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HIGH
FLIGHT
Oh,
I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I have climbed
And
joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds
And
done a hundred things you have not dreamed of
Wheeled
and Soared and swung. High in the sunlit silence.
Hov'ring
there, I've chased the shouting wind along,
And flung My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the
long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew.
And,
while with silent, lifting mind
I've trod the high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
By Pilot Officer JOHN GILLESPIE MAGEE, JR. No 412 Squadron, RCAF (1922-1941)
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| US Air Force Museum |
High Flight
was composed by Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr., an American serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was born
in Shanghai, China in 1922, the son of missionary parents, Reverend and Mrs. John Gillespie Magee; his father was an American
and his mother was originally a British citizen.
He came to the U.S. in 1939 and earned a scholarship to Yale, but in September 1940 he enlisted in
the RCAF and was graduated as a pilot. He was sent to England for combat duty in July 1941.
In August or September 1941, Pilot Officer Magee composed High Flight and sent a copy
to his parents. Several months later, on December 11, 1941 his Spitfire collided with another plane over England and Magee, only 19 years of age, crashed to his death.
His remains are buried in the churchyard cemetery at Scopwick, Lincolnshire.
Photo & Article,
Complements Of:
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
The Pilots 23rd Psalm
The
Lord is my Pilot, I shall not fear
He
leads me through the skies with confidence
His
power lifts me like an eagle soaring in the wind
His
love protects me even though I fly through turbulence
Even
though I fly into unknown territory
You
are my horizon and my homing device
I
will not fear whatever circumstances may come
For
I will land on your heavenly runway
Where
I will dwell in the heavenly terminal forever
As
your beacon guides me home.
Words by Dr. Paul Lee First
Baptist Church of Clarendon Arlington, VA
I changed some of the words
to correspond an aircraft pilot.
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