884 – Elton John – Skyline pigeon (1969)

Escrita por Elton John e Bernie Taupin, foi gravada em dezembro de 1968 no DJM Studios e lançada em 3 de junho de 1969. Antes de Elton John, ela foi lançada por Guy Darrell e por Roger James Cooke, em agosto de 1968.

Os únicos instrumentos que Elton gravou foi orgão e harpsichord, não teve nenhum músico que o acompanhasse nessa música. Fala de um pombo que é libertado pela mão humana, em uma metáfora de um relacionamento que se acaba e uma das partes está alegre por estar livre.

A letra:

Turn me loose from your hands
Let me fly to distant lands
Over green fields, trees and mountains
Flowers and forest fountains
Home along the lanes of the skyway

For this dark and lonely room
Projects a shadow cast in gloom
And my eyes are mirrors
Of the world outside
Thinking of the ways
That the wind can turn the tide
And these shadows turn
From purple into grey

For just a Skyline Pigeon
Dreaming of the open
Waiting for the day
That he can spread his wings
And fly away again
Fly away, skyline pigeon fly
Towards the dreams
You've left so very far behind

Fly away, skyline pigeon fly
Towards the dreams
You've left so very far behind

Let me wake up in the morning
To the smell of new mown hay
To laugh and cry, to live and die
In the brightness of my day

I want to hear the pealing bells
Of distant churches sing
But most of all please free me from
This aching metal ring
And open out this cage towards the sun

For just a Skyline Pigeon
Dreaming of the open
Waiting for the day
That he can spread his wings
And fly away again
Fly away, skyline pigeon fly
Towards the dreams
You've left so very far behind

Fly away, skyline pigeon fly
Towards the dreams
You've left so very, so very far behind

A versão de Elton John ao vivo no Rock in Rio 2015:

A versão de Juddy Collins e Arthur Fiedler em 1976:

A versão de Lili White: