Open Arms (Journey song)

"Open Arms"
Song

"Open Arms" is a song originally recorded by American rock band Journey and written by Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain, two of the band's members. It is a ballad depicting the struggle of lovers who are trying to reconcile by starting anew with "open arms". It was covered by American pop/R&B singer Mariah Carey.

Journey version

Journey recorded "Open Arms" for their seventh studio album, Escape, which was produced by Kevin Elson and Mike Stone. Jonathan Cain had begun writing the song while he was still a member of the rock group The Babys, but Babys vocalist John Waite turned down the melody as "too syrupy". Cain eventually finished the song with Steve Perry during the writing sessions for Escape, but it was almost left off the album; Journey's guitarist Neal Schon reportedly "hated" the song, and the other members of the band were against performing ballads. [1] Steve Perry later recalled of the song's recording: "I had to keep my head down on the console when "Open Arms" was on. There is one line in the song that I always wanted to be a certain way. I have ideals about certain things. The line "wanting you near" – I just wanted that line to go up and soar. I wanted it to be heartfelt. Every time it would come by I would just have to keep my head down and try to swallow the lump in my throat. I felt so proud of the song". [2]

"Open Arms" was used on the soundtrack to the Canadian animated film Heavy Metal (released to theatres in August 1981), and it was released as the third single from Escape in January 1982 (see 1982 in music). It became one of Journey's biggest singles in the United States, and the most successful of the five singles released from Escape (only one other, "Who's Crying Now", reached the top five). Although it never reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it stayed at number two for six weeks, and it was also a top ten hit on the Adult Contemporary Chart. The single was less successful on the Mainstream Rock Chart, however, only reaching the top forty.

The song and its status as a power ballad has been remembered years following its original release. One critic praised "Open Arms" as "a lyrical rock ballad and one of the band's best-written songs", [3] while the Associated Press wrote that the song was "fueled by Perry's operatic, high-flying vocal style". [4] It has also been referred to as a "wedding anthem" (in a December 2005 Lumino magazine article [5]), and VH1 placed the song at number one on their "25 Greatest Power Ballads" list. [6] All Music Guide said "One of rock's most beautiful ballads, "Open Arms" gleams with an honesty and feel only Steve Perry could muster", [7] and a review of a Journey concert in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution characterised the song as a "classic ballad". [8] Steve Perry told the Boston Globe, "I can't tell you how many times I get a tap on the shoulder and somebody says...'This was my prom song'". [9] The song was later included on Journey's box set Time 3 (1992) and the compilation album The Essential Journey (2001).

In 2003, American Idol contestant Clay Aiken performed the song during a key semi-final round of the show, and later in a duet with fellow Idol Kelly Clarkson (the winner from the previous year) on their joint February—April 2004 concert tour. It was also used as the love theme for Japanese director Eiichiro Hasumi's 2004 film Umizaru. Hasumi said that he wanted to call to mind a high school romance with the song's inclusion, and the film's screenwriter reportedly listened to it several times whilst writing the film. [10] Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of the animated television comedy South Park, frequently reference and parody Journey and their music in their work. In Episode 909 of South Park, entitled "Erection Day" (2005), a little girl playing piano in a talent competition begins to sing the opening to "Open Arms" ("Lying beside you, here in the dark...") before the scene ends.

Mariah Carey version

"Open Arms"
Song

Mariah Carey co-produced her cover of the song with Walter Afanasieff for her sixth album, Daydream. Carey's career has crossed paths with Journey's: the band's drummer Steve Smith played drums on many of her earlier singles, and its bassist for a short period in the mid-1980s, Randy Jackson, has worked with her for a long time.

It was released as the album's third single in 1996 (see 1996 in music) in most markets outside the United States, and performed moderately. It became a top five hit in the United Kingdom and was also popular in the Philippines, where it competed directly with Carey and Boyz II Men's "One Sweet Day" (the preceding single from Daydream) and both songs topped the charts of numerous radio stations. However, it did not reach the top ten elsewhere. The single's video, directed by Larry Jordan, is a live performance of the song by Carey at Madison Square Garden. The video for the Spanish version of the song, "El Amor Que Sone", is also a live performance from the same night.

A UK CD single for "Open Arms" included the Daydream track "I Am Free" and live versions of "Fantasy" and "Vision of Love" (1990). Another UK single comprised of the album cuts of "Hero" (1993) and "Without You" (1994), as well as a radio edit of "I'll Be There" (1992).

Charts

Journey version

Chart (1982)	Position
U.S. Pop Singles Chart	2
U.S. Adult Contemporary Chart	7
U.S. Mainstream Rock Chart	35

Mariah Carey version

Chart (1996)	Position
UK Singles Chart	4
ARIA Singles Chart	23
Germany Singles Chart	72
France Top 100 Singles	29
Switzerland Top 100 Singles	30

References

• Unknown (1992). "Open Arms". In Time 3 [CD liner notes]. United States: Columbia Records.

External links

• Lyrics