Home        Lyrics        Musicians        Albums        History        Links

 

Eight Miles High   (Clark/McGuinn/Crosby)


Eight miles high and when you touch down
You'll find that it's stranger than known
Signs in the street that say where you're going  
Are somewhere just being their own

Nowhere is there warmth to be found
Among those afraid of losing their ground
Rain gray town known for its sound
In places small faces unbound

Round the squares huddled in storms
Some laughing some just shapeless forms
Sidewalk scenes and black limousines
Some living, some standing alone


The Byrds - Fifth Dimension 1966
The Byrds - Untitled
McGuinn - Live From Mars 1996

Gene Clark in a radio interview:
"I actually wrote that song and then presented the song to McGuinn and Crosby on tour.
The melody and lyrics I wrote myself in a hotel room with Brian Jones in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania."

Roger McGuinn tells:
"In later years, Gene started to fantasise that he wrote the whole song.
That wasn’t the case: it was a collaborative effort between myself, Gene and David."

 

Willy Brauch wrote in the fanzine "Full Circle" about the song's harmonies: