Solange Knowles Reflects on Writing 'Cranes in the Sky'

In the latest episode of Song Exploder, Solange Knowles breaks down the creation of her gorgeous A Seat at the Table standout,"Cranes in the Sky."

On her headspace while writing the song, she said: "At the time, I was definitely in a transitional place in my life. I was a new mother, had been with my son's father since I was 13... It felt like: Woah. I'm doing what I love to do and what I've always wanted to do - why do things still feel so heavy? What is this weighing on me?"

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Solange has long traveled to Miami to seek creative refuge and serenity, but, as she explains on the podcast, the city had fallen into a maze of new construction: "Miami was going through a surge just like a lot of America... there was just so much real estate development at that time. Literally eveywhere I looked around had a crane in the sky. You could not look at a street without dozens and dozens of them. It felt really heavy to me."

That image helped inspire the direction and feeling of the song: "The heaviness and the weightiness and kind of, even, the eyesoreness of seeing all of these cranes be so disruptive in this space that I found peace in, really kind of affected me as well. That related so strongly to the idea of trying to work through, push through, but something interrupting."

She continued, reflecting on writing the song: "Looking back at that girl, I feel so grateful that I'm not in that place. I can still identify with so many of those moments. They're still a part of me, but I am not them."

Have a listen to her thoughtful interview, below.