Faithfully (song)
| "Faithfully" | |||||||
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| Single by Journey | |||||||
| from the album Frontiers | |||||||
| B-side | "Frontiers", "Back Talk" | ||||||
| Released | April 16, 1983 | ||||||
| Format | 7" | ||||||
| Recorded | 1982 | ||||||
| Genre | Soft rock | ||||||
| Length | 4:24 | ||||||
| Label | Columbia | ||||||
| Writer(s) | Jonathan Cain | ||||||
| Producer(s) | Kevin Elson, Mike Stone | ||||||
| Journey singles chronology | |||||||
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"Faithfully" is a song by the band Journey, and the second single from their album Frontiers. The song is a power ballad and was written by 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. Its current music video on YouTube has over 40,000,000 views.
Song meaning
The song describes the relationship of a "music man" on the road. The difficulties of raising and maintaining a family, two strangers having to fall in love again, 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."
Journey keyboard player Jonathan Cain wrote this song about the rough relationship being a married man on the road in a Rock band. Cain and his wife divorced a few years later, despite him pledging in the song to be "forever yours... faithfully."
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 told me he got the melody out of a dream," said Neal Schon. "I wish something like that would happen to me." "Basically it's a road song," Cain said. "You know I'm being a good dog out here - don't worry about it."
Like "Rosanna" by Toto, this 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.[1]
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 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.[2]
After recording the song "Purple Rain", Prince phoned Cain asking him to hear it, worried it might be too similar to "Faithfully". Cain did not agree and told Prince the songs only shared the same four chords.[3]
Chart performance
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles (RPM) | 36 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 12 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 24 |
Appearances in other media
- The song was used during a bar scene in the film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
- This song was used season 1 of "Glee" (Episode 22 "Journey to Regional"), where Finn and Rachel sing this song to one another at there competitions before singing two more Journey songs with their singing group.
- The song is sampled in the end of Girl Talk's album Feed the Animals.
- The song was used in the episode "Dance Party USA" (season 2, episode 22) on ABC's The Goldbergs, where Barry, Erica, and Lainey appeared on "Dance Party USA".
References
- ↑ "Faithfully by Journey Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
- ↑ "Heaven". JimVallance.com. Archived from the original on 2004-05-07. Retrieved 2004-05-07.
- ↑ "Hitlåtens historia, "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey, Extramaterial: Prince trodde att han hade snott låten". svt.se. January 30, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
External links
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