This Flight Tonight

"This Flight Tonight"
Song by Joni Mitchell from the album Blue
Released June 1971
Genre Folk
Label Reprise
Writer Joni Mitchell
Producer Joni Mitchell
Blue track listing

"California"
(6)		 "This Flight Tonight"
(7)		 "River"
(8)

"This Flight Tonight" is a song by Joni Mitchell, from her 1971 album Blue. It tells of the singer's regrets as she leaves her lover on a flight and wishes to return. Its opening lines are:[1]

“ Look out the left, the captain said
The lights down there, that's where we'll land
I saw a falling star burn up
Above the Las Vegas sands		 ”

Covers

"This Flight Tonight"
Single by Nazareth
from the album Loud 'n' Proud
B-side Called Her Name
Released October 1973
Format 7-inch single
Genre
Label Mooncrest
Writer(s) Mitchell
Producer(s) Roger Glover

UK hard rock band Nazareth reworked the song in 1973 to make it their own with a powerful, driving hard-rock treatment which was a hit in Canada, Germany and the UK.[4][5] It was produced by Roger Glover.[6] The single reached number 11 in the UK charts in November 1973.

Charts

Charts (1973–1974) Peak
position
Austrian Top 40 2
Canadian RPM Top Singles 27
German Singles Chart 1
Swiss Singles Chart 5
U.K. Singles Chart 11

Year-End Chart

Chart (1974) Peak
position
Austrian Top 40 4
German Media Control Singles Chart 11
UK Singles Chart 98

References

  1. ↑ Joni Mitchell, M. Grompi (1998), Joni Mitchell, p. 97, ISBN 978-88-09-21519-1
  2. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/song/this-flight-tonight-mt0033935355
  3. ↑ http://www.nazarethdirect.co.uk/website/the-band/nazareth-history/ quote - "What they’ve done is taken the song from its folk-ballad roots right through to heavy metal."
  4. ↑ M. C. Strong (1998), The great rock discography, p. 565, ISBN 978-88-09-21522-1
  5. ↑ Dave Thompson (2004), Smoke on the Water: The Deep Purple Story, pp. 201–202, ISBN 978-1-55022-618-8
  6. ↑ "Nazareth (2)  – This Flight Tonight". Discogs. Retrieved 27 May 2014.

External links