{{Infobox song | name = Headlong Flight | cover = Rush Headlong Flight.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = [[Rush (band)|Rush]] | album = [[Clockwork Angels]] | released = April 19, 2012 | recorded = | studio = | genre = | length = 7:20<br>5:08 (radio edit) | label = [[Anthem Records|Anthem]] (Canada), [[Roadrunner Records|Roadrunner]] | writer = Lee/Lifeson, lyrics by Peart | producer = [[Nick Raskulinecz]] and Rush | prev_title = [[Caravan (Rush song)|Caravan]] | prev_year = 2010 | next_title = The Wreckers | next_year = 2012 }}
"'''Headlong Flight'''" is the second single from Canadian [[Rock music|rock]] band [[Rush (band)|Rush]]'s 19th studio album, ''[[Clockwork Angels]]''. It was released to radio stations and for online preview on April 19, 2012, and became available digitally and on disk April 24, 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2012/04/24/3075/Rush-Headlong-Flight-single-now-available-for-download-via-iTunes-Amazon| title=Headlong Flight release| access-date=17 Jun 2012}}</ref> A lyrics video was also made available on [[YouTube]]. In an interview with ''[[Rolling Stone magazine|Rolling Stone]]'', [[Geddy Lee]] commented on the song:<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-stream-rush-return-with-heavy-headlong-flight-20120418| title=Headlong Flight on Rolling Stone| access-date=17 Jun 2012}}</ref>
{{Cquote|'Headlong Flight' was one of those songs that was a joy to write and record from beginning to end. Alex [Lifeson] and I had blast jamming in my home studio one day before the second leg of the Time Machine tour, and I did not revisit that jam until a year later. Alex and I assembled the song to be an instrumental and its original title was 'Take That Lampshade Off Yo Head!,' but once we saw the lyrics Neil [Peart] had written, I knew that the spirit of the lyrics matched the instrumental perfectly and it was just a matter of making them fit and writing the melodies.}}
Musically, the song contains elements inspired by "[[Bastille Day (song)|Bastille Day]]," another Rush song. In a 2012 interview, [[Neil Peart]] confirmed this was deliberate.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rushvault.com/2012/04/20/headlong-flight-background-and-commentary/| title=Headlong Flight: Background and Commentary| access-date=1 March 2018}}</ref>
==Track listing== Music by Lee/Lifeson, lyrics by Peart {{tracklist | title1 = Headlong Flight | note1 = Radio Edit | lyrics1 = | music1 = | length1 = 5:08 | title2 = Headlong Flight | note2 = Album Version | lyrics2 = | music2 = | length2 = 7:20 }}
==Chart performance== {| class="wikitable" ! Chart !! Peak<br>position |- | U.S. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Mainstream Rock (chart)|Mainstream Rock]] || {{center|23}} |- | ''Billboard'' [[Canadian Hot 100]]<ref>{{cite web| url=http://acharts.us/song/70417| title=Headlong Flight Canadian chart| access-date=17 Jun 2012}}</ref> || {{center|84}} |}
== Personnel == *[[Geddy Lee]] – [[lead vocals]], [[bass guitar|bass]], [[bass pedal]]s, [[Keyboard instrument|keyboards]] *[[Alex Lifeson]] – [[guitar]] *[[Neil Peart]] – [[drums]], [[percussion instrument|percussion]] * [[David Campbell (composer)|David Campbell]] – [[String section|String]] [[arrangement]] and [[conducting]]
==See also== *[[List of Rush songs]]
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Rush}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Headlong Flight)}} [[Category:2012 singles]] [[Category:Rush (band) songs]] [[Category:Songs written by Alex Lifeson]] [[Category:Songs written by Geddy Lee]] [[Category:Songs written by Neil Peart]] [[Category:2012 songs]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Nick Raskulinecz]] [[Category:Roadrunner Records singles]]