Night Flight
Led Zepagain Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

I received a message from my brother across the water
He sat laughin' as he wrote the end's in sight
So I said goodbye to all my friends
And packed my hopes inside a matchbox
'Cause I know it's time to fly

Oh yeah, come on, meet me in the morning
Meet me in the middle of the night
Ah yeah, the morning light is comin'
Don't it make you want to go and feel alright

I just jumped a train that never stops
So now somehow I'll know I never finished payin' for my ride
Just n' someone pushed a gun into my hand
Tell me I'm the type of man to fight the fight that I'll require

Oh yeah, come on, meet me in the morning
Want you meet me in the middle of the night
The morning light is comin'
Don't it make you want to go and feel alright

Oh, mama, well I think it's time I'm leavin'
Nothin' here to make me stay
Whoa, mama, well it must be time I'm goin'
They're knockin' down them doors
They're tryin' to take me away

Please Mr. Brakeman, won't you ring your bell
And ring loud and clear
Please Mr. Fireman, won't you ring your bell
Tell the people they got to fly away from here

I once saw a picture of a lady with a baby
Southern lady, had a very, very special smile
We are in the middle of a change in destination
When the train stops, all together we will smile
Oh, come on, come on now meet me in the morning
Won't you meet me in the middle of the night, night, night
Oh oh, yeah, everybody know the mornin' time is comin'
Don't it make you want to feel alright
Ah, ah, yeah, make me feel alright
Fly now, baby
Get to fly, yeah




Fly now, baby
Oh, hey, hey

Overall Meaning

In "Night Flight," the singer receives a message from his brother who tells him that the end is near, prompting the singer to leave his friends behind and pack his "hopes inside a matchbox." He takes a train that never stops, unsure if he ever finished paying for his ride. Someone forces a gun into his hand and tells him to fight. The song takes a surreal turn as the singer asks the Brakeman and Fireman to ring their bells to tell the people to fly away, and the singer recalls a photo of a smiling, southern lady with a baby. The singer urges listeners to meet him in the middle of the night and morning to feel alright and fly.


Line by Line Meaning

I received a message from my brother across the water
My brother from afar sent me a message


He sat laughin' as he wrote the end's in sight
He was amused as he stated that the end is near


So I said goodbye to all my friends
I bid farewell to all my companions


And packed my hopes inside a matchbox
I put all my aspirations in a small container


'Cause I know it's time to fly
As I'm aware that it's time to leave


Please Mr. Brakeman, won't you ring your bell
I ask the train's conductor to ring his bell


And ring loud and clear
To ring the bell audibly


When the train stops, all together we will smile
Once the train stops, we'll all be happy


Oh, come on, come on now meet me in the morning
Join me in the morning


Won't you meet me in the middle of the night, night, night
Meet me in the middle of the night


Oh oh, yeah, everybody know the mornin' time is comin'
Everyone is aware that morning is about to come


Don't it make you want to feel alright
Doesn't it make you feel good?


Ah, ah, yeah, make me feel alright
Make me feel good!


Fly now, baby
Now fly!


Get to fly, yeah
Fly away!


Fly now, baby
Now fly!


Oh, hey, hey
Hey, hey!


Just n' someone pushed a gun into my hand
Someone handed me a weapon.


Tell me I'm the type of man to fight the fight that I'll require
Inform me that I'm capable of fighting the necessary battle.


Want you meet me in the middle of the night
Would you want to meet me in the middle of the night?


Oh mama, well I think it's time I'm leavin'
Mother, it's time for me to depart


Nothin' here to make me stay
There is nothing here that keeps me from leaving


Whoa, mama, well it must be time I'm goin'
Mother, it's time for me to go.


They're knockin' down them doors
They're breaking down the doors


They're tryin' to take me away
They're attempting to capture me


Oh yeah, come on, meet me in the morning
Join me in the morning


The morning light is comin'
The light of day is almost here


Don't it make you want to go and feel alright
Doesn't it make you feel like you want to feel better?


I just jumped a train that never stops
I climbed aboard a train that never halts


So now somehow I'll know I never finished payin' for my ride
Thus, I acknowledge that I will never finish paying for my journey


I once saw a picture of a lady with a baby
I previously saw an image of a mother holding an infant


Southern lady, had a very, very special smile
She had a unique and captivating smile


We are in the middle of a change in destination
We are currently in the midst of a relocation


Please Mr. Fireman, won't you ring your bell
I implore the train's fireman to ring his bell


Tell the people they got to fly away from here
Inform the people that they must depart from this location




Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN PAUL JONES, JIMMY PAGE, ROBERT PLANT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

Jimi Burleigh

It's so cool that you delve into these "deep tracks". Physical Graffiti is one of those albums that really deserve to be listened to in it's entirety. It's "all killer, no filler"🤘 to my mind.

I'm still kinda new to your channel, and diggin' every minute of it fyi💯, so forgive me if you have already done a reaction to "Boogie With Stu" from the same record, but if you haven't heard that one you ought to give it a spin. The "Stu" in the title refers to the person playing the piano. It's a bloke named Ian Stewart. With a name like that you just know that he's Scottish 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿.

Stu was actually one of the original co-founders of the Rolling Stones. Yeah, you read that correctly. But since Stu was in fact so Scottish that he fancied a round of golf in his spare time rather than foster the whole bad boy image the Stones were going for. He was booted from the band mostly at the urging of the Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham. Stu became the Rolling Stones road manager and was a session musician in and around the British music scene for many years.

Thanks for keeping it real!💯 You're building something very cool here, it's pure joy to be rockin' along with you on your journey of musical discovery.
LL&P🖖
Tioraidh an-drasta 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
("Good-bye for now" in Scottish Gaelic).
Peace ✌️



Doug Fenske

I've been trying lately to hear associations between this albums' songs and the songs on the previous albums from the years these songs were recorded. I don't think I've come up with much, and I think that may be because Zep created such a variety of musical styles in their work after their first two albums that everything just sounds like Zep. Anyway, I made these lists so I thought I'd post them in case anyone else is interested.

Track Title Past Assoc Album Rec Year
1 Custard Pie 1974
2 The Rover Houses of the Holy 1972
3 In My Time of Dying 1974
4 Houses of the Holy Houses of the Holy 1972
5 Trampled Under Foot 1974
6 Kashmir 1974
7 In the Light 1974
8 Bron-Yr-Aur Led Zeppelin III 1970
9 Down by the Seaside Led Zeppelin IV 1971
10 Ten Years Gone 1974
11 Night Flight Led Zeppelin IV 1971
12 The Wanton Song 1974
13 Boogie with Stu Led Zeppelin IV 1971
14 Black Country Woman Houses of the Holy 1972
15 Sick Again 1974

Chronological order:
Track Title Past Assoc Album Rec Year
8 Bron-Yr-Aur Led Zeppelin III 1970
9 Down by the Seaside Led Zeppelin IV 1971
11 Night Flight Led Zeppelin IV 1971
13 Boogie with Stu Led Zeppelin IV 1971
2 The Rover Houses of the Holy 1972
4 Houses of the Holy Houses of the Holy 1972
14 Black Country Woman Houses of the Holy 1972
1 Custard Pie Physical Graffiti 1974
3 In My Time of Dying Physical Graffiti 1974
5 Trampled Under Foot Physical Graffiti 1974
6 Kashmir Physical Graffiti 1974
7 In the Light Physical Graffiti 1974
10 Ten Years Gone Physical Graffiti 1974
12 The Wanton Song Physical Graffiti 1974
15 Sick Again Physical Graffiti 1974



All comments from YouTube:

OutOnTheTiles

I’ve always loved this song. First heard it in the summer of 1980 when I bought Physical Graffiti and just loved the groove and the lyrics of the song. Robert sounds so strong.

Actually going to Robert in concert tonight in Toronto. It’s the last gig on the tour. Should be a good one! Cheers ✌️

Paul Prendergast

Saw Robert and Alison last time they were in town. Should be a great show. It's back to back for me next week with Blackberry Smoke (Danforth MH) on Wednesday and Tedeschi Trucks Band (Budweiser Stage) on Thursday

joe scott

@Paul Prendergast Oh, lucky you! Speaking of this album and BBS, they do a bad-ass cover of "The Rover"! Maybe you'll hear it next week!

Peter Tea

Enjoy! I hope I can catch them later this year.

MARK CORCORAN

The ending of this song sets up The Wanton Song perfectly.

Ronald Elliott

Yes it does. 😉 Can’t wait to see their initial reaction when it drops. 🤯

joe scott

Oooo! Good call! It sure does, and I've thought (or felt, anyhow) that before. Easy to forget when the tunes are parceled out like this, one-by-one.

Doug Caffey

This song is about evading the draft during the Vietnam Conflict. The lyrics in the first verse are phenomenal. I received a message from my brother across the water, he said laughing as he wrote “The ends in sight “ so I said goodbye to all my friends and packed my hopes inside a matchbox cause I know it’s time to Fly. Gotta love it ❤

joe scott

"packed my opes inside a matchbox"--love that so much! I've stolen it a couple times, ha!

Michael

This whole album is all killer, no filler.

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