Faithfully (song)

"Faithfully" is a song by American rock band Journey, released in 1983 as the second single from their album Frontiers. The song was written by keyboardist Jonathan Cain. It peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving the band their second consecutive top-twenty hit from Frontiers. Despite featuring no chorus, it has gone on to become one of the band's most recognizable hits and has enjoyed lasting popularity. In a Classic Rock article, "Faithfully" was called the greatest power ballad ever recorded.^[3]

"Faithfully"
Single by Journey
from the album Frontiers
B-side	"Frontiers" "Back Talk" "Edge of the Blade" "Send Her My Love"
Released	April 1983[1]
Recorded	1982
Genre	Soft rock[2]
Length	4:24
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Jonathan Cain
Producer(s)	Kevin Elson Mike Stone
Journey singles chronology
"Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" (1983) "Faithfully" (1983) "After the Fall" (1983)
Music video
Faithfully on YouTube

Lyrics and composition

The song was written by Journey keyboard player Jonathan Cain. He began writing the song with only the lyrics "highway run into the midnight sun" on a paper napkin while on a tour bus headed to Saratoga Springs, New York. The next day, he completed the song in full in only a half-hour. Cain connected the song's quick genesis to his Christian faith: "I'd never had a song come to me so quickly [...] it was anointed, supernatural."^[4] Neal Schon also commented on the song's inception: "[Cain] told me he got the melody out of a dream. I wish something like that would happen to me."^[5] Cain finished composing the song on a backstage grand piano at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, where the band performed it for the first time.^[6] According to the liner notes in Journey's Time3 compilation, Cain paid tribute to road manager Pat Morrow and stage manager Benny Collins when he wrote "we all need the clowns to make us smile." He characterized the song as a "road song," remarking, "You know I'm being a good dog out here — don't worry about it."^[5]

"Faithfully" is written in the key of B major with a tempo of 65 beats per minute in common time. The song follows a chord progression of B – G♯m – F# – E, and the vocals span from G♯₄ to B₅.^[7] The song describes the relationship of a "music man" with his lover. The difficulties of raising and maintaining a family and staying faithful while touring are brought up. However, he suggests that he gets the "joy of rediscovering" her, and insists "I'm forever yours... Faithfully." Cain wrote this song about the difficulty of being a married man as well as a touring musician. Soon after the song's release, he and his wife divorced. Like "Rosanna" by Toto, "Faithfully" contains lyrics delivered by the lead singer but written by another member of the band, which led many fans to believe Steve Perry wrote the song about a particular woman.^[8]

Music video

The music video featured a then-unique "life on tour" theme parallel to the song's lyrics, showing the band's performances in different venues and their travels around the USA. Steve Perry can be seen shaving his short-lived but talked-about moustache in the video. This video utilized footage from the documentary video Journey: Frontiers and Beyond narrated by John Facenda, voice of NFL Films, shortly before his death in 1984. The concept of the "road video" was later utilized with several other bands and artists, including Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses, Genesis, Mötley Crüe, Poison and Richard Marx, while previously being utilized by Paul McCartney and Wings in the music video for "Silly Love Songs".

Legacy

Classic Rock critic Paul Elliott named "Faithfully" as "the greatest power ballad of all time",^[3] while Nate Larson of HuffPost ranked it as the seventh-best love song in history.^[9]

Bryan Adams opened for Journey on their 1983 Frontiers Tour, and during that time wrote the song "Heaven", which was heavily influenced by "Faithfully". The "Heaven" recording features Journey drummer Steve Smith.^[10]

After recording the song "Purple Rain", Prince phoned Cain and, worried it might be too similar to "Faithfully", asked him to listen to it. Cain reassured Prince by telling him that the songs only shared the same four chords.^[11]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1983-1984) Peak position Canada 50 Singles (RPM)[12] 36 US Billboard Hot 100[13] 12 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[14] 12

Year-end charts Chart (1983) Rank US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[15] 81

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[16]	6× Platinum	6,000,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Appearances in other media

• This song was used during a bar scene in the film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
• The song was used in the first season of Glee, "Journey to Regionals", as a featured duet between Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) and Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) in their glee club Regionals championship setlist. It peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[17]
• The song is sampled in the end of Girl Talk's album Feed the Animals.
• The song appeared in the film Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011).
• The song was used in the episode "Dance Party USA" (season 2, episode 22) on ABC's The Goldbergs, where Barry, Erica, and Lainey appeared on Dance Party USA.
• It is sung in the film Here Comes the Boom (2012).
• This song sounds very similar to Elec Man's stage theme from the game "Mega Man" (1987) and its remake - "Mega Man Powered Up" (2006).

Notable cover versions

• In November 2023, Miley Cyrus covered the song live during the private gig at Chateau Marmont.^[18]

References

1. Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 445. ISBN 9780862415419.
2. "200 Greatest Soft Rock Songs". entertainment.expertscolumn.com.
3. Elliott, Paul (August 20, 2008). "Journey: a guide to their best (and worst) albums". Classic Rock. Louder. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
4. Dan MacIntosh (August 18, 2011). "Jonathan Cain of Journey : Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
5. Time3 (liner notes). Journey. US: Columbia Records. 1992. C3K 48937.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
6. Felicia Bonanno (August 18, 2011). "This Journey continues on". The Saratogian.
7. Cain, Jonathan (29 May 2003). "Journey "Faithfully" Sheet Music in B Major (transposable) - Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
8. "Faithfully by Journey Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
9. Larson, Nate (February 14, 2012). "Valentine's Day Soundtrack: My Top 10 Love Songs of All Time". HuffPost. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
10. "Heaven". JimVallance.com. Archived from the original on 2004-05-07. Retrieved 2004-05-07.
11. Graf, Gary Graff (April 26, 2016). "Why Prince asked for Journey's Blessing Before Releasing 'Purple Rain'". Billboard.
12. "RPM 50 Singles" (PDF). RPM. 38 (15). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. June 11, 1983. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
13. "Journey Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
14. "Journey - Chart history". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
15. "Talent Almanac 1984" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 95, no. 52. Billboard Publications, Inc. December 24, 1983. p. TA-18. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
16. "American single certifications – Journey – Faithfully". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
17. "Glee Cast". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
18. Sadie Bell (2023-12-28). "Miley Cyrus Shares a Moving, Live Cover of Journey's 'Faithfully': Listen!". people.com. Retrieved 2024-02-10.