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Flight 800

from Into A Prism by David Rovics

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I had been meaning to write a song about this ill-fated TWA flight since it happened in 1996, but I only just got around to it after hearing an interview with a former CBS reporter who just put out a documentary on the subject.

lyrics

Flight 801 left Italy, got to New York town and then
Expected to leave New York, go back to Italy again
It was a normal evening at first at TWA
The flight took off an hour late after a slight delay
And it was wheels up, there was excitement in the air
For some it was the first time they'd ever been up there

But this time Flight 800 barely lifted off the ground
Before it was shot down over Long Island Sound

Scores of people saw it and they wondered why
A light had left the Earth and arced into the sky
They saw it hit the aircraft, saw the craft burst into flame
People asked who fired the rocket, others asked the same
And what was to be another flight over the Atlantic Sea
Was a flight that wouldn't be

Was it a Navy missile going where it wasn't supposed to go
Or a terrorist attack, we may never know
The CIA announced we understood the popular confusion
What appeared to be a missile was an optical illusion
And for some reason which we cannot explain
There are 230 people dead, and dead they will remain

credits

from Into A Prism, released July 2, 2013

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David Rovics Portland, Oregon

Singer/songwriter, writer, podcaster (on Spotify, Substack & Patreon), anarchist, dad, lover of life.

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