The top of the food chain is where we must look for Song Lyric Sunday inspiration this week, with themes such as ‘lion’, ‘tiger’, ‘shark’ etc and also my choice, which is ‘eagle’.

My first thought was ‘The Last Lonely Eagle’ by The New Riders Of The Purple Sage, but I used it about three years ago. Back to the drawing board but staying with my era, there is this song by Traffic, the title track of their fifth studio album, released in 1974.

The lyrics are very ecologically aware, particularly for the time. They suggest that when man has finally and completely screwed Planet Earth, nature will reassert itself.

When the eagle flies you’d better watch your eyes
He’s gonna sweep everything in his path
And when the heavens cry it’s gonna drown the sky
And you’ll get caught in the aftermath
When the mountains move it’s no good trying
To prove that you’ve been doing everything you can
And don’t you start to cry when you’re about to die
You gotta stand up and take it like a man
Because you’ve been taking instead of giving
And all the while you’ve been living lies
Economics, all your atomics
Ain’t gonna save you from that bird in the sky
And when the good times roll wrapped up in your mink coat

You will be stepping from your Cadillac
You will be stepping from your Cadillac
And in a micro flash you’re gonna feel the lash
Of big eagle’s wing across your back
And when the seas subside you’ll see him glide right out of view
In clouds of snow the rains will come
And wash away the scum so that all the little flowers can grow
There’ll be no more taking, only giving
And the sun pouring down
No economics and no atomics
Just the spread of Mother Nature’s gown
Do you hear me, Mother Nature? …

Written by Jim Capaldi and Stevie Winwood

Song Lyric Sunday 21 November 2021