Orinoco Flow

"Orinoco Flow"
Single by Enya
from the album Watermark
Released 15 October 1988 (1988-10-15) (UK) 10 January 1989 (1989-01-10) (US)
Format
Recorded 1987–1988 at Aigle Studios, Artane, Dublin, Ireland and Orinoco Studios, London, England
Genre New Age
Length 4:25
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Enya singles chronology
"I Want Tomorrow"
(1987)		 "Orinoco Flow"
(1988)		 "Evening Falls..."
(1988)
Music video
"Orinoco Flow" on YouTube

"Orinoco Flow", also released as "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)",[1] is a song by the Irish singer-songwriter and musician Enya, released on 15 October 1988 on Warner Music internationally and 10 January 1989 by Geffen Records in the United States. It was released as the lead single from her second studio album, Watermark (1988). It topped the UK singles chart for three weeks and received two Grammy Award nominations for Best Music Video and Best New Age Performance at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards.

Background

The song was released as the lead single from Enya's second studio album, Watermark, in October 1988. It became a global success, reaching #1 in several countries, including the United Kingdom, where it stayed at the top of the singles chart for three weeks.[2] In the United States, the song peaked at #24 in April 1989.[3] The song was also highly popular in the early 1990s and was featured on many pop music compilations.

In 1994, the song was licensed to Virgin Records for the best-selling new-age music compilation album Pure Moods, and in 1998 a special-edition 10th anniversary remix single was released. Part of its name is derived from Orinoco Studios (now Miloco Studios), where it was recorded, and its pizzicato chords (generated by altering the Roland D-50 synthesizer's "Pizzagogo" patch) is highly recognizable as a new age sound.[4] Signed to WEA by Rob Dickins, who served as executive producer of Watermark, "Orinoco Flow" was inspired by the Venezuelan/Colombian river, and it paid homage to Dickins in the line "with Rob Dickins at the wheel."[5]

  • In 1989, iris breeder Cy Bartlett named a cultivar Orinoco Flow.[6]
  • Samples of the backing track are used in Rebel MC's hit single "Tribal Bass" (1991).
  • The song featured in an advert for Dulux paint in 1991.
  • The song is used in a 1997 television commercial for Crystal Light brand drink mix.[7]
  • In the 1997 South Park episode "Death", Stan's grandfather locks Stan in a room and plays a parody of the song performed by Toddy Walters to illustrate what it feels like to be old.
  • In the 2002 I'm Alan Partridge episode "The Talented Mr. Alan," Alan is caught singing the song to himself.
  • The song plays over the end credits of an episode of Peep Show and the music video is shown during the episode. Jeremy also talks about Enya during the episode.
  • The song is played during Rumpelstiltskin's announcement scene in the 2010 film Shrek Forever After.
  • The song is featured during a sequence in David Fincher's 2011 adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, in which Daniel Craig is tortured while his torturer listens to the song.
  • A version of the song is performed by the main character of Moone Boy when he and his friend are sailing on a homemade raft.
  • The song was referenced to as "Sarah Way" in Peter Kay's 2015 Sitcom Car Share.
  • The song was played in the first season of Cougar Town.
  • YouTuber Seananners references the "Sail Away" lyrics on occasion, notably while playing Gang Beasts, and is partial to the Pure Moods card in Cards Against Humanity due to this song being on that album.
  • In the Black Mirror episode "Hated in the Nation", one of the characters listens to the song to relax.
  • Australian television show Please Like Me features this song in the opening scene of the first episode of its fourth season.
  • In The Last Man on Earth episode "When the Going Gets Tough", Phil Miller sings the song to Erica as she prepares to give birth to her child.
  • In the Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode "Crime and Punishment", Jake Peralta mentioned Enya as one of his favorite musical artists. Later on, "Orinoco Flow" plays as he walks, in slow-motion, into a courtroom.
  • In the 2017 ITV tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, while Prince Harry recalls his mother listening to Enya driving in her BMW with the top down.[8]
  • The song was featured in the 2018 Bo Burnham film Eighth Grade.

Track listings

Covers

Charts and certifications

References

  1. ↑ "Enya – Orinoco Flow". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  2. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 494. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/301786/enya/chart
  4. ↑ Paolo Di Nicolantonio. "Famous Sounds". Synth Mania. Paolo Di Nicolantonio. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  5. ↑ "YouTube". Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
  6. ↑ Orinoco Flow Archived 12 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine., at WorldIris.com; published 2004; retrieved 30 September 2012
  7. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMowz-PdSsQ
  8. ↑ Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy. ITV. 2017. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. ↑ "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) (12" single at Discogs)". Retrieved 2010-08-07.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Orinoco Flow", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 10 April 2008)
  11. ↑ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 48, 1988". Archived from the original on 27 January 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
  12. ↑ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de Archived 17 June 2009 at WebCite (Retrieved 10 April 2008)
  13. ↑ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie Archived 3 June 2009 at WebCite (Retrieved 10 April 2008)
  14. ↑ "Top 3 Portugal" (PDF). Music & Media. 4 March 1989. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  15. ↑ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved 10 April 2008)
  16. 1 2 3 Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved 5 September 2008)
  17. ↑ 1989 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved 5 September 2008)
  18. ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 51, No. 8, December 23, 1989". RPM. 23 December 1999. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  19. ↑ 1989 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved 3 September 2008)
  20. ↑ "British single certifications – Enya – Orinoco Flow". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Orinoco Flow in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.