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Steve Miller Band — Fly Like an Eagle
Album: Fly Like An Eagle
Avg rating:
7.4

Your rating:
Total ratings: 899









Released: 1977
Length: 5:48
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future

I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I'm free
Oh, Lord, through the revolution

Feed the babies
Who don't have enough to eat
Shoe the children
With no shoes on their feet
House the people
Livin' in the street
Oh, oh, there's a solution

I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I'm free
Fly through the revolution

Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future

I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I'm free
Fly through the revolution

Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Comments (56)add comment
 bkrans9 wrote:

Finally, I think enough time has passed since the days when DJs used to beat the shit out of this song in the 1970s. I can actually hear it now without violently flipping the station and bashing the radio with my fist. And with this perspective, I can say that it is merely inoffensive drivel.




I used to feel the same way.  But, I like it now!!!
Finally, I think enough time has passed since the days when DJs used to beat the shit out of this song in the 1970s. I can actually hear it now without violently flipping the station and bashing the radio with my fist. And with this perspective, I can say that it is merely inoffensive drivel.
I almost saw them live.

They were opening for the Grateful Dead in Buffalo.

But the parking lot was like Woodstock.

I really wanted to see them play but I was having way too much fun in that parking lot. So were the friends I came with and thousands of other people who stayed in the parking lot partying.

One of those "you had to be there" moments
I did not miss seeing the Dead, though.
 steuss wrote:
Way overplayed back in the day, can't listen to it anymore.  But I recognize the quality.
 

One of those songs that defined the 70s. Still and always a 10. 
 Steely_D wrote:


Son?
 
Now that's funny
Way overplayed back in the day, can't listen to it anymore.  But I recognize the quality.
Steve Miller, Glen Miller, Roger Miller....all the 3 food groups
Fly like a beagle, his name is snoopy. Fly like a beagle, his doghouse carry's thee.
 fishy1 wrote:
sountrack of my father's car at one time?
 

Son?
Last time I heard this I was riding a ski lift chair up a mountain, staring out towards the blue sky and the mountains, rocking back and forth in the chill quiet air, while it played over a speaker down below.
 Emwolb wrote:

I believe you're referring to Book of Dreams, which was the follow-up
 
Bookofdreamsalbum.jpg
  My first album ever.

He'll be in Mpls this month. His tour is sponsored by AARP.....

Let's make us all feel old!

I just saw Steve Miller in concert in Denver last week (and last year) and The Joker, The Gangster of Love, Maurice, The Space Cowboy still has it going on as strong as ever. He brought the crowd to their feet right off the bat with Abracadabra & then launched into his lengthy catalog, and given this is his 50th anniversary as a recording artist, when all the way back to some of those early tunes (my only disappointment - he didn't perform Your Saving Grace at either shows). The band was tight, and Steve really knows how to entertain, telling great stories from throughout his career (who knew he played in Buddy Guy's band in Chicago in the mid-60's?). I've been a pretty consistent fan over the past 45 years or so, but nothing beats seeing him live.
 
And yeah, he did this tune & quite a few others from this album..

ps...he regularly tours 70 shows a year, don't miss him if you're even a casual fan. And oh yeah, his opening act both years has been Peter Frampton, who did an hour and a half of his great work.
 robertheston wrote:
That's a 30th Anniversary album cover.
This might be the original:
Steve Miller Band — Fly Like an Eagle Original Cover
my fuzzy memory of the 1970's seems to recall something brighter, perhaps blue, and not the best of or greatest hits. It was that album and it must of had that pegasus drawing but something detailed and bright. It was not this, but it was the late 70's.

 
I believe you're referring to Book of Dreams, which was the follow-up
 
Bookofdreamsalbum.jpg
 WonderLizard wrote:

Not to mention fruit flies.
 
You weren't supposed to mention them.
 robertheston wrote:
That's a 30th Anniversary album cover.
This might be the original:

my fuzzy memory of the 1970's seems to recall something brighter, perhaps blue, and not the best of or greatest hits. It was that album and it must of had that pegasus drawing but something detailed and bright. It was not this, but it was the late 70's.

 
That cover with Miller playing the left-handed Strat (upside-down) was the one I remember seeing in stores and in Columbia House ads when this song was on the radio around 1977 - certainly before its 30th anniversary.
miller
 dwhayslett wrote:

Time flies like an arrow.  Fruit flies like a banana.

Sorry, no eagle references there.

 
Not to mention fruit flies.
"Uncle Meat" on 8-track; now there's something you don't see every day.
I do have it on vinyl, of course.
 jbuhl wrote:

Another great song ruined by 70s radio overplay.   Think back, it was a time when all we had was our local radio and what media we actually owned ( shoe box full of 8 tracks).

 

 

 
Zappa 8 Track
Frank Zappa - Uncle Meat - Not "ruined by 70s radio overplay." However, they did play some tunes from Zappa's Apostrophe album, but there were, I think, give-or-take-some 80 Zappa albums they never played from. Unfortunately, I only have 56 of them. I'm not sure how many made it to 8 Track. Of course, it requires a "refined" taste so most of his wouldn't make it to the radio stations.
Zappa 8 Track

That's a 30th Anniversary album cover.
This might be the original:
Steve Miller Band — Fly Like an Eagle Original Cover
my fuzzy memory of the 1970's seems to recall something brighter, perhaps blue, and not the best of or greatest hits. It was that album and it must of had that pegasus drawing but something detailed and bright. It was not this, but it was the late 70's.
Feed the babies, house the people. It's not rocket science.
The whole album was and is fantastic. Overplayed - maybe for most folks. We played it for an all night party and ended up singing in the street at dawn. Fun stuff.
 Figure wrote:

Overplay, you say? Firstly, it is. Secondly, everytime I hear this song I hear flieszz!
The problem is my DJ colleague weakly knowing grammar and the double-thought of "like".
He translated "Fly" onto Russian with dictionary as a noun and declared this song on air as "A Fly, Like an Eagle" - that was a year hit on our radio. I cannot sleep since then, seeing flies in size of eagles. I'm not sure if it corrresponds with any English-lang jokes, but it was really fun, when the guy didn't understand the difference.

 
Time flies like an arrow.  Fruit flies like a banana.

Sorry, no eagle references there.
Will see him live in 4 days. At 74, it will be interesting to see if he still has the chops. 

Overplay, you say? Firstly, it is. Secondly, everytime I hear this song I hear flieszz!
The problem is my DJ colleague weakly knowing grammar and the double-thought of "like".
He translated "Fly" onto Russian with dictionary as a noun and declared this song on air as "A Fly, Like an Eagle" - that was a year hit on our radio. I cannot sleep since then, seeing flies in size of eagles. I'm not sure if it corrresponds with any English-lang jokes, but it was really fun, when the guy didn't understand the difference.
 wendyleefrancis wrote:
Ack! This song was so overplayed in the '70s I still can't stand to hear it!

 
Another great song ruined by 70s radio overplay.   Think back, it was a time when all we had was our local radio and what media we actually owned ( shoe box full of 8 tracks).

 

 


Not getting better with age...
When I want to make fun of Top 40 radio from the 70s, I will frequently use this song as an example.  As in, "If I could only hear Fly Like an Eagle one more time, my life would be complete."
 rpdevotee wrote:
Wow...Severely shortened version of this song!  Why?  And then the overlap of the next song before the end.  I feel like I am listening to commercial radio

 


I can totally relate! For me, I'm instantly always in my buddy's big old Buick Centurion, the joint's almost gone, and this comes along...
—-
Shimmer wrote:
This has a great groove and atmosphere, no matter how many times it's (over-)played. Instant contact high.

Why did I never like Steve Miller Band? 
Another poetic beaut from the master lyricist himself.  Certainly on a par with Take the Money and Run ...
{#Wink}
 
Wow...Severely shortened version of this song!  Why?  And then the overlap of the next song before the end.  I feel like I am listening to commercial radio
This has a great groove and atmosphere, no matter how many times it's (over-)played. Instant contact high.
Ack! This song was so overplayed in the '70s I still can't stand to hear it!
Not heard this in a while. Nice. Thanks.
So much better than the totally unelectable loser that was Ed Miller Band.
 sweet_annie wrote:
Good song.  Music to which, in my younger days, I rolled a van, cracked the windshield with my head, and was almost Killed!  Regained consciousness when the next song was playing.

 
Good also that you were NOT killed. {#Smile}
 Lazarus wrote: 
Gee, I don't know, Lazarus. The Republicans have so many compelling candidates, like these two: 

Donald Trump pointing his finger and clenching lips       Jeb Bush looking clueless

Don't y'all miss Dan Quayle?

Good song.  Music to which, in my younger days, I rolled a van, cracked the windshield with my head, and was almost Killed!  Regained consciousness when the next song was playing.
I'd much rather hear "Wild Mountain Honey" off of this album.
It isn't played on an hourly schedule on the Classic Rot stations.
 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:
doesn't time slip into the past? Maybe it is just me. Maybe we don't actually occupy the same universe and the laws of nature are different for Steve Miller and everyone else but then nobody else would be reading this if that was the case... maybe nobody else is actually reading this.. in which case I am the only one reading it.. which is a coincidence... given that I am the one writing it... well, at least there is one of us out there, well, here I guess. 

 
I suppose time "moves" forward, into the future, but when it "slips" maybe it does fall into the past - hard to say from my present vantage point.  I guess it's one of those phrases that doesn't get scrutinized enough, like "meteoric rise": meteors don't rise, they fall.
What, RP, is up with playing the radio cut version?        I would have expect album length here from you!  

Do you sometimes play multiple tracks of an album together?  When listening to RP I would expect to here the intro and the entire album
version of this song!  Can you do that? 
How can this classic get below a 6?  A solid 8!
Still one of my personal favorites. For me, you just can't overplay this tune.

Steve actually played this song for years live in concert before he finally recorded it. The early version is actually pretty fascinating. I wrote about its evolution to how it sounds today in the "Popdose" idiot's Guide to Steve Miller that I wrote a few years back.

Fly Like an Eagle,” a song that Miller first composed in 1972 and had been playing in concert in jams that lasted 12 minutes or more, also underwent a major revamp. Originally called “In the Ghetto,” the song fired shots  at the government’s indifference towards child poverty and Native-American rights. But Miller took a scalpel to the song, deleting the latter reference. To soften the social criticism and avoid being what he later called being “preachy,” Miller inserted the eternally hopeful line “There’s a solution” to get away from the naysaying that he knew would prevent  a killer song from being played on top 40 radio. 

To hear this version, and read more about the Space Cowboy (or Maurice or the Gangster of Love..), you can go to the guide at this link.
https://popdose.com/the-popdose-guide-to-the-steve-miller-band-part-2/
 
{#Music}
doesn't time slip into the past? Maybe it is just me. Maybe we don't actually occupy the same universe and the laws of nature are different for Steve Miller and everyone else but then nobody else would be reading this if that was the case... maybe nobody else is actually reading this.. in which case I am the only one reading it.. which is a coincidence... given that I am the one writing it... well, at least there is one of us out there, well, here I guess. 
Cool. Thanks for playing. 
Fabulous as always.
I just gotta remember that it's new to some.
The bar is dropping. Must - stop - the - bar!
I never listen to this elsewhere, so it's great in the RP mix. Well done, as ever, BillG.
You must be joking. Did someone push the wrong button?
sountrack of my father's car at one time?
wow. awesome.
is that freedom rock maaaaaannn!?!?!? first!