April 2, 2024
It was 1929, and America was on the brink of the Great Depression, which would change the lives of millions for more than a decade. Albert Brumley, who was born into a family of sharecroppers, was in the fields in LeFlore County, Oklahoma, picking cotton on the farm and singing the hymn “If I Had the Wings of an Angel,” when the thought came into his head that he would love to fly away.
He later recalled, “Actually, I was dreaming of flying away from that cotton field when I wrote ‘I’ll Fly Away.’” The song would become one of the most popular spirituals in America, performed by Chet Akins, The Boston Pops Symphony, Alabama, Hank Williams Sr., and some of the greatest names in country and gospel music.
Brumley eventually left the farm and enrolled in the Hartford Musical Institute in Arkansas. During his career, he wrote more than 800 songs, including the popular gospel “Victory in Jesus.”
His Christian music appealed to ordinary Americans, and “I’ll Fly Away,” which was the first song he ever published, became a standard during the dark years of the Great Depression … and for countless others who suffered the loss of a loved one.
Hear the Cotton Pickin Kids perform “I’ll Fly Away” (https://youtu.be/fY4avafDZUY?si=ukZEnzyuKhG_4qbL)
I’ll Fly Away
Some glad morning when this life is over
I’ll fly away
To a home on God’s celestial shore
I’ll fly away
I’ll fly away, oh, Glory
I’ll fly away
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by
I’ll fly away
Just a few more weary days and then
I’ll fly away
To a land where joy shall never end
I’ll fly away
I’ll fly away, oh, Glory
I’ll fly away
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by
I’ll fly away
Yeah, when I die, Hallelujah, by and by
I’ll fly away
Songwriters: Albert Brumley
I’ll Fly Away lyrics © Albert E Brumley & Sons
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