‘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.
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." 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." 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. 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."
Classic Rock critic Paul Elliott named ‘Faithfully’ as "the greatest power ballad of all time", while Nate Larson of HuffPost ranked it as the seventh-best love song in history. 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. 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.
Journey's first music video was for this song. At the time, finding a director for a video wasn't easy, especially in America, so the band's manager, Herbie Herbert, hired the guys from NFL Films to shoot footage of the band on the road and onstage. So, the same guys who filmed Walter Payton scoring touchdowns also filmed Steve Perry shaving his moustache. Journey hated making videos, but couldn't ignore the promotional impact of MTV. The network favored acts like Journey at the time because they were trying to position themselves with a rock format.
Label – Columbia
Songwriter – Jonathan Cain
Producers – Kevin Elson, Mike Stone
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]Highway run into the midnight sun
Wheels go 'round and 'round, you're on my mind
Restless hearts, sleep alone tonight
Sendin' all my love along the wire
[Pre-Chorus]
They say that the road ain't no place to start a family
Right down the line, it's been you and me
And lovin' a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be
Oh, girl, you stand by me
[Chorus]
I'm forever yours
Faithfully
[Verse 2]
Circus life under the big-top world
We all need the clowns to make us smile
Through space and time, always another show
Wonderin' where I am lost without you
[Pre-Chorus]
And bein' apart ain't easy on this love affair
Two strangers learn to fall in love again
I get the joy of rediscovering you
Oh, girl, you stand by me
[Chorus]
I'm forever yours
Faithfully
[Outro]
Whoa-oh, oh-oh
Whoa-oh, oh-oh, oh
Whoa-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
Faithfully
I'm still yours
I'm forever yours
'Ever yours
Faithfully