"Fly Like an Eagle"

When you get past the psychedelic aspect of The Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like an Eagle," it's obvious why it could be considered poetry.  The song itself is actually quite lyrical after you get passed the typical 70s background track.  The opening lines when Miller sing, "Time keeps on slippin',...into the future" provides the listener with a simple philosophical viewpoint on the world.  According to Perrine, “Poets, from their own store of felt, observed, or imagined experiences, select, combine, and reorganize."  All of this is done in order to form an environment is which the reader, or listener in this case, can participate in and gain a greater understanding of their world.  This is exactly what Miller is doing with his lyrics in this song.  He speaks of freedom and revolution as time moves forward.  The artist does this by using, as most artists do, symbolism and imagery in his lyrics.  The most notable example of symbolism in this song is the line, "Fly like an eagle."  Of course, this line is referencing the freedom and revolution that I referenced early, but in a way that is almost appealing to the listener's sense of patriotism.  In the end, the meaning of the song is one of self-discovery and exploration of the surrounding world.  To show the meaning of the song, Miller incorporated intellectual elements, another component of Perrine's definition of poetry, while also showing his mastery of multidimensional language, strengthening the argument that "Fly Like an Eagle" is poetry.

For lyrics click here.