Planes in songs
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Planes in songs
Ok, time for an off the wall topic. For some reason I was thinking about how often to airplanes appear in song, mentioned specifically by instance, or model. I could only think up of a short list, and it would appear that Boeing is somewhat over represented - the name almost synonymous with the term airliner. Though that said, the boeing bombers also get a fair shake at it. Here's the short list that I could come up with.
Boeing:
Boeing 707 - Jet Airliner - Steve Miller Band
Boeing 707 - Early Morning Rain - Neil Young
Boeing 737 - Travelling Band - CCR
Boeing 747 - Women in Uniform - Iron Maiden
Boeing 747 - Amelia - Joni Mitchell
Boeing 747 - 747 - Eddie Rabbitt
B-52 - Peace Dog - The Cult
B-52 - Stairway to Cleveland - Jefferson Starship
Enola Gay is specifically mentioned in two songs: "Manhattan Project" - Rush and "Tail Gunner" - Iron Maiden.
Douglas:
DC-10 - Stairway to Cleveland - Jefferson Starship
Supermarine:
Spitfire - Aces High - Iron Maiden
Messerschmitt:
ME-109 (of course referring erroneously to the Bf-109) - Aces High - Iron Maiden
ME-262 - ME-262 - Blue Oyster Cult
Republic
P-47 - Johnny Come Lately - Steve Earle
Boeing:
Boeing 707 - Jet Airliner - Steve Miller Band
Boeing 707 - Early Morning Rain - Neil Young
Boeing 737 - Travelling Band - CCR
Boeing 747 - Women in Uniform - Iron Maiden
Boeing 747 - Amelia - Joni Mitchell
Boeing 747 - 747 - Eddie Rabbitt
B-52 - Peace Dog - The Cult
B-52 - Stairway to Cleveland - Jefferson Starship
Enola Gay is specifically mentioned in two songs: "Manhattan Project" - Rush and "Tail Gunner" - Iron Maiden.
Douglas:
DC-10 - Stairway to Cleveland - Jefferson Starship
Supermarine:
Spitfire - Aces High - Iron Maiden
Messerschmitt:
ME-109 (of course referring erroneously to the Bf-109) - Aces High - Iron Maiden
ME-262 - ME-262 - Blue Oyster Cult
Republic
P-47 - Johnny Come Lately - Steve Earle
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Re: Planes in songs
Boeing 707 - Early Morning Rain - Gordon Lightfoot
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:S ... t_aircraft for those of us with more search proficiency than imagination (i.e. me).
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:S ... t_aircraft for those of us with more search proficiency than imagination (i.e. me).

Re: Planes in songs
Running on Empty by Jackson Browne
AC 767 Gimli AT 330 Azores
AC 767 Gimli AT 330 Azores
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Re: Planes in songs
Jetstream - New Order. A shitcan song, a shitcan airplane. 
Did Shiny just credit "In the early morning rain" to Neil Young? I covered that song once on the kazoo, you should've given it to me.
Everyone knows Peter, Paul, and Mary made that song famous.

Did Shiny just credit "In the early morning rain" to Neil Young? I covered that song once on the kazoo, you should've given it to me.
Everyone knows Peter, Paul, and Mary made that song famous.

Last edited by Changes in Latitudes on Fri Oct 24, 2014 1:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Planes in songs
Getting a wee bit desperate for material ain't we?
Illya
Illya
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Re: Planes in songs
Well if this is a WE thing, you could always participate too.Illya Kuryakin wrote:Getting a wee bit desperate for material ain't we?
Illya
Carly Simon - You're so Vein (Learjet)
Jimmy Buffett - Jamaica Mistaka (Jimmy's Albatross got shot up in Jamaica)
Like a G6 - Some dance thing, ask your kids.
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Re: Planes in songs
Well yeah! You must have missed my I'm Telling You For the Last Time About Ultralights tour, where I retired my old material. You know since I hurt a lot of feelings with that stuff, so I'm trying to have a lighter tone to my work.Illya Kuryakin wrote:Getting a wee bit desperate for material ain't we?
Illya

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Re: Planes in songs
Airline Amy: Weird Al. (747).
Peter Paul and Mary may have made that song famous.... but Gordon Lightfoot's original will always be the best version of the song as far as I'm concerned.Did Shiny just credit "In the early morning rain" to Neil Young? I covered that song once on the kazoo, you should've given it to me.
Everyone knows Peter, Paul, and Mary made that song famous.![]()
Geez did I say that....? Or just think it....?
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Re: Planes in songs
Unsurprisingly... there aren't too many mentions of specific aircraft in songs.
One thing I've always wondered is what kind of plane they were flying in Learning to Fly by Pink Floyd? It's obviously a piston twin of some sort from the radio and intercom chatter... it would be interesting to know.
One thing I've always wondered is what kind of plane they were flying in Learning to Fly by Pink Floyd? It's obviously a piston twin of some sort from the radio and intercom chatter... it would be interesting to know.
Geez did I say that....? Or just think it....?
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Re: Planes in songs
The 737 and G6 are mentioned in Dierks Bentley's "Drunk on a Plane".
Wilco has a song named "Dash 7". It's not exactly flattering to Dash 7s but it's still not a bad song.
Cheers,
Chax
Wilco has a song named "Dash 7". It's not exactly flattering to Dash 7s but it's still not a bad song.
Cheers,
Chax
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Re: Planes in songs
That goes without saying, it's called the Lightfoot Constant. I was just foolin' with the PPM reference.iflyforpie wrote:Airline Amy: Weird Al. (747).
Peter Paul and Mary may have made that song famous.... but Gordon Lightfoot's original will always be the best version of the song as far as I'm concerned.Did Shiny just credit "In the early morning rain" to Neil Young? I covered that song once on the kazoo, you should've given it to me.
Everyone knows Peter, Paul, and Mary made that song famous.![]()

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Re: Planes in songs
G4
Jimmy Buffett again "Overkill"
They fly around in G4's and suck on big cigars.
Illya
Jimmy Buffett again "Overkill"
They fly around in G4's and suck on big cigars.
Illya
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Re: Planes in songs
disregard.iflyforpie wrote:Airline Amy: Weird Al. (747).
Peter Paul and Mary may have made that song famous.... but Gordon Lightfoot's original will always be the best version of the song as far as I'm concerned.Did Shiny just credit "In the early morning rain" to Neil Young? I covered that song once on the kazoo, you should've given it to me.
Everyone knows Peter, Paul, and Mary made that song famous.![]()
Illya
Wish I didn't know now, what I didn't know then.
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Re: Planes in songs
Pink Floyd: Money.
I'm in a high-fidelity first-class travelling set,
And I think I need a Learjet.
I'm in a high-fidelity first-class travelling set,
And I think I need a Learjet.
Geez did I say that....? Or just think it....?
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Re: Planes in songs
Hence, the interest in the topic, songs that actually are not as tangentally related to flying, or in some cases directly related to flying often don't mention specific planes, but rather planes are often a setting or a prop for a song. For instance, songs like This Flight Tonight, Wop May, and Snoopy vs The Red Baron mention no planes in the lyrics. Curious.iflyforpie wrote:Unsurprisingly... there aren't too many mentions of specific aircraft in songs.
One thing I've always wondered is what kind of plane they were flying in Learning to Fly by Pink Floyd? It's obviously a piston twin of some sort from the radio and intercom chatter... it would be interesting to know.
I've more often wondered what plane Joni was on where the flaps go up when the wheels go down.

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Re: Planes in songs
I thought it was 'out go the flaps, down go the wheels.'
Of course.... anything about aviation in a popular medium is bound to have mistakes.
Of course.... anything about aviation in a popular medium is bound to have mistakes.
Geez did I say that....? Or just think it....?
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Re: Planes in songs
There's also a band called U2.... some may have heard of them.
Geez did I say that....? Or just think it....?
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Re: Planes in songs
I try to forget, especially since they hacked my iTunes with their noiseiflyforpie wrote:There's also a band called U2.... some may have heard of them.
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Re: Planes in songs
The wiggles do a song in nearly every episode called "do the propeller" Don't ask how I know 

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Re: Planes in songs
What, you don't watch Tele Tubbies any more?cdnpilot77 wrote:The wiggles do a song in nearly every episode called "do the propeller" Don't ask how I know
Illya
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