"They read the work of Lilienthal, Langley, and Chanute But the theories of these pioneers In test did not compute So they cleaned the table to the wood And started in again To answer twisting riddles So the sky would let them in."

KITTY HAWK, DECEMBER, NINETEEN-THREE
Livingston Taylor ©2002 L. Taylor/Morgan Creek Music (ASCAP)

We can fly
We can soar into the air
Look into forever
And find the future there.
Spread your wings
You're about to be free
Kitty Hawk, December, Nineteen-three.

What a time for human kind
What an era to be in.
Electric light to push back night
Einstein in Berlin
Edison and movies
Fords rolling wheels
Rockafellas energy
Morgan's ruthless deals.
Big men chewing big cigars
And chewing through the land
Destiny was manifest
Fate was in their hands.
Add to this mix
Two earnest quiet men
With their sister Katherine
The adventure did begin.
In the hubris that was the time
They decided they could try
To build a heavier than air machine
And climb into the sky.

And they could fly..........

They read the work of Lilienthal
Langley and Chanute.
But the theories of these pioneers
In test did not compute.
So they cleaned the table to the wood
And started in again
To answer twisting riddles
So the sky would let them in.
They found a place to test their thoughts Off the coast of Caroline
Private and remote
Windy all the time.
They learned of lift and drag and thrust
And wind-tunneled everything.
The delicate pitch of the canard
The roll of warping wings.
And the rudder was the final piece
That late one night they saw
The triad that became flight
Pitch, roll, yaw.

And they could fly...........

The morning comes the wind is right
The plane is on the rail
And Daniel's camera sees the moment pass.
For twelve small seconds
They fly across the sands
And the end of an ancient dream
Is here at last.

It's a hundred years later
But imagine what's in store
As we tug on God's great beard
And tap upon his door.
To the truth that lives in space
We have set our sights
Standing on their shoulders
Wilbur and Orville Wright.

And we can fly...............