When the Swallows Fly

"When the Swallows Fly"
Single by Bee Gees
from the album Idea
B-side	"Give Your Best"
Released	September 1968 (album) 1971 (Netherlands)
Recorded	18 June 1968
Genre	Baroque pop, psychedelic pop
Length	2:22 (mono) 2:29 (stereo)
Label	Polydor Atco (United States/Canada)
Songwriter(s)	Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb
Producer(s)	Robert Stigwood, Bee Gees

"When the Swallows Fly" is a song by the Bee Gees released on their fifth album Idea. Its promotional video was filmed in Brussels and included on the TV special Idea and was aired on 11 December 1968.

Background

The song's opening line echoed William Wordsworth's poem"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud". It was recorded on June 18th 1968 at the same session as "No Name". Robin said "It was one of my favorites, I think Barry's vocal on that is fantastic". Barry recalls: "['When the Swallows Fly'] that's something I brought in, but I don't remember how the song came about. It was probably written in Eaton Square or at the penthouse. A lot of the ballads in those days were written that way, like 'Words'.

Chart performance

In 1971, when it was included on the Melody film soundtrack, it was released as a single only in Netherlands with "Give Your Best" as the B-side. It reached #20 in two weeks

Weekly charts

Chart (1971)	Peak position
Netherlands Dutch Top 40	20

Personnel

• Barry Gibb — lead vocals, guitar
• Maurice Gibb — bass, piano, organ, mellotron, backing vocals
• Colin Petersen — drums
• Robin Gibb — backing vocals
• Vince Melouney — acoustic guitar