[2] McCready on the song: It was snowing here in Seattle, which it rarely does, and so they kind of shut down all the streets and I couldn't get my car out of the driveway.

"[2] Drummer Jack Irons stated that "on "Given to Fly", I play a beat that's based around the toms, but it's pretty soft.

[4]"Given to Fly" was released to radio on December 22, 1997,[5] and was issued as a CD and cassette single on January 6, 1998, with a previously unreleased B-side titled "Leatherman" (about the 19th century vagabond known by that name).

Frontman Eddie Vedder narrates the tale of a misunderstood, near-Messianic youth in front of hushed verses that explode into stratospheric choruses.

"[8] Billboard called "Given to Fly" "a slow-building rocker that doesn't risk scaring off die-hards" in its review of the song.

[10] Tom Lanham of Entertainment Weekly said in his review of the song, "This latest PJ perambulator not only apes vintage Page/Plant latticework but also blatantly nicks the entire melody line from Led Zeppelin's delicate 'Going to California' ...Still, the song builds into such an emotional crescendo that it almost shakes its historical shackles.

"[11] When asked about the similarities, guitarist Mike McCready stated, "It's probably some sort of rip off of it I'm sure...Whether it's conscious or unconscious but that was definitely one of the songs I was listening to for sure.

The song was performed on September 26, 2015, at the Global Citizens Festival in Central Park, and it was dedicated to Malala Yousafzai.

The song was also played at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame April 7, 2017, where the band dedicated it to Michael J.

At a concert in Philadelphia on September 7, 2024, the band dedicated a performance of the song to Johnny Gaudreau & his brother Matthew who were killed 8 days prior in nearby Oldmans Township, New Jersey[15] Standard 7-inch, CD, and cassette single[16][17][18] European CD single[19]