Sail Away

"Sail Away" is a song by Randy Newman, the title track of his 1972 album. In a 1972 review in Rolling Stone, Stephen Holden describes "Sail Away" as presenting "the American dream of a promised land as it might have been presented to black Africa in slave running days." Music The song is written in the key of F major, and performed in that key on the album. The original album recording features an ostinato piano part, played by Newman (who also sings the lyrics), accompanied by a full orchestra (strings, winds and brass) for harmonic and melodic fills. It features a set of relatively simple (for Newman) chord changes in the blues-country-rock-gospel progression that Newman is so well known for. Significance "Sail Away" has been widely praised by critics and Newman fans as one of his finest works. It is often cited among the best tracks on one of his best albums. Like many Newman songs, the relative simplicity and "hominess" of the music contrast powerfully with the emotional fortitude of the lyrics. Greil Marcus wrote in his 1975 book Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music that the song is "like a vision of heaven superimposed on hell."