"One Day I'll Fly Away" is a song performed by American jazz singer

Randy Crawford Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952) is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, she has ap ...

, from her fourth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, '' Now We May Begin'' (1980). The song was written by

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, the band which shortened its name to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained ...

and

Will Jennings Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings (born June 27, 1944) is an American lyricist. He is popularly known for writing the lyrics for the songs "Tears in Heaven" and "My Heart Will Go On". He has been inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and has won s ...

and produced by Sample,

Wilton Felder Wilton Lewis Felder (August 31, 1940 – September 27, 2015) was an American saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of the Jazz Crusaders, later known as The Crusaders. Felder played bass on the Jackson 5's hits "I Wan ...

and

Stix Hooper Stix or STIX may refer to: People * Stix Hooper (born 1938), American jazz musician * Gary Stix, American journalist * Thomas H. Stix (1924–2001), American physicist * Christine Stix-Hackl (born 1957), Austrian jurist Arts and entertainment ...

. It received generally favorable reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

. The song was a commercial success in the international market at the time, reaching number one in Belgium (Flanders) and Netherlands, while peaking at number two in the United Kingdom. "One Day I'll Fly Away" is Crawford's highest charting single, and has been covered by many artists, including by

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

portraying the character of Satine in the 2001 motion picture ''

Moulin Rouge! ''Moulin Rouge!'' (, ) is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows a young English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and cour ...

''. In 2013,

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud were an pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The group achieved a str ...

member

Kimberley Walsh Kimberley Jane Scott (née Walsh; born 20 November 1981) is an English singer, fashion designer, model, variety performer, television presenter, actress and dancer. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality series '' Po ...

released a cover of the song as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from her debut studio album, '' Centre Stage''. The song has also been covered by British

Electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

trio Vaults which was featured in the

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

2016 Christmas advertisement.

Composition and reception

"One Day I'll Fly Away" was written by

and

, and produced by Sample, Wilton Felder and Stix Hooper. The main hook (in which the singer sings the title of the song) is itself an interpolation of Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers from his ballet, The Nutcracker.''Now We May Begin'' liner notes.

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

(1980) Jon O'Brien of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

said that the song showcases Crawford's "sumptuous, soulful tones." Writing about the singer's life for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', critic Helen Brown said that "in the pouty world of the jazz chanteuse, Randy Crawford's smile is unique," adding that "even on the saddest of songs, A Rainy Night in Georgia or One Day I'll Fly Away, you could hear those trembling lips spread outwards and upwards through the tears." "One Day I'll Fly Away" achieved widespread radio airplay and did well in the international market. It is Crawford's highest charting single. On September 20, 1980, the song reached number two on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It also performed well in Belgium (Flanders) and Netherlands, reaching number one in both countries.

Formats and track listings

*Germany 7" #"One Day I'll Fly Away" – 4:58 #"Blue Flame" – 6:25 *Japan 7" #"One Day I'll Fly Away" – 3:40 #"Tender Falls the Rain" – 4:13 *Netherlands 12" #"One Day I'll Fly Away" – 5:00 #"Last Night at Danceland" – 4:53

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Nicole Kidman version

In 2001, "One Day I'll Fly Away" was recorded by

for the motion picture ''

'', in which she portrayed the character of Satine. A special remix designed by Tony Phillips has been promoted on single, issued by

Interscope Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Musi ...

on April 5, 2002.

Credits and personnel

* Nicole Kidman -

lead vocal The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

* Joe Sample -

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

* Will Jennings - writer * Craig Armstrong - producer, arrangement *

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962), known professionally as Baz Luhrmann, is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries, he is re ...

- producer * Anton Monsted - producer * Josh G Abrahams - producer * Marius de Vries - producer * Tony Phillips -

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

* Geoff Foster - remix

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

* Andy Bradfield - mix *

Simon Franglen Simon Franglen (born Westminster, London, England) is an English composer of classical and film music. He is also a record producer and former musician. His credits include four of the list of top grossing films and six of the list of best-sell ...

- producer/engineer dditional vocal

Track listings

* CD Single, UK, 497 703-2 # "One Day I'll Fly Away" (Tony Phillips Remix) - 5:11 # "One Day I'll Fly Away" (Original Album Version) - 3:17 # "

Your Song "Your Song" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's first international Top 10 chart single. "Your Song" was first released by American rock band Three Dog Night in M ...

" (Instrumental From The Rehearsal Montage Scene) - 2:28 * CD Maxi, Europe, 497 684-2 # "One Day I'll Fly Away" (Tony Phillips Remix) - 5:11 # "One Day I'll Fly Away" (Original Album Version) - 3:17 # "One Day I'll Fly Away" (Instrumental) - 3:16 # "Your Song" (Instrumental From The Rehearsal Montage Scene) - 2:28 * CD Single, Europe, Promo, MOULINCDP4 # "One Day I'll Fly Away" (Tony Phillips Remix - Radio Edit) - 3:42 # "One Day I'll Fly Away" (Original Album Version) - 3:17 * CD Single, US, Promo, INTR 10610-2 # "One Day I'll Fly Away" (Original Album Version) - 3:17

Kimberley Walsh version

Background and release

Following her solo endeavours and musical theatre performances,

member

decided to record a studio album featuring her own renditions of popular hits from musicals, commenting that "I've always loved musical theatre and doing ''Shrek the Musical'' definitely reignited the passion in me." For the album, Walsh commented that she wanted "to share the love I have for musical theatre by taking some classic songs and completely reinventing them. The melodies in so many musical songs are so brilliant, I knew we could create something special by experimenting with the production, and I really feel like we've come up with some interesting takes on classic songs." On December 21, 2012, "One Day I'll Fly Away" premiered in full through the label's official SoundCloud account. The song was recorded in

Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropoli ...

and produced by

Per Magnusson Per Magnusson (born 30 May 1969) is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. His musical career took off in 1994 as one of the original team members of the now-legendary Cheiron Productions, meeting great international success working with Boyzo ...

and

David Kreuger David Kreuger is a Swedish people, Swedish songwriter and music producer. Career David Kreuger began at Cheiron Studios in the spring of 1993. During the period 1993-1997, he worked with Per Magnusson on several projects. Together, they produce ...

. It was officially released on January 4, 2013, as the

from '' Centre Stage'' through digital download under

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

. Along with the album version, the digital release of "One Day I'll Fly Away" includes the Radio Edit and The Alias Club Mix. Peter Robinson of

Popjustice Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', ''Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael Cra ...

compared the latter to

Psy Park Jae-sang (, ; born December 31, 1977), known professionally as Psy (stylized in all caps as PSY) (; ; ), is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Psy is known domestically for his humorous videos and stage per ...

Gangnam Style "Gangnam Style" ( ko, 강남스타일, ) is a K-pop song by South Korean rapper Psy, released on July 15, 2012, by YG Entertainment as the lead single of his sixth studio album, ''Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1'' (''Ssai Yukgap Part 1''). The term ...

(2012).

Music video and live performances

The accompanying music video was directed by Paul Caslin and produced by Amy James through production company JJ Stereo. It was shot in 2K on an

Arri Alexa The Arri Alexa (stylised as ΛLEXΛ) is a digital motion picture camera system developed by Arri. First introduced in April 2010, the camera was Arri's first major transition into digital cinematography after previous efforts such as the Arr ...

on January 4, 2013, at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...

, with

4music 4Music is a British music television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. The original incarnation was launched on 15 August 2008, and until 29 June 2022, showed a mix of music and entertainment programming. It ...

publishing behind-the-scenes pictures of the shooting session. The lyric video premiered on January 12, 2013, through

VEVO Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

, while the music video premiered on January 17, 2013. It features Walsh performing the song in different settings, until she is joined by

Pasha Kovalev Pavel "Pasha" Kovalev (russian: Па́вел "Па́ша" Ковалёв) is a Russian professional Latin and ballroom dancer. Kovalev started dancing at the age of eight, and in 2001, moved to the United States with his professional dance par ...

and they perform a ballet number. On January 23, 2013, Walsh performed "One Day I'll Fly Away" at the

National Television Awards The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted ...

, and on February 2, 2013, at G.A.Y.

Track listing

*Digital download #"One Day I'll Fly Away" – 3:43 #"One Day I'll Fly Away" (Radio Edit) – 3:28 #"One Day I'll Fly Away" (The Alias Club Mix) – 6:22

Release history

Cover versions and samples

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

released a cover of the song on her 1996 album ''

The Show Must Go On "The show must go on" is a phrase in show business, meaning that regardless of what happens, whatever show has been planned still has to be staged for the waiting patrons. There is no evidence to suggest that it is the abbreviation of a longer phra ...

''. Dutch symphonic metal band

After Forever After Forever was a Dutch symphonic metal band with strong progressive metal influences. The band relied on the use of both soprano vocals and death growls. In February 2009, it was announced that After Forever had disbanded. Singer Floor Jans ...

covered the song and released it on ''Exordium'' (2003). Gospel singer

Ruben Studdard Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978) is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as winner of the second season of ''American Idol'' and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recording of ...

released a cover as a

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

-exclusive bonus track on his fourth album, '' Love Is'' (2009). The opening bars of "One Day I'll Fly Away" have also appeared on the 2010

Leaving Certificate A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certifica ...

Music Listening exam in Ireland, as an unprepared Aural Awareness excerpt on Q6. Italian singer

Bianca Atzei Veronica Atzei (born March 8, 1987) – better known by her stage name Bianca Atzei (, ) – is an Italian singer and TV personality. After the release of a few singles with Ultrasuoni between 2012 and 2014, she rose to prominence in February 20 ...

covered the songs and released it as a single on December 9, 2013. British soprano

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer, actress and dancer. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, ...

also covered an operatic version of the song, but it was not included in either CD or digital download until 2015, when her version was included in the first of the 3 volumes of the digital download ''Rarities'' (hence her "Test version"). British

trio Vaults covered the song to be the soundtrack featured in the

2016 Christmas advertisement. British

trio Vaults covered the song to be the soundtrack featured in the

2016 Christmas advertisement. "One Day I'll Fly Away" is included of the Vaults's debut studio album, ''Caught in Still Life''.

References

{{Nicole Kidman 1980 songs 1980 singles 2013 singles Decca Records singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Interscope Records singles Nicole Kidman songs Songs with lyrics by Will Jennings Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Virgin EMI Records singles Warner Records singles Randy Crawford songs 1980s ballads