Come Sail Away

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"Come Sail Away"
Come Sail Away - Styx.jpg
Artwork for US and Dutch vinyl releases
Single by Styx
from the album The Grand Illusion
B-side "Put Me On"
ReleasedAugust 1977 (US) [1]
Recorded1977
Genre Progressive pop [2]
Length3:10 (Single Version)
6:07 (Album Version)
4:30 (w/o instrumental) [3]
Label A&M
Songwriter(s) Dennis DeYoung
Producer(s) Styx
Styx singles chronology
"Crystal Ball"
(1977)		"Come Sail Away"
(1977)		"Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)"
(1978)
Alternate cover
ComeSailAway.jpg

"Come Sail Away" is a song by American pop-rock group Styx, written and sung by singer and songwriter Dennis DeYoung and featured on the band's seventh album The Grand Illusion (1977). Upon its release as the lead single from the album, "Come Sail Away" peaked at #8 in January 1978 on the Billboard Hot 100, and helped The Grand Illusion achieve multi-platinum sales in 1978. It is one of the biggest hits of Styx's career.

Contents

Background and writing

Lyrically, the song uses sailing as a metaphor to achieve one's dreams. The lyrics touch on nostalgia of "childhood friends," escapism, and a religious thematic symbolized by "a gathering of angels" singing "a song of hope." The ending lyrics explain a transition from a sailing ship into a starship, by narrating that "they climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies".

DeYoung revealed on In the Studio with Redbeard (which devoted an entire episode to the making of The Grand Illusion), that he was depressed when he wrote the track after Styx's first two A&M offerings, Equinox and Crystal Ball , sold fewer units than expected after the success of the single "Lady".

Musically, "Come Sail Away" combines a plaintive, ballad-like opening section (including piano and synthesizer interludes) with a bombastic, guitar-heavy second half. In the middle of the second half of the album version is a minute-long synthesizer-heavy instrumental break.

Come Sail Away is in the key of C major.

Personnel

Reception

Cash Box said that "a solitary voice introduces the melody to light piano accompaniment" and that then "the pure fury of the drum, guitar and vocal explosion that follows will pleasantly startle expectations." [4] Record World said that "The melody here is most appealing; the message of escape seems just right for the spirit of the seventies." [5]

Classic Rock critic Malcolm Dome rated "Come Sail Away" as Styx's 7th greatest song, calling it "one of the all time great power ballads." [6]

In the United States, "Come Sail Away" reached #8 on Billboard and spent two weeks at #9 on Cash Box. The song also peaked at #9 in Canada. On superstation WLS-AM in their home city of Chicago, the song spent two weeks at #3 [7] and was ranked at #26 for the year. [8]

Chart performance

Although the song hit its chart peak in 1978, "Come Sail Away" has had tremendous longevity in popular culture. It was arguably as popular in the 1980s (and in subsequent decades) as it was when released in the late 1970s.

Films

The song appears on trailers and TV spots for the films Atlantis: The Lost Empire , The Wild , and Big Daddy . It also appeared as a cover by "The Trophy Fire" in the 2012 movie Nitro Circus: The Movie, and in the 2017 animated movie My Little Pony: The Movie. In the 2018 Netflix release Like Father the song is the choice of the main characters Rachel and Harry for their winning performance in the cruise karaoke championship.

In the 2019 film, Stuber , the song is used during an action sequence later on in the film. It is referenced earlier in the film as well.

The song was used in the homecoming dance scene of The Virgin Suicides .

Television

The song appears as a plot point to the South Park episode "Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut." If Eric Cartman hears any portion of the song, he feels a compulsion to sing the rest of it. On Chef Aid: The South Park Album , he does a cover of the song.

The song scored the end of the pilot episode of Freaks and Geeks , in which Sam Weir summons the courage to ask a popular girl to slow dance. Though she agrees, the guitar-heavy second half kicks in before they can start slow dancing as originally intended.

A version of the song performed by Aimee Mann is used in the TV show Community in the Season 5 episode "Geothermal Escapism" for the nautical departure of Donald Glover's Troy Barnes. In the first season, he'd confessed to crying upon hearing the original version of the song.

The song also appears in ER's season 7, episode 19 ("Sailing Away"), where Dr. Greene sings along.

In Generation Kill several of the Marines sing the chorus as they travel.

The song is parodied as "Please Say You'll Stay" in the Fish Hooks episode "Labor of Love".

The song was featured in The Goldbergs season 1, episode 2 ("Daddy Daughter Day"). The song again appears in season 5, episode 4 ("Revenge o' the Nerds"), sung by Erica Goldberg at a Revenge of the Nerds -style musical finale.

The song is performed by the New Directions on an episode of the television show Glee (Season 6, Episode 11).

The song is performed as part of a Broadway musical in Mozart in the Jungle's first episode. Hailey plays the oboe section of the piece along with Cynthia at the cello. (Season 1, Episode 1)

In the Modern Family episode "Spring-a-Ding-Fling," a parody of the song is sung by realtor Phil Dunphy, played by Ty Burrell.

The song is performed by actress Olivia Holt in the season-one finale of Cloak & Dagger (episode 10).

The song was featured in the end credits of the Family Guy episode "Carny Knowledge".

Other

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes released a cover on their album Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah , which was featured in commercials for season 3 of the Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch in 2005.

Patty Pravo covered it as "Dai Sali Su" on her 1978 album Miss Italia.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Styx (band)</span> American rock band

Styx is an American rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1972. They are known for blending melodic hard rock guitar with acoustic guitar, synthesizers mixed with acoustic piano, upbeat tracks with power ballads, and incorporating elements of international musical theatre. The band established themselves with a progressive rock sound during the 1970s, and began to incorporate pop rock and soft rock elements in the 1980s.

<i>Pieces of Eight</i> 1978 studio album by Styx

Pieces of Eight is the eighth studio album by American progressive rock band Styx, released in September 1978.

<i>The Grand Illusion</i> 1977 studio album by Styx

The Grand Illusion is the seventh studio album by American rock band Styx. Recorded at Paragon Recording Studios in Chicago, the album was released on July 7, 1977, by A&M Records, intentionally choosing the combination 7th on 7-7-77 for luck. The release was a smash worldwide, selling three million copies in the US alone. Some estimates have the album at over 6 million copies sold. The album launched the band to stardom and spawned the hit singles "Come Sail Away" and "Fooling Yourself." The title track also received substantial FM airplay, but was never released as an official single.

<i>Equinox</i> (Styx album) 1975 studio album by Styx

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Roboto</span> 1983 single by Styx

"Mr. Roboto" is a song by American rock band Styx, released as the lead single from their eleventh studio album, Kilroy Was Here (1983). It was written by band member Dennis DeYoung. In Canada, it went to #1 on the RPM national singles chart. It entered the US Billboard Hot 100 on 12 February 1983, reaching No. 3 in April.

<i>Styx II</i> 1973 studio album by Styx

Styx II is the second album by American band Styx, released in July 1973.

<i>Caught in the Act</i> (Styx album) 1984 live album by Styx

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renegade (Styx song)</span> 1979 hit song recorded by the American rock band Styx

"Renegade" is a 1979 hit song recorded by the American rock band Styx on their Pieces of Eight album. Although songwriter Tommy Shaw and fellow Styx guitarist James Young usually played lead guitar on their own compositions, Shaw asked Young if he could take the solo on "Renegade". Young agreed, and Young later returned the favor by allowing Shaw to play lead on his "Half-Penny, Two-Penny" on the Paradise Theatre album. When performed live from 1978 to 1983, drummer John Panozzo increased the tempo of the drum pattern during the guitar solo sections. Also, the track would serve as the drum solo spot for Panozzo during that time frame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lady (Styx song)</span> 1973 song

"Lady" is a 1973 power ballad written and performed by the rock band Styx. It was first released on Styx II and was a local hit in the band's native Chicago, but initially failed to chart nationally. The song gained success shortly after Styx left Wooden Nickel Records to move to A&M Records in 1974 as it began picking up airplay nationwide, eventually peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1975. The power ballad was later re-recorded for the 1995 Styx compilation Greatest Hits due to a contractual dispute between A&M and Wooden Nickel.

John Anthony Panozzo was an American drummer best known for his work with rock band Styx.

<i>Greatest Hits</i> (Styx album) Styx album

Greatest Hits is a compilation album and primary Greatest Hits album by the American rock band Styx. It was released by A&M Records on August 22, 1995. It contains 16 tracks, 8 of which were Billboard Top 10 Pop Singles, another 4 that were Billboard Top 40 Pop Singles, and 4 that received heavy airplay on FM album oriented rock stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babe (Styx song)</span> 1979 single by Styx

"Babe" is a song by the American rock band Styx. It was the lead single from the band's 1979 triple-platinum album Cornerstone. The song was Styx's first, and only, US number-one single, spending two weeks at No. 1 in December 1979, serving as the penultimate number-one single of the 1970s. "Babe" also went to No. 9 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It additionally held the number-one spot for six weeks on the Canadian RPM national singles chart, charting in December 1979 and becoming the opening chart-topper of the 1980s. It was also the band's only UK Top 40 hit, peaking at No. 6. It also reached No. 1 in South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Let It End</span> 1983 single by Styx

"Don't Let It End" is the third track and the second top 10 single on the 1983 album Kilroy Was Here, by Styx.

"You Need Love" is a song by Styx written by Dennis DeYoung. Following the success of the 1974 re-release of the single "Lady" from the album Styx II, "You Need Love" from that album was released as a follow-up single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)</span> 1978 single by Styx

"Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)" is the second single released from Styx's The Grand Illusion (1977) album. On the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart in the U.S., the single peaked at #29 in April 1978. It also hit no. 20 on the Canada RPM Top Singles chart the week of May 6, 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)</span> 1978 single by Styx

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sing for the Day</span> 1978 single by Styx

"Sing for the Day'" is the second single that Styx released from their album Pieces of Eight. It reached #41 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in February 1979. It was later the B-side of their next single “Renegade”. Tommy Shaw used the name ‘Hannah’ in the song, to represent his fans. Several years later, he named his newborn daughter Hannah. The album version that lasts 4:57, was edited down to 3:40 for the single version.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Why Me (Styx song)</span> 1979 single by Styx

"Why Me" is a song written by Dennis DeYoung that was first released on Styx's 1979 double-platinum album Cornerstone. It was also released as the second single from the album, and reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #10 on the Canada RPM Top 100 Singles chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Show Me the Way (Styx song)</span> 1990 single by Styx

"Show Me the Way" is a song by American rock band Styx, written by Dennis DeYoung and released as the second single from Edge of the Century. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1991. The song's music video was directed by Michael Bay.

<i>Styx Classics Volume 15</i> 1987 greatest hits album by Styx

Styx - Classics, Volume 15 is a greatest hits compilation for the band Styx, released in 1987 by A&M Records as part of A&M's classics series of greatest hits albums for artists on its label.

References

  1. ↑ "Styx singles". Archived from the original on 2023-11-02. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  2. ↑ Breihan, Tom (November 27, 2019). "The Number Ones: Player's "Baby Come Back"". Stereogum . Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2023. Styx's majestic, melodramatic, utterly preposterous prog-pop opus "Come Sail Away" peaked at #8 behind "Baby Come Back".
  3. ↑ "Styx - Come Sail Away (Official Video)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  4. ↑ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. September 10, 1977. p. 13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  5. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. September 17, 1977. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-02-22. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  6. ↑ Dome, Malcolm (February 18, 2022). "The 10 best Styx songs". Classic Rock. Louder Music. Archived from the original on 2022-06-19. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  7. ↑ "wls123177". Oldiesloon.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "wls89of77". Oldiesloon.com. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  9. ↑ Nanda Lwin (1999). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. ISBN   1-896594-13-1.
  10. ↑ "Canadian peak". Archived from the original on 2016-03-17. Retrieved 2012-10-28.
  11. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN   0-89820-089-X
  12. ↑ "Image : RPM Weekly". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  13. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN   0-89820-142-X.
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