# Leaving on a Jet Plane
**"Leaving on a Jet Plane"** is a folk song written by [John Denver](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-denver) in 1966 and most famously recorded by the American folk trio [Peter, Paul and Mary](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-paul-and-mary), whose 1969 single became their only number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100[1](https://wikihits.com/1960s/peter-paul-mary-leaving-on-a-jet-plane). Denver wrote it as a young, little-known musician in the Los Angeles folk scene; the trio's version, sung principally by [Mary Travers](https://www.edgepedia.org/mary-travers), went to the top of the American chart in December 1969 and was the group's final hit single[2](https://stereogum.com/2025651/the-number-ones-peter-paul-marys-leaving-on-a-jet-plane/columns/the-number-ones) • [3](https://apnews.com/article/767c223e40c243199b0d0875e29a5efc).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Writer | John Denver, written in 1966 under the original title "Babe, I Hate to Go"[4](https://www.rhino.com/article/once-upon-a-time-at-the-top-spot-peter-paul-and-mary-leaving-on-a-jet-plane) |
| Title change | Denver's producer Milt Okun renamed the song "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and brought it to Peter, Paul and Mary[5](https://archivalcollections.library.mcgill.ca/index.php/leaving-on-a-jet-plane) |
| First recording | Denver recorded it in 1966 on the album *John Denver Sings*[6](https://www.lostinmusic.org/Cases/Detail/20-cherry-hill-music-vs-universal-music-publishi) |
| Peter, Paul and Mary version | Recorded in 1967 for *Album 1700*; released as a single in 1969[2](https://stereogum.com/2025651/the-number-ones-peter-paul-marys-leaving-on-a-jet-plane/columns/the-number-ones) |
| US chart peak | No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of December 20, 1969, the trio's only chart-topper[1](https://wikihits.com/1960s/peter-paul-mary-leaving-on-a-jet-plane) • [7](https://www.chartreign.com/song/66469?chart=billboard-hot-100) |
| UK chart peak | No. 2 on the Official Singles Chart, first charting January 17, 1970, with 16 weeks on the chart[8](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/peter-paul-and-mary-leavin-on-a-jet-plane/) |
| Label and catalog | Warner Brothers 7340[9](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/Billboard-Book-of-Number-One-Hits-1988--221117.pdf) |
## Origin and title
He first recorded it under the title "Babe, I Hate to Go" on his 1966 album *John Denver Sings*[6](https://www.lostinmusic.org/Cases/Detail/20-cherry-hill-music-vs-universal-music-publishi). His producer, Milt Okun, persuaded him to change the title to "Leaving on a Jet Plane"[4](https://www.rhino.com/article/once-upon-a-time-at-the-top-spot-peter-paul-and-mary-leaving-on-a-jet-plane). Okun, who was also Peter, Paul and Mary's producer and Denver's musical director, brought the song to the trio[5](https://archivalcollections.library.mcgill.ca/index.php/leaving-on-a-jet-plane) • [10](https://musicianvoice.com/index.php/2026/06/23/peter-paul-and-marys-noel-paul-stookey-on-dylan-the-village-scene/).
## The Peter, Paul and Mary recording
Peter, Paul and Mary, the folk trio of [Peter Yarrow](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-yarrow), Noel Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers formed in [Greenwich Village](https://www.edgepedia.org/greenwich-village) in 1961, recorded the song in 1967 and included it on *Album 1700*, the LP they released that year[2](https://stereogum.com/2025651/the-number-ones-peter-paul-marys-leaving-on-a-jet-plane/columns/the-number-ones) • [11](https://www.rhino.com/aod/album-1700-peter-paul-mary). It was not planned for single release until radio airplay encouraged Warner Brothers to issue it as a 45 in 1969[9](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/Billboard-Book-of-Number-One-Hits-1988--221117.pdf).
The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 on October 25, 1969, spent 17 weeks on the chart, and reached No. 1 for the week of December 20, 1969[7](https://www.chartreign.com/song/66469?chart=billboard-hot-100) • [1](https://wikihits.com/1960s/peter-paul-mary-leaving-on-a-jet-plane). It stayed at No. 1 for one week[2](https://stereogum.com/2025651/the-number-ones-peter-paul-marys-leaving-on-a-jet-plane/columns/the-number-ones). Despite the trio's six top-10 singles and two No. 1 albums during the 1960s, this was their only No. 1 single, and it was their last big hit; the group split up in 1970 to pursue solo careers[2](https://stereogum.com/2025651/the-number-ones-peter-paul-marys-leaving-on-a-jet-plane/columns/the-number-ones) • [3](https://apnews.com/article/767c223e40c243199b0d0875e29a5efc). In the United Kingdom the single peaked at No. 2 on the Official Singles Chart, charting for 16 weeks from January 17, 1970[8](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/peter-paul-and-mary-leavin-on-a-jet-plane/).
Mary Travers took the lead vocal, with Yarrow and Stookey harmonizing; the arrangement keeps the instrumentation simple so that the trio's vocal harmonies carry the song[12](https://music.dohigaming.com/peter-paul-mary-leaving-on-a-jet-plane).
## Vietnam-era resonance
The song was not written about the [Vietnam War](https://www.edgepedia.org/vietnam-war); its lyrics describe a traveling musician leaving a lover and admitting past infidelity[2](https://stereogum.com/2025651/the-number-ones-peter-paul-marys-leaving-on-a-jet-plane/columns/the-number-ones). But it became a single in 1969, when the war was near its peak, and many American GIs interpreted "leaving on a jet plane" as leaving loved ones for Vietnam and hoping to return home[13](https://digitalcollections.drew.edu/UniversityArchives/ThesesAndDissertations/CLA/BA/2017/DeMarco/openaccess/RADeMarcoJr.pdf). The historian and Vietnam veteran Philip Beidler, writing on the war's music, groups it with the "airplane music" popular among soldiers facing departure and hoped-for return[13](https://digitalcollections.drew.edu/UniversityArchives/ThesesAndDissertations/CLA/BA/2017/DeMarco/openaccess/RADeMarcoJr.pdf). Decades later, veterans interviewed about the soundtracks of their war reportedly reacted strongly to the song[14](https://time.com/4949617/music-vietnam-war/).
## Denver's own versions
Denver recorded the song himself in 1969 for his album *Rhymes & Reasons*, but the version most listeners know is the re-recording he made for *John Denver's Greatest Hits* (1973); it was Peter, Paul and Mary's single version, however, that reached No[16](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Discoveries/Discoveries-2005-07.pdf). 1 and received far more airplay[4](https://www.rhino.com/article/once-upon-a-time-at-the-top-spot-peter-paul-and-mary-leaving-on-a-jet-plane). The Peter, Paul and Mary version saw renewed popularity in the late 1970s when it was used in commercials for [United Airlines](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-airlines)[4](https://www.rhino.com/article/once-upon-a-time-at-the-top-spot-peter-paul-and-mary-leaving-on-a-jet-plane).
## Copyright dispute with New Order
In 1989 the English band New Order wrote and recorded "Run" for their album *Technique*, remixing it as the single "Run 2". John Denver's publishing company, Cherry Hill Music, filed a lawsuit claiming that "Run" closely resembled "Leaving on a Jet Plane"[6](https://www.lostinmusic.org/Cases/Detail/20-cherry-hill-music-vs-universal-music-publishi). The disputed material was the eight-bar verse of "Jet Plane" against the guitar solo of "Run": the songs are in different keys ([C major](https://www.edgepedia.org/c-major) and [G major](https://www.edgepedia.org/g-major) respectively), but the melodies follow a similar shape over a chord sequence identical for the first six of eight bars, with nine consecutive notes identical in pitch in bars six through eight[6](https://www.lostinmusic.org/Cases/Detail/20-cherry-hill-music-vs-universal-music-publishi). The case was settled out of court; *Entertainment Weekly* reported in 1991 that the settlement gave Denver a writer share and that New Order's publishers admitted "inadvertent copying", and part of the agreement was that New Order would never re-release "Run 2" in its original form[6](https://www.lostinmusic.org/Cases/Detail/20-cherry-hill-music-vs-universal-music-publishi) • [2](https://stereogum.com/2025651/the-number-ones-peter-paul-marys-leaving-on-a-jet-plane/columns/the-number-ones). New Order's bassist [Peter Hook](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-hook) later wrote that musicologists hired by both sides found the songs similar and that Denver received a percentage cut and a writer's credit[6](https://www.lostinmusic.org/Cases/Detail/20-cherry-hill-music-vs-universal-music-publishi).
## Later covers
The song has been recorded widely. [Chantal Kreviazuk](https://www.edgepedia.org/chantal-kreviazuk)'s version, produced by [Peter Asher](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-asher) and Jay Joyce, appeared on the soundtrack of the 1998 film *Armageddon*[15](https://musicbrainz.org/release/20e562ef-c7f5-4846-8b16-65b12e06ef35). The pop-punk band [Me First and the Gimme Gimmes](https://www.edgepedia.org/me-first-and-the-gimme-gimmes) covered it on their 1997 album *Have a Ball*, and the rap group The Firm interpolated it in their 1997 song "I'm Leaving"[2](https://stereogum.com/2025651/the-number-ones-peter-paul-marys-leaving-on-a-jet-plane/columns/the-number-ones).
## References
1. [Leaving On A Jet Plane by Peter, Paul & Mary (1969) - Hot 100 Story, Wikihits](https://wikihits.com/1960s/peter-paul-mary-leaving-on-a-jet-plane)
2. [The Number Ones: Peter, Paul & Mary's "Leaving On A Jet Plane", Stereogum (Tom Breihan, 2018)](https://stereogum.com/2025651/the-number-ones-peter-paul-marys-leaving-on-a-jet-plane/columns/the-number-ones)
3. [Peter Yarrow of folk-music trio Peter, Paul and Mary dies at 86, AP News (2025)](https://apnews.com/article/767c223e40c243199b0d0875e29a5efc)
4. [Once Upon a Time at the Top Spot: Peter, Paul and Mary, "Leaving on a Jet Plane", Rhino Entertainment (2016)](https://www.rhino.com/article/once-upon-a-time-at-the-top-spot-peter-paul-and-mary-leaving-on-a-jet-plane)
5. [Leaving on a jet plane, Archival Collections Catalogue, McGill University Library](https://archivalcollections.library.mcgill.ca/index.php/leaving-on-a-jet-plane)
6. [Cherry Hill Music vs Universal Music Publishing Limited, Lost In Music](https://www.lostinmusic.org/Cases/Detail/20-cherry-hill-music-vs-universal-music-publishi)
7. [Leaving On A Jet Plane - Peter, Paul & Mary, ChartReign](https://www.chartreign.com/song/66469?chart=billboard-hot-100)
8. [LEAVIN' ON A JET PLANE - PETER, PAUL AND MARY, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/peter-paul-and-mary-leavin-on-a-jet-plane/)
9. [Billboard Book of Number One Hits (1988), entry 264 "Leaving on a Jet Plane", WorldRadioHistory](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/Billboard-Book-of-Number-One-Hits-1988--221117.pdf)
10. [Peter, Paul and Mary's Noel Paul Stookey on Dylan, the Village Scene, Musician Voice (2026)](https://musicianvoice.com/index.php/2026/06/23/peter-paul-and-marys-noel-paul-stookey-on-dylan-the-village-scene/)
11. [Album 1700, Rhino Entertainment (2017)](https://www.rhino.com/aod/album-1700-peter-paul-mary)
12. [Peter, Paul & Mary - Leaving On A Jet Plane, DH Music](https://music.dohigaming.com/peter-paul-mary-leaving-on-a-jet-plane)
13. [R.A. DeMarco Jr. (2017), BA thesis on rock music and the Vietnam War, Drew University](https://digitalcollections.drew.edu/UniversityArchives/ThesesAndDissertations/CLA/BA/2017/DeMarco/openaccess/RADeMarcoJr.pdf)
14. [Why the Vietnam War Produced Such Iconic Music, TIME (2017)](https://time.com/4949617/music-vietnam-war/)
15. [Release "Armageddon: The Album" by Various Artists, MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/release/20e562ef-c7f5-4846-8b16-65b12e06ef35)
16. [worldradiohistory.com](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Discoveries/Discoveries-2005-07.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Transport and spaceflight › Aviation › Aviation history, people, and culture › Aviation in arts and culture › Aviation in music and audio › Songs about aviation and flight*
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