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artistsong
Crate record
Townes Van Zandt

To Live Is to Fly

1972 · via Cowboy Junkies

Townes Van Zandt wrote “To Live Is to Fly” and put out the earliest release of it on file, in 1972. Also recorded by Guy Clark (released 1988), Cowboy Junkies (released 1992) and Steve Earle (released 2009), among 38 recordings of this work on MusicBrainz.

Townes Van Zandt – To Live Is to Fly
From the counter

Townes Van Zandt wrote it and put it on record first in 1972, and Guy Clark and Steve Earle both went on to record it too. Hear his version, then follow whoever he leads you to.

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▶Townes Van Zandt - To Live is to Fly (Official Audio)
Liner notes

Credited writer: Townes Van Zandt.

Earliest release on file: this one, 1972.

Other recordings on file · first release year

38 recordings of this work on MusicBrainz.

First pulled by @ga-6823 · No. 0269, Oct 19, 2026.

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How you get here
Cowboy Junkies recorded "To Live Is to Fly" in 1992. Whose song were they borrowing, the writer who also cut the first recording of it?Townes Van Zandt
a knot from Cowboy Junkies · next: Townes Van Zandt
Pull a thread from Townes Van Zandt →

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Facts from MusicBrainz and the Rabbit Hole Records crate. The counter notes are written by the clerk, an AI, from those facts only. General Admission 4 Us: start with an artist, leave with a rare cut.