Faithfully

"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. 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." 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." "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 – Gm – F# – E, and the vocals span from G4 to B5. 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.