“Come Fly With Me” — Frank Sinatra

Sometimes, when you hear a song, you instantly recall a particular person, a particular place, or a particular event. More than any other song, “Come Fly With Me” does that for me.

As the title track from Frank Sinatra’s album of the same name, “Come Fly With Me” set the tone for an idyllic travelogue to a series of glamorous locations around the world in the company of Ol’ Blue Eyes.

Given the exotic destinations Frank Sinatra sings about, I realise I’m taking things in a distinctly less glamorous direction when I say the place “Come Fly With Me” reminds me off immediately is the service area at Gretna Green on the M74 in southern Scotland at about 9pm on a Friday night.

Yes, I know. That’s a really, really specific…not to say, unlikely…location to be transported back in time to every time I hear Billy May’s orchestra strike up the notably brisk intro to this classic Sinatra tune. I’ll tell you why in a moment, but first the song itself…

A quick flourish on the brass and we’re through the departure gate and on our way…

Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away
If you can use some exotic booze
There’s a bar in far Bombay
Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away

What a great start to a song.

Back when jumping on a jet aircraft was only for the privileged few and airline service was more like having tea at the Ritz than spending a night in the cells our making a musical journey to exotic…