Sky Pilot: Eric Burdon and the Animals perform their 1968 hit

Sky Pilot is an interesting, flawed, and powerful song from my youth. Obviously some YouTubers think it is a paean to the military. I tend to think it's less about the military than about war. It's an interesting period piece.

"Sky Pilot" was released in 1968 song on an Eric Burdon & The Animals LP, The Twain Shall Meet. It was a long song, with one part on side one and one on side two of the 45 RPM single; on the LP, it was probably contiguous. It hit number 14 on Billboard (it had a lot of great competition that summer). The song was seven minutes and change--very unusual in 1968.



I saw Eric Burdon perform the song at a rock festival in 1972, and even got to talk with him for about three minutes near the backstage, while he shared a joint with another performer (Delaney Bramlett of Delaney and Bonnie). Like every single one of my celebrity sightings, I didn't have a camera. Come on...cassette tapes and 8 tracks had just barely been invented.

As a side-note, the bagpipe music at the end of the song is a bootleg recording of the pipers of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards playing "All The Bluebonnets Are Over The Border" captured by Burdon on a cassette recorder while performing at a school. The UK government sent him a scolding letter about his unauthorized of the song, but that is about as far as it went. Ah, the good old days...



Sky Pilot

He blesses the boys as they stand in line
the smell of gun grease and their bayonets they shine
he's there to help them all that he can
to make them feel wanted he's a good holy man.

Sky pilot, sky pilot, how high can you fly?
you'll never never never reach the sky.

He smiles at the young soldiers
tells them it's all right
he knows of their fears in the forthcoming fight
soon there'll be blood and many will die
mother and fathers back home they will cry.

Sky pilot, sky pilot, how high can you fly?
you'll never never never reach the sky.

He mumbles a prayer and it ends with a smile
the order is given they move down the line
but he'll stay behind and he'll meditate
but it won't stop to bleeding or ease the hate.

As the young men move out into the battle zone
he feels good with god you're never alone
he feels so tired and he lays on his bed
hopes the men will find courage
in the words that he's said.

Sky pilot, sky pilot, how high can you fly?
you'll never never never reach the sky.
---o0o---