Sailing – Christopher Cross

Christopher Cross is an American singer-songwriter from San Antonio, Texas. His debut album earned him five Grammys. He is perhaps best known for his Top Ten hit songs, “Sailing”, “Ride Like the Wind”, and “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)”, the last of which he performed for the film Arthur starring Dudley Moore.”Sailing” earned three Grammy Awards in 1981, while “Arthur’s Theme” won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1981 (with co-composers Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager and Peter Allen).
Christopher Cross filled in for guitarist Richie Blackmore of Deep Purple (who had fallen ill) by performing with the band in San Antonio, Texas in 1970
also contributed backing vocals (along with The Beach Boys’ Carl Wilson) to David Lee Roth’s 1985 hit “California Girls”
Christopher Cross performed the song “Sailing” alongside the pop band ‘N Sync at the Fifth Annual Blockbuster Entertainment Awards in 1999.
He also performed lead vocals on “So Far Away”, a song from Alan Parsons’ album On Air. When Parsons was touring in support of that album, Cross would sometimes join the band onstage to sing the song if he was available.
A small snippet of Cross’s early hit “Sailing” was played in the DreamWorks film “Flushed Away”
“Sailing” is a number-one single, released in July 1980, The song was a phenomenal success, winning Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Arrangement of the Year, and helping Cross win the Best New Artist award. VH1 named this the greatest “softsational soft rock” music song of all time.
It was a number-one rated single in the United States. Since its debut, it has been covered by many artists, including Avant, Barry Manilow, Big Bub, ‘N Sync, Phajja, and Patrick Yandall.
The Mexican airline AeroMéxico used the theme during the middle 1980s as a jingle for its advertisements; it was also used for the cigarette brand Winston.
Lyrics:
Well, it’s not far down to paradise,At least it’s not for me
And if the wind is right,You can sail away and find tranquility
Oh, the canvas can do miracles,Just you wait and see,Believe me
It’s not far to never-never land, No reason to pretend
And if the wind is right,You can find the joy of innocence again
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, Just you wait and see,Believe me
Sailing takes me away,To where I’ve always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me,And soon I will be free
Fantasy, it gets the best of me,When I’m sailing
All caught up in the reverie,Every word is a symphony
Won’t you believe me,Sailing takes me away
To where I’ve always heard it could be,Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free,Well it’s not far back to sanity
At least it’s not for me,And if the wind is right
you can sail away and find serenity,Oh, the canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see,Believe me, Sailing takes me away
To where I’ve always heard it could be, Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free