Franz Schubert
I'll Fly Away
Born in an Oklahoma cotton field, this gospel anthem became the most recorded sacred song in history
Quick Facts
- Composer
- Albert E. Brumley
- Written
- 1932
- Artist
- Traditional Gospel
- Genre
- GospelBluegrassCountryHymn
- Best For
- •Religious services
- •New Orleans jazz funerals
- •Southern traditions
- •Recessional or graveside
The Cotton Field Epiphany
In 1929, Albert E. Brumley was picking cotton in Oklahoma, humming "The Prisoner's Song": "If I had the wings of an angel, over these prison walls I would fly."
Brumley transposed this secular narrative into a sacred key. The "prison walls" became the mortal body. The flight to "the arms of my darling" became flight to God's celestial shore.
Published in 1932—the nadir of the Great Depression—a song promising a "glad morning" was a psychological lifeline.
The Most Recorded Gospel Song
With over 5,000 commercial recordings, "I'll Fly Away" is considered the most recorded gospel song of all time.
The O Brother effect (2000): The Coen Brothers' film and T-Bone Burnett's soundtrack (8 million copies, Grammy for Album of the Year) sparked a bluegrass revival and reintroduced the hymn to a global secular audience.
The New Orleans Second Line
In New Orleans jazz funerals, the song is danced, paraded, and blasted from brass instruments.
The structure: The First Line (procession from church) is somber. Once the body is "cut loose," the band strikes up an uptempo rhythm. "I'll Fly Away" is the quintessential anthem for this transition.
Post-Katrina: The song became "almost like a battle cry"—about rising above the floodwaters. It became an anthem of identity and survival.
When to Use It
Best placements:
- Recessional: "I'll fly away" naturally accompanies the casket leaving—ending on hope rather than finality
- Photo tribute: Slower acoustic versions pair well with visual memories
- Graveside: A cappella or brass band performance as final "cutting loose"
Selecting the right version:
- Celebration: Chuck Wagon Gang or Alan Jackson—upbeat
- Modern/secular: Gillian Welch/Alison Krauss—haunting, less "churchy"
- New Orleans style: Brass band—live if possible
Key Lyrics & Their Meaning
"Some glad morning when this life is o'er, I'll fly away"
The "morning" references the Christian archetype of Resurrection—the end of the "night" of death. Departure is transformed into triumphant arrival.
"Like a bird from prison bars has flown, I'll fly away"
The prison represents the mortal body and earthly hardships; the bird represents the soul's innate capacity for freedom.
"To a land where joy shall never end, I'll fly away"
The destination is not merely escape but arrival—a place of permanent joy. Death is reframed from ending to beginning.
Popular Versions
| Artist | Style | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Chuck Wagon Gang | Country gospel (1948) | Traditional services—million-selling version |
| Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch | Americana/folk | Modern secular services—the O Brother version |
| Aretha Franklin | Soul/gospel | African American church traditions |
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Sarah Mitchell
Funeral Music CuratorFormer church music director with 15 years of experience helping families choose meaningful funeral music. Created YourFuneralSongs after losing her mother in 2019.