Sky Pilot
Eric Burdon and the Animals (1968)
Eric Burdon, Vic Briggs, John Weider, Barry Jenkins, Danny McCulloch
Album: The Best of Eric Burton& The Animals
The original Animals slowly disbanded but Burdon reappeared in California with his new group at the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival. The band went on to define the era musically with many songs now considered hippie classics such as the fiercely antiwar song 'Sky Pilot'.
Lyrics:
He blesses the boys as they stand in life
The smell of gun grease and their bayonets they shine
He's here 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 humbles 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 the bleeding or end 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.
You're soldiers of god you must understand
The fate of your country is in your young hands
May god give you strength do your job really well
If it all was worth in only time it will tell.
In the morning they returned with tears in their eyes
The stench of death drifts up to the skies
A young soldier so it looks at the sky bright
Remember the words thou shalt not kill.
