Crawford first polished her craft at club gigs from Cincinnati to St. Tropez, but made her name in mid 1970s in New York, where she sang with jazzmen George Benson on his album "Big Man" 1975) and Cannonball Adderley.
She then led Jazz veterans The Crusaders on the transatlantic big hit "Street Life" (1979). Her follow up solo efforts included "'One Day I'll Fly Away" (1980, Grand Prize for Tokyo International Music Festival); "'You Might Need Somebody" (1981); and "'Rainy Night In Georgia" (1981); which all became soul standards. Secret Combination (1981) stayed on the Billboard album chart for 60 weeks, after which her profile dipped, despite a return to the Top 10 with "Almaz" in (1986).
Naked And True (1995) brought Crawford back to her roots: it included Benson's "Give Me The Night", and confirmed her soul heritage by featuring Funkadelicists Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell and The Fred Wesley Horns. But she enjoyed her highest profile of the decade when rising starlet Shola Ama had a worldwide hit with a cover of " You Might Need Somebody" in 1997.
She still continues to make great R&B hits and performs on various Jazz Festivals around the world.
One Day I'll Fly Away
Randy Crawford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When love is gone
Still you made your mark
Here in my heart
One day I'll fly away
Leave your love to yesterday
What more can your love do for me?
I follow the night
Can't stand the light
When will I begin
My life again?
One day I'll fly away
Leave your love to yesterday
What more can your love do for me?
When will love be through with me?
Why live life from dream to dream?
And dread the day that dreaming ends?
One day I'll fly away
Leave your love to yesterday
What more can your love do for me?
When will love be through with me?
Why live life from dream to dream?
And dread the day that dreaming ends?
One day I'll fly away
Fly away
One day I'll fly away
Fly away
Fly away
The lyrics to Randy Crawford's "One Day I'll Fly Away" convey a sense of disillusionment with love and a longing for freedom. The first verse speaks to the idea that even though love has ended, the memory of that person lingers on in the singer's heart. The chorus is a declaration that she will one day leave her former love behind and move on with her life. The second verse suggests that she is currently living in darkness ("I follow the night/Can't stand the light") and is seeking a way to begin anew. The repetition of the chorus reinforces her desire to escape from the past and start fresh.
The final verse is particularly poignant, as it asks why we bother to dream at all if we are ultimately powerless to control our own fates. The line "dread the day that dreaming ends" is especially striking, as it speaks to the fear that someday we will wake up and realize that our lives have not turned out the way we wanted them to be. The repetition of "Fly away" at the end of the song is a plea for release from these anxieties and a hope that someday we will be able to transcend the limitations of our own minds.
Overall, "One Day I'll Fly Away" is a powerful expression of the human desire for freedom and self-determination. Through its lyrics, Crawford speaks to the heart of what it means to be human--to dream, to love, and to strive for a better tomorrow.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll make it alone
I can survive on my own without your help
When love is gone
I don't need love to survive
Still you made your mark
You left a lasting impression on me
Here in my heart
Your memory is still with me
One day I'll fly away
Someday I will leave and move on
Leave your love to yesterday
I will forget about your love and move on
What more can your love do for me?
Your love cannot do anything more for me
When will love be through with me?
I am tired of dealing with love and its consequences
I follow the night
I am always awake during the night
Can't stand the light
I don't like being around in the light
When will I begin
When will I start living again?
My life again?
Living my life without being influenced by love
Why live life from dream to dream?
Why pretend to live and not experience real things?
And dread the day that dreaming ends?
Why be worried if everything you know is only a dream?
Fly away
Leave everything behind and start a new life
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Will Jennings, Joseph Leslie Sample
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kerri Braddock
My Mum loved this song. Played it all the time. Mum passed 9 years ago this October. I cried listening to this. It’s so special R.I.P Mum 🌹🎆
Sonia Alboresi
💖🌟💖
Johanna Jäger
Sorry for your loss. My dearest buddy passed in October 2019 due to Parkinson's disease. I wish obesity made me leave and be by his side.
J
i'm crying also. was my father's favorite and he played it a lot. its taken me 3 years to have the courage to listen to this. sending positive energy and love from my home to yours
Watermargin Ramsgate
@JMay your Father R.I.P ❤
It's R Tim
It's not just her amazing voice but the whole orchestra playing a very special game with our heart too.
Elisabetta Vatielli
I "discovered" Randy Crawford when I was 14. Today I'm 53 and I'm still thrilled whenever I listen to this Song!❤️
Barry Quayle
I can’t find words to describe how beautiful this is. Astonishing song and performance..
susan brown
Yes.
Lt Aldo Raine
She's a legend.