Well, I think my daughters would make better use out of plane tickets than I would. I’d give them the tickets 😀. If I did fly, I’d probably just want a short journey, so I think I’d fly from Shannon to London Gatwick and spend some time in London and the South coast of England. One of my favourite spots is Beachy Head near Eastbourne.
I’m more into virtual travel than physical travel these days. During the week I decided to visit every country in the world, day by day. So far, I’ve gone to Afghanistan and Albania. Today, it’ll be Algeria. Here’s the full list: Alphabetical list of countries. I visit them on Wander and Earth Quest on my Meta Oculus and I watch YouTube videos. I also pray for each country. Afghanistan is quite a scary place for Christians but hopefully that’ll change in time. All religion used to be outlawed in Albania, but that’s changed now. And even Ireland used to have sectarian murders in my lifetime, mainly in the North. I live in the South. I used to travel there as a young adult, but by that time things were improving. And of course, Europe was quite a nasty place back in the 16th Century, with religious wars and has a long history of persecuting Jews. Anyway, it’ll be interesting to visit Algeria today. Both Afghanistan and Albania are very beautiful countries and I’m sure most people are very warm and hospitable. Every country has nasty people, but maybe they just get a bigger foothold in some countries. At least in the next life, all the nasty people will be in one place.
So, let’s get to the music. Let’s see if I can find 10 songs about flying. Here goes:
- One Day I’ll Fly Away – Randy Crawford
- Come Fly with Me – Frank Sinatra
- Fly – Nicki Minaj feat. Rihanna
- Fly Like an Eagle – Steve Miller Band
- Leaving on a Jet Plane – John Denver
- Fly Away – Lenny Kravitz
- Learning to Fly – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- I’m Like a Bird – Nelly Furtado
- Fly Me to the Moon” – Frank Sinatra
- I Believe I Can Fly – R. Kelly
People sometimes see the Beatles Sergent Pepper as the first concept album, but you could also say that it was Frank Sinatra’s Come Fly with Me. I remember seeing that album around the house when I was a child.
All the songs have a travel theme. He mentions places such as Isle of Capri, Vermont, New York, Mandalay, Paris, London, Brazil, and Hawaii. The album ends with It’s Nice to Go Trav’ling, where he celebrates the joy of coming home. I can totally identify with that song 😀.
My favourite flying song is Wings of a Dove by Madness. It’s not a Christian song, but it has a gospel choir in it and there are hymns with that title.
So let’s get to the Bible. You do get some long-distance travel in the Bible; for example:
- Abraham going from Ur to the promised land.
- Moses leading the Hebrews from Egypt to the promised land.
- Jonah going to Ninevah
- The Hebrews going to Babylon and coming back.
- Paul’s missionary journeys.
Then you have the command by Jesus to spread the gospel to all nations.
Matt 28:18-19
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Anyway, let’s get to Christian hymns about flying:
Isa 40:30,31
30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Hibernia Gospel 