran Fogarty
Piano: Nigel Stewart
Flute: David Fitzgerald
Drums: Ray Duffy
Personal note
This is one of the topic-based songs that I wrote. I can’t remember what the remit was, it may have been ‘transport’ but it may also have been ‘fear’. Anyway, I wrote a song about my personal problem with flying.
I didn’t actually fly in a plane until I was 24, and only then because my wife Dede insisted that we go to visit her family, who lived in Canada. My first flying experiences were hellish and I always asked for an aisle seat and tried not to look out of the window.
After that, new directions in my working life meant that I had to fly regularly and, although I calmed my fears a bit, I was still extremely anxious. Then one day, on a flight from Madrid, I was asked to swap seats with another passenger so that he could sit next to his wife. My new seat was a window seat and I really thought I was going to have serious problems. Instead, I looked out of the window at a glorious cloudscape and fell in love with window seats and flying in general. Nowadays I get anxious if I DON’T have a window seat!
Activity idea
1. The title of the song is Fear Of Flying. Before listening, ask the class to predict any words or phrases they think they might hear. Then listen to the song, and tell them to make a note of any words and phrases that tell you how the singer feels.
2. Listen to the song and answer these questions:
– Does the singer often fly?
– What do you think his profession is?
– What is the purpose of this and his other flights?
Let students answer the question and also imagine what they can about the singer’s life and whether he likes what he does.