Come Sail Away

"Come Sail Away"
Song
B-side	"Put Me On"

"Come Sail Away" is a song by American progressive rock group Styx, featured on the band's seventh album The Grand Illusion (1977). Upon its release as the lead single from the album, "Come Sail Away" charted at #8 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.

Content

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 instrumental break.

Background and writing

Styx member Dennis 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".

Personnel

• Dennis DeYoung-Piano, Synthesizers, Lead Vocals
• James Young-Rhythm guitar, ARP Odyssey, Vocals
• Tommy Shaw-Lead Guitar, Vocals
• Chuck Panozzo-Bass Guitar, Vocals
• John Panozzo-Drums

In popular culture

Television

The song appears as a plot point to the South Park episode "Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut". Cartman is unable to hear part of the song and leave it unfinished. On Chef Aid: The South Park Album, he does a cover of the song.

It scored the end of the pilot episode of Freaks and Geeks, in which the leading character finally gets the courage to ask a popular girl to slow dance. Though she agrees, the guitar-heavy second half kicks in before they can start 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 Doctor 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 in The Goldbergs season 1, episode 2 ("Daddy Daughter Day").

Other

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

The song has taken on a cult following at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. Playing off the school's mascot of the Lakers, a captain of a vessel that would be used on the Great Lakes, the song was used to record the official GVSU LipDub in 2010, and has since been played with regularity by the school's pep band and marching band before and during home football and basketball games at the school.

This song was used in the ending credit of the popular YouTube video created by DC Shoes Gymkhana Five: Ultimate Urban Playground; San Francisco as well. Now, it has over 84,000,000 views since July 2012.

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes released a cover on their album Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah.

Peak positions

Chart (1977)	Peak position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)	9
US Billboard Hot 100	8

External links

• Song Review at Allmusic
• Template:MetroLyrics song