Orinoco Flow

This article is about the Enya single. For the Enya tribute album by the Taliesin Orchestra, see Orinoco Flow (Taliesin Orchestra album).

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

Background

Released as the lead single off 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. Sometimes, it was misunderstood that the song is named after one of the longest rivers of South America, Orinoco.

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

Locations referenced in lyrics (in order of mention)

• Orinoco River, Venezuela; also the original name of the London studio where the song was recorded
• Tripoli, Libya (There are other Tripolis- in Lebanon and Greece, for instance. But the reference to "the shores of Tripoli" seems to indicate that the Libyan one 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, Scotland
• Isles of Ebony, England
• Peru
• Cebu, Philippines
• Babylon, Iraq
• Bali, Indonesia
• Cali, Colombia
• Coral Sea, Australia
• Ebudae (Inner Hebrides), Scotland; 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 (Scotland)^[2]
• Ross Dependency, a part of Antarctica; also Ross (region of Scotland)

Track listings

1988 7" single "Orinoco Flow" (Edit) — 3:45 "Out of the Blue" — 3:10 3" CD single/12" single[3] "Orinoco Flow" — 4:26 "Smaoitím..." (d'Aodh agus do Mháire Uí Dhúgain) — 6:09 "Out of the Blue" — 3:08

1998 "Orinoco Flow" "Hope Has a Place" "Pax Deorum"

Cover versions

• Celtic Woman - Celtic Woman
• Libera - New Dawn
• Sarah McCaldwin on her album: Destiny.

Certifications

Country	Certification	Date	Sales certified
UK[4]	Silver	1 November 1988	200,000

Charts

Chart (1988–1989) Peak position Australian ARIA Singles Chart[5] 6 Austrian Singles Chart[5] 8 Dutch Singles Chart[6] 1 European Hot 100 1 French SNEP Singles Chart[5] 16 German Singles Chart[7] 2 Italian Singles Chart 23 Irish Singles Chart[8] 1 Norwegian Singles Chart[5] 5 Swedish Singles Chart[5] 2 Swiss Singles Chart[5] 1 UK Singles Chart[9] 1 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[10] 24 U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[10] 7 U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks[10] 6

End of year chart (1989) Position Australian Singles Chart[11] 43 Swiss Singles Chart[12] 19

Preceded by "Desire" by U2	Irish IRMA number-one single 22 October 1988 – 12 November 1988 (4 weeks)	Succeeded by "Stand Up for Your Love Rights" by Yazz
Preceded by "One Moment in Time" by Whitney Houston	UK number-one single 29 October 1988 – 12 November 1988 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "The First Time" by Robin Beck
Preceded by "Teardrops" by Womack & Womack	Dutch number-one single 3 December 1988 – 17 December 1988 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson
Preceded by "A Groovy Kind of Love" by Phil Collins	Swiss number-one single 11 December 1988 – 8 January 1989 (5 weeks)	Succeeded by "Bring Me Edelweiss" by Edelweiss

References

1. ^ http://www.synthmania.com/Famous%20Sounds.htm
2. ^ http://www.philipcoppens.com/lochmaree.html
3. ^ "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) (12" single at Discogs)". http://www.discogs.com/Enya-Orinoco-Flow-Sail-Away/release/1447642. Retrieved 2010-08-07. 
4. ^ UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved 5 September 2008)
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Orinoco Flow," in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 10 April 2008)
6. ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 48, 1988". http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=44685/chartid=4893. Retrieved 2008-03-26. 
7. ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved 10 April 2008)
8. ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 10 April 2008)
9. ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved 10 April 2008)
10. ^ ^{a b c} Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved 5 September 2008)
11. ^ 1989 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved 5 September 2008)
12. ^ 1989 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved 3 September 2008)