Orinoco Flow

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"Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)"
Single by Enya
from the album Watermark
Released	15 October 1988 (1988-10-15)
Format	Cassette, CD single, 7" single
Recorded	1988 (1988) at Orinoco Studios, London
Genre	New Age
Length	4:25
Label	Reprise / EMI
Writer(s)	Enya & Roma Ryan
Producer	Enya Nicky Ryan
Enya singles chronology
"I Want Tomorrow" (1987) "Orinoco Flow" (1988) "Evening Falls..." (1988)

"Orinoco Flow", also known as "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)", is a 1988 single written and recorded by Irish singer Enya. It is also featured on her second studio album, Watermark.

Background

Released as the lead single from her second studio album Watermark in October 1988, the song became Enya's breakthrough hit, becoming a massive success worldwide, peaking at #1 in several countries including the UK, where it stayed at the top of the charts for three weeks. Its altered use of the Roland D-50 synthesizer's Pizzagogo is highly recognizable,^[1] along with the rapid arpeggiated harp.

The song is often incorrectly referred to as "Sail Away", a phrase repeated during the chorus. The American version of the single, however, was retitled "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)". It then peaked at #24 in early 1989.

The song was highly popular in the early 1990s and was featured on many pop music compilations. It shares part of its name with Orinoco Studios (now Miloco Studios), where it was recorded.

At the end of the song she pays tribute to Warner Brothers Music UK CEO Rob Dickins and makes a more veiled reference to producer Ross Cullum.^{[citation needed]}

In 1997, the song was licensed to Virgin Records for the best-selling new age compilation album Pure Moods.

In 1998 a special edition 10th anniversary remix single was released.

Locations referenced in lyrics (in order of mention)

• Orinoco River, Venezuela-Colombia; also the original name of the London studio where the song was recorded. Curiously, due to the title of the song, she became known in Venezuela.
• Tripoli, Libya (There are other Tripoli's -- in Lebanon and Greece, for instance. However, the reference to "the shores of Tripoli" appears to indicate that the Libyan location is intended.)
• Yellow Sea, Between Korea and China
• Bissau, Guinea-Bissau
• Palau, islands in Micronesia or Palau, Sardinia in Italy
• Avalon, British Isles
• Fiji, Fiji islands
• Tiree, British Isles
• Isles of Ebony, British Isles
• Peru
• Cebu, Philippines
• Babylon, Iraq
• Bali, Indonesia
• Cali, Colombia
• Coral Sea, Australia
• Ebudae (Inner Hebrides), British Isles; also the title of a later Enya song
• Khartoum, Sudan
• The Sea of Clouds, possibly Mount Huangshan, China
• Island of the Moon (Comoros); also an island on Lake Titicaca, Peru & Bolivia; or Isle Maree (British Isles)^[2]
• Ross Dependency, a part of Antarctica; also Ross (region of Scotland, Great Britain)

Uses in Popular Culture

Samples of the backing track are used in Rebel MC's hit single "Tribal Bass" which reached #20 in the UK Singles Chart in 1991.

The song is played during an episode of Cougar Town.

The song is used over the end credits of an episode of Peep Show.

In season 1, episode 6 of South Park ("Old Age Experience"), Stan's grandpa locks him in a room and plays the song to illustrate what it feels like to be old.

The song features in the 2010 film Shrek Forever After.

The song was also used briefly in a scene in an episode of the UK show Misfits

The song is played during a climactic torture sequence in David Fincher's American adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Track listings

Cover versions

• Celtic Woman - Celtic Woman
• Libera - New Dawn
• Sarah McCaldwin - Destiny^{[original research?]}

Certifications

Charts

References