Jan. 16, 2023

Fifty-three years ago, Townes Van Zandt wrote To Live Is To Fly, one of the truest songs ever written.

Van Zandt did not live an easy life by any measure. The difficulties he faced were a heady mixture of external forces and self-imposed challenges. His lyrical skill is proof that beauty can come from tragedy.

This song, from his 1971 album, High, Low and In Between, is one he personally considered a high point in his career.

I think part of that is because it’s so reflective of his life and viewpoint of the world. He soars into the heavens in one song, then plumbs the depths of hell in the next.

But To Live Is To Fly is also deeply reflective of the broader experience of living that we all enjoy and endure. Things are great one second, falling apart the next. And then back up again … or not.

Either way, we need to keep on keeping on, whether we feel like it or not. Because if we’re going to fly, why wouldn’t we want to soar?

We all got holes to fill

Them holes are all that’s real.

Some fall on you like a storm,

Sometimes you dig your own.