1981Released
3:22

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about Open Arms. By Songfacts®.

Written by band members Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain, this song is about a couple who drifted apart but found each other again and realized how much they love each other.

According to the liner notes in Journey's Time3 compilation, Jonathan Cain came to Journey with this melody already written. It could have been a song for the Babys, his previous band, except that Babys vocalist John Waite rejected the melody as "too syrupy." He sheepishly showed the tune to Perry on his portable Wurlitzer keyboard and Perry immediately wanted to do it. The rest of the band wasn't so sure. "They were opposed to the ballad," said Perry. "Neal hated the idea and Jon Cain thought maybe John Waite was right." The third single from Escape not only went on to become the band's highest charting single and sent album sales into orbit, but pioneered the entire concept of the power ballad. "Now everybody's got to have one," said Perry. Waite came around as well: his big hit as a solo artist was the ballad "Missing You."

"Don't Stop Believin'" has become Journey's most popular song, but it only charted at #9 in America; "Open Arms" was the group's biggest hit on the Hot 100, reaching #2, where it stayed for six weeks, first behind "Centerfold" and then "I Love Rock And Roll."

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of Open Arms.
DKey
MajorMode
3/4Time Signature
101BPM

Album

The album Open Arms is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released Open Arms.
Columbia
(P) 1981 Sony Music Entertainment

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