| "Calypso" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by John Denver | ||||
| from the album Windsong | ||||
| A-side | "I'm Sorry" | |||
| B-side | "Calypso" | |||
| Released | July 1975 | |||
| Format | Vinyl record | |||
| Genre | Folk, country, soundscape | |||
| Length | 3:36 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Writer(s) | John Denver | |||
| Producer | Milt Okun | |||
| John Denver singles chronology | ||||
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"Calypso" is a song written by John Denver in 1975 as a tribute to Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his research ship Calypso. The song was featured on Denver's 1975 album Windsong.
Released as the B-side of "I'm Sorry", "Calypso" received substantial airplay, enabling it to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] After "I'm Sorry" fell out of the #1 position, "Calypso" began receiving more airplay than "I'm Sorry," thus causing Billboard to list "Calypso" as the new A-side.[2] Hence, "Calypso" is itself considered a #2 hit on the Hot 100.[3]
John Denver was a close friend of Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Calypso was the name of Jacques Cousteau's research boat that sailed around the world for oceanic conservation.
A filk song exists in Star Trek fandom (and has been quoted in Chapter 8 of Diane Duane's Star Trek novel The Wounded Sky), based on John Denver's Calypso, but adapted to the voyages of the Enterprise: "To sail on a dream in the sun-fretted darkness, to soar through the starlight unfrightened alone...."
Additionally, Tom Smith wrote parody lyrics for the song, which he titled Callisto, referring to a sexual desire for Callisto, a villainess in the TV show Xena: Warrior Princess and one of Xena's enemies.[4]
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 2 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 5 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 29 |
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