Synopsis

Richard Page drives a classic Ford Thunderbird through stark desert landscapes before arriving at a church, where a Harris's hawk enters through a window and settles beside him. The video cuts between these symbolic images, scenes of an unidentified couple dancing tango, and Mr. Mister performing in a bright room with tall windows. Shot entirely in black and white, the clip gives the band's emotionally wounded ballad a dreamlike, cinematic atmosphere, ending with Page beside the Thunderbird as its hood stands open.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video uses several bird-related images, most notably the Thunderbird and the Harris's hawk, echoing the song's imagery without turning the clip into a literal narrative.

• Its stark black-and-white photography became one of the visual signatures associated with "Broken Wings" and helped make the video a recognizable MTV-era clip.

• The song was inspired in part by Kahlil Gibran's 1912 novel *The Broken Wings*. The lyric about learning to fly also resembles a line from the Beatles' "Blackbird"; Richard Page later described that similarity as an unintended reference.

• "Broken Wings" became Mr. Mister's first US No. 1 single, reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1985 and staying there for two weeks.

• The track was initially considered a risky single because of its unusually long running time. A shorter edit was prepared for radio and video play.

• Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis later recorded his own version of "Broken Wings," an unusual afterlife for a polished 1980s pop-rock ballad.