Orinoco Flow

"Orinoco Flow", also released as "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)",[1] is a song by the Irish singer songwriter Enya, released on 15 October 1988 on WEA Records in Europe and 10 January 1989 by Geffen Records in the United States. It was released as the lead single from the musician's second studio album, Watermark (1988). It 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.

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
Released
  • 15 October 1988 (1988-10-15) (Europe)
  • 10 January 1989 (1989-01-10) (US)
Recorded1987–1988
StudioAigle Studios, Killiney, Dublin, Ireland and Orinoco Studios, London, England
GenreNew-age
Length4:25
Label
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

In 2020, The Guardian ranked "Orinoco Flow" at number 77 in its list of the 100 greatest UK number-one singles of all time.[2]

Background

The song was released as the lead single from Enya's fittingly named studio album Watermark in October 1988. 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]

In 1994, the song was licensed to Virgin Records for the best-selling new-age music compilation album Pure Moods, and in 1998 a special-edition 10th anniversary remix single was released. Part of its name is derived from Orinoco Studios (now Miloco Studios, where it was recorded) partly from 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] Signed to WEA by Rob Dickins, who served as executive producer of Watermark, and it pays homage to Dickins in the line "with Rob Dickins at the wheel."[6]

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".[7]

Music video

A music video was made to accompany the song. It was directed by Michael Geoghegan.

Track listings

1988

7" single
No.TitleLength
1."Orinoco Flow" (Edit)3:45
2."Out of the Blue"3:10
3" CD single/12" single[8]
No.TitleLength
1."Orinoco Flow"4:26
2."Smaointe..." (d'Aodh agus do Mháire Uí Dhúgain)6:09
3."Out of the Blue"3:08

1998

No.TitleLength
1."Orinoco Flow"3:47
2."Hope Has a Place"4:46
3."Pax Deorum"4:57

Charts and certifications

Covers
  • In 1989, iris breeder Cy Bartlett named a cultivar Orinoco Flow.[41]
  • Samples of the backing track are used in Rebel MC's hit single "Tribal Bass" (1991).
  • In the 1997 South Park 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 2002 I'm Alan Partridge episode "The Talented Mr. Alan," Alan is caught singing the song to himself.
  • The song plays over the end credits of "Funeral", the sixth episode of the first series of Peep Show and the music video is shown during the episode. Jeremy also talks about Enya during the episode.
  • The song is played during Rumpelstiltskin's announcement scene in the 2010 film Shrek Forever After.
  • The song is featured during a sequence in David Fincher's 2011 adaptation of the novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in which the secondary protagonist is tortured while the song plays.
  • A version of the song is performed by the main character of Moone Boy when he and his friend are sailing on a homemade raft.
  • The song was referenced to as "Sarah Way" in Peter Kay's 2015 Sitcom Car Share.
  • The song was played in the first season of Cougar Town.
  • In the Black Mirror episode "Hated in the Nation", one of the characters listens to the song to relax.
  • Australian television show Please Like Me features this song in the opening scene of the first episode of its fourth season.
  • In The Last Man on Earth episode "When the Going Gets Tough", Phil Miller sings the song to Erica as she prepares to give birth to her child.
  • In the Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode "Crime and Punishment", Jake Peralta mentioned Enya as one of his favorite musical artists. Later on, "Orinoco Flow" plays as he walks, in slow-motion, into a courtroom.
  • In the 2017 ITV tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, while Prince Harry recalls his mother listening to Enya driving in her BMW with the top down.[42]
  • The song was featured in the 2018 Bo Burnham film Eighth Grade.
  • Maicol & Manuel sampled the chords in their song "No Hay Ley".
  • The song was featured in the 2018 animated film Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation.
  • It was used in the first and second episodes of Living With Yourself.
  • The song was played in the background during a scene in the 6th episode of season 2 of The Boys, when A-Train was being recruited to the Church of the Collective.
  • The song is played during Lord Ewark's announcement scene in the 2024 film Trolls of Troy
  • The song is played towards the end of Hyundai Santa Fe ad (2021) in Australia

References
  1. "Enya – Orinoco Flow". Discogs. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  2. 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.
  3. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  4. "Enya Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  5. Paolo Di Nicolantonio. "Famous Sounds". Synth Mania. Paolo Di Nicolantonio. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  6. "YouTube". Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
  7. Raggett, Ned. "Enya – Watermark". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  8. "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) (12" single at Discogs)". Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  9. "Australian-charts.com – Enya – Orinoco Flow". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  10. "Austriancharts.at – Enya – Orinoco Flow" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  11. "Ultratop.be – Enya – Orinoco Flow" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  12. "RPM 100 Singles – March 4, 1989" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49 no. 22. 27 March 1989. p. 6. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  13. Danish Singles Chart 16 December 1988
  14. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6 no. 52. 1 January 1989. p. 15. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  15. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  16. "Lescharts.com – Enya – Orinoco Flow" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Enya – Orinoco Flow". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  18. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Orinoco Flow". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  19. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 49, 1988" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Enya – Orinoco Flow" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  21. "Charts.nz – Enya – Orinoco Flow". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  22. "Norwegiancharts.com – Enya – Orinoco Flow". VG-lista. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  23. "Notowanie nr 363" (in Polish). 4 February 1989. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  24. "Top 3 Singles in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6 no. 9. 4 March 1989. p. 14. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  25. "Swedishcharts.com – Enya – Orinoco Flow". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  26. "Swisscharts.com – Enya – Orinoco Flow". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  27. "Enya Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  28. "Enya Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  29. "Jaaroverzichten 1989" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  30. "1988 Year End Eurocharts" (PDF). Music & Media. 1 January 1988. p. 30. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  31. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1988". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  32. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1988" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  33. Scaping, Peter, ed. (1991). "Top 100 Singles: 1988". BPI YearBook 1989/90. London, England: British Phonographic Industry. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-0-9061-5410-6.
  34. "1989 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  35. "Top 100 Single of '89". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  36. "Eurochart Hot 100 1989" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6 no. 51. 23 December 1989. p. 6. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 17 January 2020 – via American Radio History.
  37. "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1989" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  38. "End of Year Charts 1989". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  39. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1989" (in German). Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  40. "British single certifications – Enya – Orinoco Flow". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  41. Orinoco Flow Archived 12 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine, at WorldIris.com; published 2004; retrieved 30 September 2012
  42. Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy. ITV. 2017.
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