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Orinoco Flow

This article is about the Enya single. For the Enya tribute album by the Taliesin Orchestra, see Orinoco Flow – The Music of Enya.

"Orinoco Flow"
Single by Enya
from the album Watermark
B-side"Smaoitím..." (d'Aodh agus do Mháire Uí Dhúgain)
  • "Out of the Blue"
Released3 October 1988 (1988-10-03)
Studio
  • Aigle (Dublin, Ireland)
  • Orinoco (London, England)
GenreNew-age
Length4:25
LabelWEA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Nicky Ryan
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)", is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Enya from her second studio album, Watermark (1988). It was released on 3 October 1988 by WEA Records in the United Kingdom and by Geffen Records in the United States the following year. The song 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. The Guardian ranked "Orinoco Flow" at number 77 on its list of the 100 greatest UK number-one singles in 2020.[1]

Background

The song was released as the lead single from Enya's studio album Watermark on 3 October 1988.[2] It became a global success, reaching number one in several countries, including Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, where it stayed at the top of the UK Singles Chart for three weeks.[3] In the United States, the song peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1989.[4]

The title of the song is an allusion both to Orinoco Studios (now Miloco Studios), where it was recorded, and to the river of the same name. Its pizzicato chords, generated by altering the Roland D-50 synthesizer's "Pizzagogo" patch, are highly recognizable as a new-age sound.[5] Enya was signed to WEA by Rob Dickins, who served as executive producer of Watermark, and the song pays homage to Dickins in the line "with Rob Dickins at the wheel".[6][citation needed] Co-producer Ross Cullum is referenced in the song with a pun on Ross Dependency: "We can sigh, say goodbye / Ross and his dependencies".[7]

Lyrics

The lyrics have been likened to "an itinerary for the most expensive gap year of all time",[8] mentioning an array of locations like a "global geography lesson". Locations mentioned in the song include Fiji, Tiree, Peru, Bali, and Cebu.[9]

Legacy

In 1994, the song was licensed to Virgin Records for the best-selling new-age music compilation album Pure Moods, which contributed to further exposure and "helped provide a multi-platinum bonanza" to the record company.[7]

In 1998, a special-edition 10th-anniversary remix single was released.[5]

In a 2015 interview with The Irish Times, Enya said: “Longevity is all any artist dreams of”, rather than to dwell on how her songs are remembered.[10] She credits "Orinoco Flow" for some of her cross-generational appeal, saying: "people who used to like Orinoco Flow are now playing my music to their children".[11] In another interview, when asked whether people bring up "Orinoco Flow", she responded: "people say 'sail away' to me or whistle bits of it back to me. I think it’s wonderful—I never tire of it."[12]

Critical reception

Ned Raggett from AllMusic described the song as "distinct" and "downright catchy". He noted "its implicit dramatics, [that] gently charges instead of piling things on".[13]

Music video

A video was made to accompany the song. It features Enya singing the song in front of footage of rivers, flowers and nature, edited to have the appearance of a painting. It was directed by Michael Geoghegan.

Track listings

7-inch and cassette single[14][15][16]
No.TitleLength
1."Orinoco Flow" (edit)3:44
2."Out of the Blue"3:10
12-inch and mini-CD single[17][18][19]
No.TitleLength
1."Orinoco Flow"4:25
2."Smaoitím..." (d'Aodh agus do Mháire Uí Dhúgain)6:05
3."Out of the Blue"3:10
Japanese CD 3 Tracks EP (1990)[20]
No.TitleLength
1."Orinoco Flow" (7-inch version)3:48
2."Evening Falls..."3:49
3."Storms in Africa" (single version)3:01
Japanese CD single (1998)[21]
No.TitleLength
1."Orinoco Flow"3:47
2."Hope Has a Place"4:46
3."Pax Deorum"4:57

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Orinoco Flow"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[55] Gold 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[56] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Orinoco Flow"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 3 October 1988
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
 WEA [2]
Japan 25 February 1989 Mini-CD [57]
25 June 1990 CD [58]

After a wave of popularity, including regular rotation on MTV, the song became "a punch line",[10] representing a new-age cliché of "generic 'bubble bath' music". The song was used in scenes depicting relaxation and to highlight this in a jokey manner. In the 1997 South Park[7] 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 Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode "Crime and Punishment", character Jake Peralta mentions Enya as one of his favorite musical artists. Later on, "Orinoco Flow" plays as he walks, in slow motion, into a courtroom. Producer Dan Goor remarked, “We weren’t trying to attach ourselves to a history of making fun of it. The joke was just that it’s 100 percent the wrong music to play. It’s supposed to be this triumphant, badass moment, and instead we’re playing that song.”[10]

In the 2002 I'm Alan Partridge episode "The Talented Mr. Alan", Alan is caught singing the song to himself.[10] The song is in "Funeral", the sixth episode of the first series of Peep Show; the video is shown and the song plays over the end credits. The song is played during Rumpelstiltskin's announcement scene in the 2010 film Shrek Forever After.[7] It is in the first season of Cougar Town.[10] The song was used as the title song for the Netflix comedy-drama series Living with Yourself starring Paul Rudd and Aisling Bea.

Alternatively, the song is used in media to create a dissonance between its calmness and starkly contrasting visuals. The song is featured during a sequence in David Fincher's 2011 adaptation of the novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,[7] in which Mikael Blomkvist is tortured while the song plays. In the Black Mirror[7] episode "Hated in the Nation", one of the characters listens to the song to relax "shortly before she’s torn apart by murderous drones" and effectively returned "Orinoco Flow" to the top of the new-age charts after the episode was released.[10]

An exception to this is the use of the song in the 2018 Bo Burnham film Eighth Grade. Burnham wrote to Enya directly for permission to use the song, and recognized it as a serious choice for the film; "in Eighth Grade, 'Orinoco Flow' finally gets to be itself" rather than "fodder for ironic laughs".[59][10]

  • In 1991, the song featured in an advert for Dulux paint.[60]

Other references

"Orinoco Flow" has been used in reference to various object names including an iris cultivar Orinoco Flow by iris breeder Cy Bartlett in 1989,[61] and Leporinus enyae, a species of fish from the Orinoco drainage basin named for the artist herself.[62]

In the 2017 ITV tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, Prince Harry recalls his mother listening to Enya driving in her BMW with the top down.[63]

The song was briefly played during a monster cruise commercial in Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)

AIDA cruise ships play this song often when they are put to sea [64]

References

  1. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; Petridis, Alexis; Snapes, Laura (5 June 2020). "The 100 greatest UK No 1s: 100-1". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b "New Singles". Music Week. 1 October 1988. p. 31.
  3. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Enya Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  5. ^ a b Paolo Di Nicolantonio. "Famous Sounds". Synth Mania. Paolo Di Nicolantonio. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  6. ^ "YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Behind the Song: "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)" by Enya". American Songwriter. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Enya on her new album, living in a castle and the international appeal of her music". BBC News. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Behind the Song: "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)" by Enya". American Songwriter. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Greiving, Tim (19 October 2018). "Sail Away: How Enya's "Orinoco Flow" Went From a Hit to a Punch Line to a Pop Culture Anthem". The Ringer. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Enya: 'Love can be difficult as boyfriends tend to get jealous when they learn I need space to write music'". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Enya: 'I feel comfortable singing in a variety of languages'". The Guardian. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  13. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Enya – Watermark". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  14. ^ Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Enya. WEA. 1988. YZ 312, 247 608-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) (US 7-inch single vinyl disc). Enya. Geffen Records. 1988. 7-27633.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) (US cassette single sleeve). Enya. Geffen Records. 1988. 4-27633.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Enya. WEA. 1988. YZ312T, 247 607-0.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) (US 12-inch single vinyl disc). Enya. Geffen Records. 1988. 0-21129.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) (UK mini-CD single liner notes). Enya. WEA. 1988. YZ312CD, 247 607-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ Orinoco Flow (Japanese CD EP liner notes). Enya. WEA. 1990. WMC5-109.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ Orinoco Flow (Japanese CD single liner notes). Enya. WEA. 1998. WPCR-1886.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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  41. ^ "Cash Box Top 100: April 22, 1089". tropicalglen.com. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
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  49. ^ "1989 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  50. ^ "Top 100 Single of '89". RPM. Retrieved 23 October 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  51. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 1989" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 51. 23 December 1989. p. 6. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 17 January 2020 – via World Radio History.
  52. ^ "End of Year Charts 1989". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  53. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1989" (in German). Retrieved 23 October 2019.
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  55. ^ "Spanish single certifications – Enya – Orinoco Flow". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  56. ^ "British single certifications – Enya – Orinoco Flow". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  57. ^ "オリノコ・フロウ | エンヤ" [Orinoco Flow | Enya] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  58. ^ "オリノコ・フロウ | エンヤ" [Orinoco Flow | Enya] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  59. ^ O'Neal, Sean (15 October 2018). "Eighth Grade and the Pop-Culture Redemption of Enya's 'Orinoco Flow'". Vulture. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  60. ^ "Enya Book of Days:Shepherd Moons Article". 15 November 1991. Archived from the original on 1 February 2012.
  61. ^ "Orinoco Flow". 12 May 2013. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013., at WorldIris.com; published 2004; retrieved 30 September 2012.
  62. ^ "New Orinoco fish named after Enya". Practical Fishkeeping. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  63. ^ Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy. ITV. 2017.
  64. ^ "AIDA Auslaufsong beim Sail Away - Kreuzfahrt-Coach.de | Tipps & Infos für Kreuzfahrt-Urlauber". 31 August 2022.
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