Come Sail Away – Styx | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#8); 1978
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
In choosing the name Styx, after the mythical river that bridges the underworld and heaven, the band members felt it represented their blend of hard and soft musical elements.
Perfecting that blend, however, took some time. Fifteen years, to be exact, before everything finally jelled on album #7, The Grand Illusion, which peaked at #6 and reached multi-platinum status. Dennis DeYoung’s singing, coupled with Tommy Shaw’s lead guitar and harmony vocals, caught the ear of the Top 40 crowd as well.
Come Sail Away, with its gorgeous classical-style piano intro supporting Dennis’ compelling lyrics, followed by a gradual build-up to a memorable power chord chorus, made for a perfect blend of progressive and arena rock with pop sensibilities. Now their music had done the same: bridging the worlds of AM pop and FM rock.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Styx
Lyrics Written by:
- Dennis DeYoung
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).