Light Flight

Album: Basket of Light (1969)
Charted: 43
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Pentangle is a British folk-rock group formed in London in 1967. "Light Flight," with lyrics that evoke a sense of longing and escape, is the opening track from their third album, Basket of Light.
  • "Light Flight" is not a straightforward tune - its time signature varies between 5/8, 7/8 and 6/4 in the middle.
  • The song became popular when it was used as theme music for a television series called Take Three Girls, the BBC's first drama series broadcast in color. Take Three Girls was launched with great fanfare as a modern drama. It focused on three women sharing a flat in Swinging London. With a boost from the show, "Light Flight" took Pentangle into the UK chart, peaking at #43.
  • Pentangle wrote two versions of this song: the TV version and another with different lyrics for the Basket of Light album. "We had a melody but it wasn't finished," vocalist Jacqui McShee told Uncut magazine. "Somebody heard it and wanted it for this TV show, which was quite racy for the time. They also used snippets of our music throughout the program."
  • The song's success propelled Basket of Light into the Top 5 of the UK Album chart, cementing its place as Pentangle's most commercially successful (and critically acclaimed) album.
  • The album was lavishly packaged with a gatefold sleeve showing Pentangle playing a concert at London's Royal Albert Hall.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Wedding Bell Blues

Wedding Bell BluesSong Writing

When a song describes a wedding, it's rarely something to celebrate - with one big exception.

Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee JonesSongwriter Interviews

Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.

Sarah Brightman

Sarah BrightmanSongwriter Interviews

One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.

Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers

Bill Medley of The Righteous BrothersSongwriter Interviews

Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.

Bill Withers

Bill WithersSongwriter Interviews

Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.