| "Expecting to Fly" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 West German picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by Buffalo Springfield | ||||
| from the album Buffalo Springfield Again | ||||
| B-side | "Everydays" | |||
| Released | December 16, 1967 | |||
| Genre | Chamber folk[1] | |||
| Length | 3:39 2:45 (single edit) | |||
| Label | Atco | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Neil Young | |||
| Producer(s) | Jack Nitzsche, Neil Young | |||
| Buffalo Springfield singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Expecting to Fly" is a song written by Neil Young and performed by Buffalo Springfield. The song appeared on their 1967 album, Buffalo Springfield Again. [2] It would reach #98 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968.[3]
During one of the times that Young had left the band, he booked a studio to record the song with outside musicians under the impression that it would be for a Neil Young solo project rather than for Buffalo Springfield.[4] Producer Jack Nitzsche provided the orchestral arrangement featuring a string section plus an English horn. The song does not feature any members of Buffalo Springfield other than Young.
Live versions from Young's early solo performances appear on the albums Live at the Riverboat 1969, Sugar Mountain – Live at Canterbury House 1968, and Live at the Cellar Door.
In the 2018 music documentary film, Echo in the Canyon, it is suggested "Expecting to Fly" marks and exemplifies a shift in a late 1960s's movement from group-oriented folk rock compositions toward more individualized performances and single-artist recordings.
