‘First Plane Home’ – the melancholic yearning to fly

Well this one hit me right the feels.

It's no doubt the strangest year in my living memory. In just a few weeks it will be a whole calendar year since I stepped on a plane and saw my own family. Though things are relatively safe where I am, I can't help but feel like I'm missing out on some home life a thousand miles away.

When a friend at British Airways shared British-Australian songwriter Emmi's “First Plane Home”, it left me a little numb and melancholic inside. I cannot imagine her homesickness with her family on the other side of the world.

Emmi said:

“I wrote this song as a letter to my family when I knew the current travel restrictions would prevent me returning to the US if I came home for Christmas. My heart broke at the realisation. I haven’t seen them for a year. But I know I'm not the only one separated from loved ones for issues which relate to the pandemic this year, so really this is a song for all of us. It’s a reflection on the year we've shared and a celebration of being alive and loved.

I know this is a feeling that will resonate with so many people around the globe during this different holiday season. But I hope it also spreads a unifying message of hope as we look forward to the new year. And when I do finally step onto that first flight home with British Airways, I know it’ll be a very special moment indeed. They couldn’t have given me or my family a gift more precious.”

Emmi can be followed on her Instagram, Facebook and Twitter social media profiles. The song is below.

As the end of 2020 beckons, it's a bit of a sombre, pensive mood. Winter was never really my favourite season, made even less enjoyable with enforced lockdown. With vaccines coming there is a glimmer of hope, though obviously it's a reminder to never take anything for granted. Stay safe everyone!