We Can Fly

"We Can Fly" is a single by the progressive rock band Yes released in 2011, and consisting of shortened versions of two sections of the suite "Fly from Here" from their album of the same name: "Fly from Here, Part I: We Can Fly" and "Fly from Here, Part V: We Can Fly (Reprise)".

"We Can Fly"
Single by Yes
from the album Fly from Here
Released	13 June 2011
Recorded	2011
Length	4:15
Label	Frontiers Records[1]
Songwriters	Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes, Chris Squire
Producer	Trevor Horn[2]
Yes singles chronology
"If Only You Knew" (2000) "We Can Fly" (2011) "The Ice Bridge" (2021)

It is the first single by Yes since "If Only You Knew" (from The Ladder), released in 1999. It is also the only Yes single with Benoît David on vocals, and the second after "Into the Lens" in 1980 without Jon Anderson on vocals and with Geoff Downes on keyboards.

Music video

The official music video was released on 3 July 2011. The video portrays the story of an airline passenger awaiting his flight, who reads a magazine article about a 1940s Hollywood mogul who died in a plane crash as a result of a "pilot error." The man finishes reading, runs down a flight of stairs, and boards his plane only to find the same '40s-era cast of characters aboard, with a stewardess leading him to the cockpit to pilot the plane. Trevor Horn makes a cameo appearance as the movie mogul.

Jon Anderson's reaction

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Anderson stated that on hearing "We Can Fly" he felt it sounded "a bit dated" and that Trevor Horn's production "wasn't as good as I expected". He did, however, praise David's vocal performance.^[3]

Personnel

Yes

• Benoît David – lead vocals
• Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals
• Steve Howe – guitars, backing vocals
• Geoff Downes – keyboards
• Alan White – drums

Additional musicians

• Oliver Wakeman – additional keyboards^[4]

Release history

Country	Date	Format (Version)	Label
Australia[5]	13 June 2011	Digital download – radio edit	Frontiers Records
Austria[6]
Belgium[7]
Canada[8]
Finland[9]
France[10]
Germany[11]
Ireland[12]
Italy[13]
Japan[14]
Luxembourg[15]
Netherlands[16]
New Zealand[17]
Norway[18]
Portugal[19]
Singapore[20]
Spain[21]
Sweden[22]
Switzerland[23]
United Kingdom[24]
United States[25]