“Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” is a 1981 single from the film Honeysuckle Rose.
Written and performed by Willie Nelson. The single was his seventh number one on the country chart as a solo artist. It stayed at number one for one week and spent a total of fourteen weeks on the country chart…
If you had not have fallen
Then I would not have found you
Angel flying too close to the ground
And I patched up your broken wing and hung around a while
Trying to keep your spirits up and your fever down
Angels
When I first met my man back in the 90s I was on the rebound. I suppose that’s how you would describe it. I’d been living with the guy who ending up as the father of my kids for a while, and we’d split. At that time, I decided to play the field and see what happened.
It was a mixed year. Lots of laughter and many tears flowed. During that time I met Al and my man.
Al was a pickle, but I have such crazy memories of fun things we did together that I wouldn’t of missed it.
When I met my man, I was in a bit of a mess. Trying to work out my feelings about sex and coming to terms with liking kinky capers. My ex had made me feel ashamed of my desires and because I’d been fiddled with as a child I was in a quandary as to whether that was the reason for my preferences.
My man spent hours chatting to me about these things and making sure I realised that my sexual likes and dislikes were personal to me. He explained that I had nothing to be ashamed off and so needn’t even concern myself with the why’s.
In the above scenario, I was kinda the angel — you know what I mean… Even though he behaved like an angel… He patched up my wing and hung around a while, making me laugh and as he said, fixing me up, so I could go out again into the wide world and be strong.
I did just that. But still am not sure if the right decisions were made at that time as I got back with my ex. The good thing about it all was I had my two children.
I knew someday that you would fly away
For love’s the greatest healer to be found
So leave me if you need to, I will still remember
Angel flying too close to the ground
After we met up seventeen years later and reflected on the past, he said he knew when we dated that we’d both move on. However, neither forgot the other.
Fly on, fly on past, the speed of sound
I’d rather see you up than see you down
So leave me if you need to, I will still remember
Angel flying too close to the ground.
So leave me if you need to, I will still remember
Angel flying too close to the ground.
My friend played this song to me and I immediately felt it described well what had happened between my man and me. Also, it reminded me of another angel — one that I had met — Vincent. He had been flying way too close to the ground.
You can read his story here.
I was thrilled to win second place in a memoir writing contest with it. And I am paying forward some of my prize money to the winner of the Fiction Marathon. Read about that here.
I have added this story to Mrs Fevers September Song Project and Wicked Wednesday…
