Darden Smith – Angel Flight
It’s Veteran’s Day.
15 years ago, Darden Smith played a concert at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center near Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
He assumed he’d have nothing in common with his audience. He’d never spoken to a man in uniform.
But backstage, he struck up a conversation with a Marine. And they discovered they had friends in common.
They talked for two hours, and that conversation inspired Smith to co-write a song called “Angel Flight.”
The title refers to the flight that carries a deceased soldier’s body home.
A few years after co-writing that song with Radney Foster, Smith founded SongwritingWith:Soldiers in 2012.
From the SWS website: “SongwritingWith:Soldiers holds weekend retreats across the U.S. for veterans from all conflicts. Since 2012, we have connected with hundreds of veterans and military families, creating a safe and inspiring environment to share their experiences and write songs with professional songwriters. These songs have been recorded and streamed across the internet, reaching and connecting more veterans and raising civilian awareness of the challenges the military community faces.”
Mary Gauthier is one of the songwriting pros who regularly attends the SWS retreats. Her album “Rifles and Rosary Beads” (2018) is a collection of songs she cowrote with soldiers (and, in some cases, their spouses). The soldiers get songwriting credits and royalties. It’s a spectacular album.
Darden Smith’s song that started it all is…
Today’s Song
Title: Angel Flight
Artist: Darden Smith
Album: Love Calling (2013)
YouTube Link: youtu.be/yQWWNhGF88k
Lyrics
All I ever wanted to do was fly
Leave this world and live in the sky
I left the C-130 out of Fort Worth town
I go up some days, I don’t wanna come down
I fly that plane, called the Angel Flight
Come on brother you’re with me tonight
Between heaven and earth, you’re never alone
On the Angel Flight, come on brother, I’m taking you home
I love my family and I love this land
But tonight this flight’s for another man
We do what we do because we hear the call
Some give a little, but he gave all
I fly that plane, called the Angel Flight
Come on brother you’re with me tonight
Between Heaven and earth you’re never alone
On the Angel Flight, come on brother, I’m taking you home
Come on brother, I’m taking you home
The cockpit’s quiet, the stars are bright
Feels kind o’ like church in here tonight
And it don’t matter where we touch down
On the Angel Flight it’s sacred ground
Fly that plane, called the Angel Flight
Got a hero riding with us tonight
Between heaven and earth, you’re never alone
On the Angel Flight
Come on brother I’m taking you home
Come on brother I’m taking you home
Come on brother I’m taking you home
Come on brother I’m taking you home
Here are the Playlists:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3xYKtYparrdJRYAjBj9kjx?si=eb6c3ebc30484204
Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/ware-house-concerts-song-of-the-day/pl.u-Ggz26cZlAVLj
