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"This Flight Tonight" is a song originally by Joni Mitchell, from her 1971 album Blue. Scottish hard rock band Nazareth released the song as a single in 1973 that charted internationally.

Original recording

Joni Mitchell wrote and released the song on her 1971 album Blue. The song tells of Mitchell's regrets as she leaves her lover on a flight and wishes to return. The track was also released as the B-side of "Carey".

Mitchell plays guitar and sings, and was the producer, pedal steel guitar is by Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Henry Lewy was the engineer.

Nazareth cover

"This Flight Tonight"
Cover of the 1973 German single
Single by Nazareth
from the album Loud 'n' Proud
B-side	"Called Her Name"
Released	October 1973
Genre	Hard rock
Label	Mooncrest
Songwriter(s)	Joni Mitchell
Producer(s)	Roger Glover
Nazareth singles chronology
"Broken Down Angel" (1973) "This Flight Tonight" (1973) "Love Hurts" (1974)
Video
"This Flight Tonight" (Austrian TV, 1975) on YouTube

Scottish 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 (where it reached number one) and the UK. It was produced by Roger Glover. The single reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1973. The band re-recorded the song in 1991 for the album No Jive.

Writing in The Independent in 2012, Robert Webb said:

The Dunfermline hard-rockers Nazareth loved Blue. You remember them: the gap-toothed vocalist, Dan McCafferty, had hair like a kitchen scourer and a voice to match. They were bad, bad boys. Among the tracks on their 1973 album Loud 'n' Proud, produced by the former Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover, is a taut version of "This Flight". "We used to listen to Joni as we were travelling round in the van," recalls Nazareth's bass-player, Pete Agnew. "'This Flight Tonight' was a big favourite."

Mitchell was impressed with the makeover: "When she was recording at A&M, we were just starting an American tour," explains Agnew. "We all happened to be in the studio the day the single was released, so we were introduced to her and told her what we had done. She said, 'What, with a rock band?'" Joni paid the Scottish band the greatest compliment after "This Flight Tonight" became a worldwide hit for them, touching down at No 11 in the UK. "She was playing a gig in London and told the audience: 'I'd like to open with a Nazareth song'!".

Nancy Wilson revealed that the guitar riff for Nazareth's version of "This Flight Tonight" inspired the riff for the Heart song "Barracuda".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

1. "Joni Mitchell – Carey". Discogs. 1971. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
2. Blue (LP liner notes). Joni Mitchell. US: Reprise Records. 1971. MS 2038.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
3. Song Review by Donald A. Guarisco. "This Flight Tonight – Nazareth | Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
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. October 1973. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
7. Robert Webb (13 September 2002). "Double Take: 'This Flight Tonight' – Joni Mitchell / Nazareth". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
8. "Heart's Nancy Wilson: We Took 'Barracuda' Riff From Legendary Band". YouTube. March 5, 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20.
9. "Nazareth – This Flight Tonight" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
10. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3850a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
11. "Nazareth – This Flight Tonight" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
12. "Nazareth – This Flight Tonight". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
13. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 February 2021.

v t e Joni Mitchell
Discography
Studio albums	Song to a Seagull (1968) Clouds (1969) Ladies of the Canyon (1970) Blue (1971) For the Roses (1972) Court and Spark (1974) The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975) Hejira (1976) Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (1977) Mingus (1979) Wild Things Run Fast (1982) Dog Eat Dog (1985) Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm (1988) Night Ride Home (1991) Turbulent Indigo (1994) Taming the Tiger (1998) Both Sides Now (2000) Travelogue (2002) Shine (2007)
Live albums	Miles of Aisles Shadows and Light Amchitka, The 1970 Concert That Launched Greenpeace Joni Mitchell at Newport
Compilation albums	Hits Misses The Beginning of Survival Dreamland Songs of a Prairie Girl Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, a Ballet, Waiting to Be Danced
Archives series	Box sets Volume 1: The Early Years (1963–1967) The Reprise Albums (1968–1971) Volume 2: The Reprise Years (1968–1971) The Asylum Albums (1972–1975) Volume 3: The Asylum Years (1972–1975) The Asylum Albums (1976–1980) Auxiliary releases Early Joni – 1963 Blue 50 (Demos & Outtakes) Live albums Live at Canterbury House – 1967 Live at Carnegie Hall – 1969
Singles	"Chelsea Morning" "Big Yellow Taxi" "Carey" "California" "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio" "Raised on Robbery" "Help Me" "Free Man in Paris" "In France They Kiss on Main Street" "Coyote" "My Secret Place"
Notable songs	"Both Sides, Now" "The Fiddle and the Drum" "Woodstock" "The Circle Game" "Little Green" "Blue" "This Flight Tonight" "River" "A Case of You" "The Last Time I Saw Richard" "Down to You" "Twisted" "Two Grey Rooms"
Tribute albums	River: The Joni Letters A Tribute to Joni Mitchell
Related articles	L.A. Express Blackface controversy
Category

• 1971 songs
• Joni Mitchell songs
• Songs written by Joni Mitchell
• Nazareth (band) songs
• Song recordings produced by Joni Mitchell
• 1973 singles
• Song recordings produced by Roger Glover
• Mooncrest Records singles