[4] "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.
In 2021, "Cranes in the Sky" was ranked at number 487 on the updated list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
In 2016, when she had finished writing and creating A Seat at the Table in New Iberia, Louisiana, Solange revisited "Cranes in the Sky"—shortly after which she called Raphael and asked if he would help produce a few other songs on the album.
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.
"[13] Billboard ranked "Cranes in the Sky" at number 12 on their "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" list: "Post-adolescent angst has rarely been as pretty as Solange makes it sound in this delicate, lilting single — which you're as likely to hear on Hot 97 as at your local coffee shop.
An orchestral beat from Raphael Saadiq supports the song's lyrical quest for serenity, creating a sort of musical safe space for the beautiful, uncluttered respite that Solange spends the single desperately searching for.
[15] In the annual Village Voice's Pazz & Jop mass critics poll of the year's best in music in 2016, "Cranes in the Sky" was also ranked at number 3.