2179. “Angels and Fuselage” by The Drive-By Truckers
A pretty damn good live version:
The long, haunting ballad “Angels and Fuselage” concludes Southern Rock Opera - and is the final song we’ll be looking at by The Drive-By Truckers. The lyrics are simple, honest and direct. They allude to the hero’s early days as a high school music fan (reaching back the beginnings of both Act 1 and 2). Musically, the piece takes its time getting to where its going, but never seems slow.
The plane will fall away in our production. We’ll use the slide screens to let the hero’s life flash past his eyes. Several members of the band will be torn out of the plane and go flying off into the rafters using cables. Finally, as the song reaches its climax, the hero will be joined by Ronnie, Cassie, Steve and the other folks who died in the Skynyrd crash. He’ll play off his final solo before walking off into the light with his muse and hero, his mission completed.
As I said earlier, I’m not sure this is actually a viable stage play, but it could make a hell of a film in the tradition of The Wall, perhaps.