(1897-1937)
Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), American Aviator, is famous for her flights across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and her attempt to fly around the world. She often used her fame to speak out against war and for women's rights.
One of the most intriguing mysteries of the twentieth century is: What happened to Amelia Earhart? In June 1937, she left Miami, Florida, on an around-the-world flight attempt. On July 2, her plane vanished in the South Pacific. The world waited with fascination as search teams from the United States and Japan converged on the scene. But not she, her navigator, or the
plane was ever found.
AMELIA
(Words & music by Jonathan Sprout)
Flying on empty in the South Pacific --
Radio coordinates not specific.
Swallowed by an ocean in deep deep mystery --
Amelia the brave, lost to history.
An aviation pioneer,
Flying planes was her career.
High above the clouds she flew.
Amelia must have known the fear
She could someday disappear
But she flew because she wanted to.
She took an autogiro to amazing heights.
Spoke out on aviation and women's rights.
They made her famous but she wouldn't play the part
'Cause in spite of it all, she was a pilot at heart.
She had the courage to explore
Where no woman went before,
Changing the course of history when she flew.
And when the questions got down to it --
Why'd she risk her life to do it?
She smiled and simply said, "I wanted to."
She flew the vast Atlantic all alone --
The greatest aviatrix ever known.
On Amelia's final flight,
She disappeared from sight
And left us in the dark, without a clue.
The theories come and go,
But there's one thing we all know --
Flying's what she loved to do.
The experts can't agree,
But she was probably lost at sea
And maybe now she's flying somewhere free, Amelia.
© 1995 Kanukatunes (ASCAP)
“Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.” – Amelia Earhart
Links:
Amelia Earhart papers, Purdue University
Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum
