I'm sailing away
Set an open course for the virgin sea
'Cause I've got to be free
Free to face the life that's ahead of me
On board I'm the captain
So climb aboard
We'll search for tomorrow
On every shore and I'll try
Oh Lord, I'll try
To carry on

I look to the sea
Reflections in the waves spark my memory
Some happy some sad
I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had
We live happily forever
So the story goes
But somehow we missed out
On that pot of gold
But we'll try best that we can
To carry on

A gathering of angels
Appeared above my head
They sang to me this song of hope
And this is what they said
They said, come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me (lads)
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me (baby)
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me

I thought that they were angels
But to my surprise
We climbed aboard their starship
We headed for the skies

Singing, come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me (lads)
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me


Lyrics submitted by kevin, edited by JamesLove

Come Sail Away Lyrics as written by Dennis De Young

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Come Sail Away song meanings
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57 Comments

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  • +5
    General Comment

    Taken from songfacts.com:

    "This contains an allusion to the Bible verse of Ezekiel chapter 1:1-28 where a large wheel/cloud (depending on text) appears to Ezekiel and gives him instructions from God: "A gathering of angels appeared above my head. They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said... (later in song)... I thought that they were angels, but to my surprise, they climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies." Some people believe the figure Ezekiel saw was not a messenger sent from God but an alien space craft or a time machine from the future."

    Seems plausible. Sorry if I ruined the song for anyone :P

    KellyWon February 25, 2007   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    I think this song goes hand-in-hand with Boat On A River...it's just about finding peace. Going in search of "home."

    IllToast2Thaton April 09, 2012   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    this songs makes me stop crying.

    baby smackson May 28, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    To me, this song is about doing whatever it takes to achieve your dreams. The angels are the good, aliens the bad. But good or bad, you need to achieve your dreams by yourself, not with the assistance of fictional figures.

    GreatWhite76on October 17, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    If the lyrics are overly cheesy it's because STYX is an overly cheesy band. They rock though, I'm a big STYX fan. America's gaudy answer to 70's/80's brit-pop.

    myhotelyearon June 19, 2004   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Has anybody heard Cartman's version on South Park. Its pretty damn funny! They use Styx's original music, with Cartmans sweet voice, and chef jumps in towards the end. I posted the lyrics. Just waitin for em to get approved!

    psychocatholicon April 28, 2004   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    The Cartmen Version is great... no comparison to the styx version, but still great.

    doctorlove08on June 01, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    THIS SONG MAKES SWEET LOVE TO IT'S OWN EPIC GLORY. I like to sing this on the water or at school. Deep inside though, it's all about the freaks and geeks connection. Styx Stynx, I agree.

    redhouse_yonderon March 26, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Two things: Although every band was probably on SOMETHING during the seventies and eighties, some talented songwriters/singers have the ability to let random thoughts write a song. And this song wold certainly appear to be written by someone who was high. I'm not saying DeYoung or whoever wrote it wasn't, but that's my point.

    Secondly, I believe this song is not TOO cheesy, just enough, and that's it about adventure and dreams.

    Phoenix Ace94on September 27, 2008   Link
  • +1
    Lyric Correction

    Key correction:

    "They climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies"

    should read

    "WE climbed aboard their starship WE headed for the skies."

    JamesLoveon July 16, 2011   Link

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