
Song
Cranes In The Sky
Solange
Album:
A Seat At The Table
Song Meaning of Cranes In The Sky by Solange Knowles, and what it is about
During an interview with her famous sister Beyoncé, R&B star Solange Knowles defined how the song was inspired by the manic real estate development she observed around Miami: “This idea of building up, up, up that was going on in our country at the time, all of this excessive building, and not really dealing with what was in front of us.”
She used this image to analyse her own feelings and took many years after it was originally conceived for the song to be completed with producer Raphael Saadiq to create this inward reflection.
"Cranes in the Sky" is a song by American singer-songwriter Solange and released in 2016 and is the first single from Solange's third album, A Seat at the Table. The song was written by Solange, who co-produced it with Raphael Saadiq.
"Cranes in the Sky" is a mid-tempo soul ballad, that lyrically explores the singer's unsuccessful attempts to distract herself from a longstanding pain.
"Cranes in the Sky" debuted at number 74 on the Billboard Hot 100. It won the Grammy for Best R&B Performance at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.
Solange wrote "Cranes in the Sky" eight years before its release, after her break-up with the father of her child, for which she had been with for seven years, since age of 13.
In 2008, producer and singer Raphael Saadiq handed Solange a CD with a few instrumentals on it. One consisted simply of drums, strings, and bass. Two months later, Solange wrote "Cranes in the Sky" while listening to the instrumentals in a Miami hotel.
Lyrically, the song explores the idea of attempting to avoid the elephant in the room. It describes a person looking to distract themselves in various ways from an unaddressed sadness.
In speaking of the title, Solange explains a situation where sudden economic growth turned a once quiet, tranquil town into a busy, construction-infested city, where mechanical cranes block the view of the scenery.
She says, "Like so much of America, there was just so much real estate development. And, literally everywhere that I looked, I saw a crane in the sky. You could not look down any street without seeing dozens and dozens of them, and it felt very heavy. They were an eyesore and so disruptive to a place that I found peace in."
She continued, saying that "all this excessive building" was not "really dealing with what was in front of us".
Pitchfork listed "Cranes in the Sky" as the 3rd best song of 2016.
Lyrics of Cranes In The Sky by Solange Knowles
I tried to drink it away
I tried to put one in the air
I tried to dance it away
I tried to change it with my hair
I ran my credit card bill up
Thought a new dress would make it better
I tried to work it away
But that just made me even sadder
I tried to keep myself busy
I ran around in circles
Think I made myself dizzy
I slept it away, I sexed it away
I read it away
Away, away, away, away, away, away
Away, away, away, away, away
Well it's like cranes in the sky
Sometimes I don't wanna feel those metal clouds
Yeah it's like cranes in the sky
Sometimes I don't wanna feel those metal clouds
I tried to run it away
Thought then my head be feeling clearer
I traveled 70 states
Thought moving around make me feel better
I tried to let go my lover
Thought if I was alone then maybe I could recover
To write it away or cry it away (don't you cry it baby)
Away, away, away, away, away, away
Away, away, away, away, away
But it's like cranes in the sky
Sometimes I don't wanna feel those metal clouds
Yeah it's like cranes in the sky
Sometimes I don't wanna feel those metal clouds
Away, away, away, away, away, away
Away, away, away, away, away
Release Date
2016
Songwriter/s
Solange Knowles
Producer/s
Solange Knowles, Raphael Saadiq
Label/s
Saint, Columbia