Orinoco Flow

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This article is about the Enya single. For the Enya tribute album by the Taliesin Orchestra, see Orinoco Flow (Taliesin Orchestra album).
“Orinoco Flow”
“Orinoco Flow” cover
Single by Enya
from the album Watermark
Released October 15, 1988 (1988-10-15)
Format Cassette
CD single
7" single
Recorded 1988 (1988)
Genre New Age
Length 4:25
Label Reprise / EMI
Writer(s) Enya
Producer Enya
Nicky Ryan
Enya singles chronology
"I Want Tomorrow"
(1987)		 "Orinoco Flow"
(1988)		 "Evening Falls..."
(1988)

"Orinoco Flow" is the name of a 1988 UK #1 single by Enya. 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)".

Contents

[edit] Background

The song was highly popular in the early 1990s and was featured on many pop music compilations.[citation needed]

The title of the song refers to the London recording studio, Orinoco Studios (now Miloco Studios), in which it was recorded, rather than the Venezuelan river Orinoco, although it is likely a deliberate dual reference.[citation needed]

The division of syllables to follow the pattern of music may trick the listener into thinking that the song is written in Latin (as some Enya tracks are), but the lyrics are in fact English. 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.

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

[edit] Locations referenced in lyrics (in order of mention)

[edit] Track listings

1988
7" single
  1. "Orinoco Flow" (3:45)
  2. "Out of the Blue" (3:10)
3" CD single
  1. "Orinoco Flow" (4:26)
  2. "Smaotím..." (d'Aodh agus do Mháire Uí Dhúgain) (6:09)
  3. "Out of the Blue" (3:08)
1998
  1. "Orinoco Flow"
  2. "Hope Has A Place"
  3. "Pax Deorum"

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

Louise Brooks in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps on BBC3 refers to Orinoco Flow as a birthing method as she is pretending to give birth.

In 2000, a sample of "Orinoco Flow" was used by Rodney "El Chombo" Clark in his production of the track "Moriran", performed by Aldo Ranks.

"Orinoco Flow" is also featured on the hit Celtic album (and production) "Celtic Woman".

The song also received increased popularity[citation needed] after featuring in a US commercial for car maker Volkswagen.

[edit] Charts

Chart (1988-1989)[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 24
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks 6
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 7
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 6
Austrian Singles Chart 8
Dutch Singles Chart 1
French Singles Chart 16
German Singles Chart 2
Irish Singles Chart 1
Norwegian Singles Chart 5
Swedish Singles Chart 2
Swiss Singles Chart 1
UK Singles Chart 1
Preceded by
"One Moment in Time" by Whitney Houston		 UK number one single
October 23, 1988		 Succeeded by
"The First Time" by Robin Beck
Preceded by
"Teardrops" by Womack & Womack		 Dutch number one single
December 3, 1988 - December 17, 1988		 Succeeded by
"Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson
Preceded by
"A Groovy Kind of Love" by Phil Collins		 Swiss number one single
December 11, 1988 - January 8, 1989		 Succeeded by
"Bring Me Edelweiss" by Edelweiss

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ De Nederlandse Top 40, week 48, 1988. Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
  2. ^ "Orinoco Flow", in various Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  3. ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  4. ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  5. ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  6. ^ Billboard Billboard.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
v • d • e
Enya
Studio albums
EP's
The Christmas EP | Christmas Secrets | Sounds of the Season
Singles
"I Want Tomorrow" | "Orinoco Flow" – "Evening Falls..." | "Storms in Africa" | "6 Tracks" | "Oíche Chiún (Silent Night)" | " Exile" | "Caribbean Blue" | "How Can I Keep from Singing?" | "Book of Days" | "Marble Halls" | "The Celts" | "Anywhere Is" | "On My Way Home" | "Only If..." | "Only Time" | "Wild Child" | "May It Be" | "I Don't Wanna Know" | "Amarantine" | "If I Could Be Where You Are" | "It's in the Rain" | "Someone Said Goodbye"
Compilations
See also