Come Sail Away

"Come Sail Away"
Single by Styx
from the album The Grand Illusion
B-side	"Put Me On"
Released	1977
Format	7" vinyl
Recorded	1977
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	3:10 (single), 6:07 (album)
Label	A&M
Writer(s)	Dennis DeYoung
Producer	Styx
Styx singles chronology
"Crystal Ball" (1977) "Come Sail Away" (1977) "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)" (1978)

"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 number eight 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' career.

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.

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".

The track became the regular closing track during the band's live set before the encore, and DeYoung now closes nearly all of his live concert performances with a rendition.

Covers

• Bermuda Triangle Band: Bermudas II (1984), The Missing Tapes (2007)
• Trey Parker (as the fictional character Eric Cartman): B-side of single "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)"; subsequently released on Chef Aid: The South Park Album (1998).
• Me First and the Gimme Gimmes: Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah (2004)
• A cappella versions of this song exist from several choirs. The Tufts Beelzebubs perform one on their album Pandaemonium.

External links

• Song Review at Allmusic