Faithfully (song)

"Faithfully"
Single by Journey
from the album Frontiers
B-side "Frontiers"
"Back Talk"
Released April 16, 1983
Format 7"
Recorded 1982
Genre
Length 4:24
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Jonathan Cain
Producer(s)
Journey singles chronology
"Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)"
(1983)		 "Faithfully"
(1983)		 "After the Fall"
(1983)

"Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)"
(1983)		 "Faithfully"
(1983)		 "After the Fall"
(1983)
Music videos
"Faithfully" on YouTube

"Faithfully" is a song by the band Journey, and the second single from their album Frontiers. The song is a power ballad written by keyboardist Jonathan Cain. It peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving the band their second consecutive top-twenty hit from Frontiers. Despite featuring no chorus, it has gone on to become one of the band's most recognizable hits and has enjoyed lasting popularity.

Lyrics and composition

The song was written by Journey keyboard player Jonathan Cain. He began writing the song with only the lyrics "highway run into the midnight sun" on a paper napkin while on a tour bus headed to Saratoga Springs, New York. The next day, he completed the song in full in only a half-hour. Cain connected the song's quick genesis to his Christian faith: "I'd never had a song come to me so quickly [...] it was anointed, supernatural."[1] Neal Schon also commented on the song's inception: "[Cain] told me he got the melody out of a dream. I wish something like that would happen to me."[2] Cain finished composing the song on a backstage grand piano at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, where the band performed it for the first time.[3] According to the liner notes in Journey's Time3 compilation, Cain paid tribute to road manager Pat Morrow and stage manager Benny Collins when he wrote "we all need the clowns to make us smile." He characterized the song as a "road song," remarking, "You know I'm being a good dog out here — don't worry about it."[2]

"Faithfully" is written in the key of B major with a tempo of 65 beats per minute in common time. The song follows a chord progression of B – G♯m – E – B, and the vocals span from G♯4 to B5.[4] The song describes the relationship of a "music man" with his lover. The difficulties of raising and maintaining a family and staying faithful while touring are brought up. However, he suggests that he gets the "joy of rediscovering" her, and insists "I'm forever yours... Faithfully." Cain wrote this song about the difficulty of being a married man as well as a touring musician. Soon after the song's release, he and his wife divorced. Like "Rosanna" by Toto, "Faithfully" contains lyrics delivered by the lead singer but written by another member of the band, which led many fans to believe Steve Perry wrote the song about a particular girl.[5]

Music video

The music video featured a then-unique "life on tour" theme parallel to the song's lyrics, showing the band's performances in different venues and their travels around the USA. Steve Perry can be seen shaving his short-lived but talked-about moustache in the video. This video utilized footage from the documentary video Journey: Frontiers and Beyond narrated by John Facenda, voice of NFL Films, shortly before his death in 1984. The concept of the "road video" was later utilized by several other bands & artists, including Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses, Genesis, Mötley Crüe, Poison (American band) and Richard Marx.

Legacy

Bryan Adams opened for Journey on their 1983 Frontiers Tour, and during that time wrote the song "Heaven", which was heavily influenced by "Faithfully". The "Heaven" recording features Journey drummer, Steve Smith.[6]

After recording the song "Purple Rain", Prince phoned Cain and, worried it might be too similar to "Faithfully", asked him to listen to it. Cain reassured Prince by telling him that the songs only shared the same four chords.[7]

Charts

Appearances in other media

Cover Version In 1987 and 1991 Hong Kong singer Anita Mui and Eddie Ng covered this song in Cantonese.

References

  1. ↑ Dan MacIntosh (August 18, 2011). "Jonathan Cain of Journey : Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Time3 (liner notes). Journey. US: Columbia Records. 1992. C3K 48937.
  3. ↑ Felicia Bonanno (August 18, 2011). "This Journey continues on". The Saratogian.
  4. ↑ Cain, Jonathan. "Journey "Faithfully" Sheet Music in B Major (transposable) - Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
  5. ↑ "Faithfully by Journey Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
  6. ↑ "Heaven". JimVallance.com. Archived from the original on 2004-05-07. Retrieved 2004-05-07.
  7. ↑ Graf, Gary Graff (April 26, 2016). "Why Prince asked for Journey's Blessing Before Releasing 'Purple Rain'". Billboard.
  8. ↑ "RPM 50 Singles" (PDF). RPM. Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. 38 (15). June 11, 1983. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Journey – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Journey. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Journey - Chart history". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Talent Almanac 1984" (PDF). Billboard. 95 (52). Billboard Publications, Inc. December 24, 1983. p. TA-18. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
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