1995Released
6:05

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about Come Sail Away. By Songfacts®.

Written and sung by Styx keyboard player Dennis DeYoung, this song is about following your dreams by embarking on a journey into the unknown. In the second verse, he misses out on the pot of gold, but continues to carry on. The song is a personal one for DeYoung, who wrote it about struggling to break through to the next level with Styx. Formed in the early '70s, they grew a solid fanbase but were always the support act (for Bob Seger, Foghat, Rush, Kiss, Aerosmith, etc.), never the headliner. Released as the first single from The Grand Illusion, "Come Sail Away" helped get them to this next level, as the Styx became one of the top arena rock acts of the next few years.

At the end of this song, the journeyman is visited by aliens, who at first he thinks are angels. "Come sail away with me" they tell him, before riding off in their spaceship. This was a very intergalactic time, as the album was released a little over a month after Star Wars hit theaters.

In a 2020 Songfacts interview with Dennis DeYoung, he talked about the meaning behind this song. "'Come Sail Away' is a song about yearning to be in a better place," he said. "How do you get there? You go on a boat, on a ship, angels waving their wings as you ascend to heaven with them. Is there something going on? A starship to the stars? Are they aliens? Is it Captain Kirk? You tell me."

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of Come Sail Away.
CKey
MajorMode
4/4Time Signature
147BPM

Album

The album Come Sail Away is released on.
Greatest HitsStyx
1995Compilation

Released By

The record label that has released Come Sail Away.
A&M
© 1995 A&M Records
This Compilation ℗ 1995 A&M Records

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