Orinoco Flow
"Orinoco Flow" | ||||
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Single by Enya | ||||
from the album Watermark | ||||
B-side | "Smaoitím..." (d'Aodh agus do Mháire Uí Dhúgain)
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Released | 3 October 1988 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | New-age | |||
Length | 4:25 | |||
Label | WEA | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Nicky Ryan | |||
Enya singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Orinoco Flow" on YouTube |
"Orinoco Flow", also released as "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)", is a song by Irish singer-songwriter
Background
The song was released as the lead single from Enya's studio album
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][dead link][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
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Orinoco Flow" (edit) | 3:44 |
2. | "Out of the Blue" | 3:10 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Orinoco Flow" | 4:25 |
2. | "Smaoitím..." (d'Aodh agus do Mháire Uí Dhúgain) | 6:05 |
3. | "Out of the Blue" | 3:10 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Orinoco Flow" (7-inch version) | 3:48 |
2. | "Evening Falls..." | 3:49 |
3. | "Storms in Africa" (single version) | 3:01 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Orinoco Flow" | 3:47 |
2. | "Hope Has a Place" | 4:46 |
3. | "Pax Deorum" | 4:57 |
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[55] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 3 October 1988 |
|
WEA | [2] |
Japan | 25 February 1989 | Mini-CD | [56] | |
25 June 1990 | CD | [57] |
In popular culture
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
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 the secondary protagonist 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".[58][10]
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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,[60] and Leporinus enyae, a species of fish from the Orinoco drainage basin named for the artist herself.[61]
In the 2017
References
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ^ a b "New Singles". Music Week. 1 October 1988. p. 31.
- ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Enya Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ a b Paolo Di Nicolantonio. "Famous Sounds". Synth Mania. Paolo Di Nicolantonio. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- ^ "YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f "Behind the Song: "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)" by Enya". American Songwriter. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Behind the Song: "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)" by Enya". American Songwriter. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ "Enya: 'I feel comfortable singing in a variety of languages'". The Guardian. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ Raggett, Ned. "Enya – Watermark". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- ^ 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) - ^ 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) - ^ 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) - ^ 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) - ^ 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) - ^ 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) - ^ 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) - ^ 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) - ^ "Enya – Orinoco Flow". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Enya – Orinoco Flow" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Enya – Orinoco Flow" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "RPM 100 Singles – March 4, 1989" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49, no. 22. 27 March 1989. p. 6. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ Danish Singles Chart. 16 December 1988.
- ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 52. 1 January 1989. p. 15. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Enya". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 74. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- Les classement single. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Orinoco Flow". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 28 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Enya".
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 49, 1988" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Enya – Orinoco Flow" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Enya – Orinoco Flow". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Enya – Orinoco Flow". VG-lista. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Top 3 Singles in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 9. 4 March 1989. p. 14. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ "Enya – Orinoco Flow". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Enya – Orinoco Flow". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Enya Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Enya Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100: April 22, 1089". tropicalglen.com. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ProQuest 1017213355.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Enya – Orinoco Flow" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1989" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "1988 Year End Eurocharts" (PDF). Music & Media. 1 January 1988. p. 30. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1988". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1988" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-9061-5410-6.
- ^ "1989 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ^ "Top 100 Single of '89". RPM. Retrieved 23 October 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
- OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 17 January 2020 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "End of Year Charts 1989". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1989" (in German). Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ "British single certifications – Enya – Orinoco Flow". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ "オリノコ・フロウ | エンヤ" [Orinoco Flow | Enya] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ "オリノコ・フロウ | エンヤ" [Orinoco Flow | Enya] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ O'Neal, Sean (15 October 2018). "Eighth Grade and the Pop-Culture Redemption of Enya's 'Orinoco Flow'". Vulture. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ "Enya Book of Days:Shepherd Moons Article". 15 November 1991. Archived from the original on 1 February 2012.
- ^ "Orinoco Flow". 12 May 2013. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013., at WorldIris.com; published 2004; retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ "New Orinoco fish named after Enya". Practical Fishkeeping. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy. ITV. 2017.
External links
- "Orinoco Flow" at Discogs (list of releases)