"Broken Wings" is a 1985 song recorded by American
pop rock band
Mr. Mister. It was released in June 1985 as the lead single from their second album Welcome to the Real World. The song peaked at number one on the
Billboard Hot 100 in December 1985, where it remained for two weeks. It was released as the band was just about to embark on a US tour opening for
Tina Turner. "Broken Wings" became the first of two consecutive number ones of the band on the American charts, the other chart-topper being "
Kyrie". Outside of the United States, "Broken Wings" topped the charts in Canada, peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Belgium (Flanders), the
Netherlands, Norway, the
Republic of Ireland,
Switzerland, the
United Kingdom and West Germany, and the top twenty of the charts in Austria, New Zealand, Spain and
Sweden.
Background and music
The
ballad[2] was co-written with lyricist John Lang, who was inspired by
Kahlil Gibran's
novelBroken Wings.[3] The song is a mix of
synth, digitally delayed guitar, bass and drums. The song's hissing intro was an effect created by the sound of a
crash cymbal played in reverse.[3]
Although the 1968
Beatles song "
Blackbird" contains an identical lyric, "Take these broken wings and learn to fly",
Richard Page has described this as "a mindless unintentional reference" attributable to both compositions being influenced by the Gibran novel.[4]
Music video
The music video for "Broken Wings" was directed by Oley Sassone and filmed in
black and white.[5] It features lead vocalist/bassist
Richard Page driving through the desert in a
classic Ford Thunderbird, the first allusion to birds. There is a scene where Page is sitting in a church when a
Harris's Hawk flies in through the window and lands next to him on the pew and they exchange a gaze. The full band is also featured in performance scenes. Also appearing in the video are an unknown man and woman dancing
tango. They are only shown from the waist down. At the end of the video Page is seen next to the Thunderbird with the vehicle's hood open.
Lyrically, "Broken Wings" is an attempt to keep a relationship together through the magic of flowery language: "Take these broken wings/ And learn to fly again, learn to live so free/ When we hear the voices sing/ The book of love will open up and let us in." Those words are grandiloquent enough to be self-parody, but Page delivers them all perfectly straight-faced. He means every bit of it. In Page's mouth, the word "take" becomes a desperate animal yelp. I love it. I also love how overproduced "Broken Wings" is. The song is all ominous churn, and it never really kicks in. Instead, it captures a state of sustained anticipation.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
K'Lee version
New Zealand pop singer
K'Lee covered "Broken Wings" and released it as a single on June 11, 2001.[45] Her version peaked at number two on the
New Zealand Singles Chart, becoming her highest-charting single there along with 2002's "Can You Feel Me?"[46]
^"Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved May 31, 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Broken wings" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".