I'm sure most artistes try to be as original as they can, particularly when it comes to song titles, but there are bound to be those times when a title is used by another artiste, or has already been used previously. Sometimes, quite often in fact, this can be spread across several quite separate genres, so that a certain song is unlikely to be mixed up with another from a totally different genre. But sometimes similar songs will crop up in the same, or close to the same, circles. These are the ones we look at in this section.
If you mention the song "Sail away", most people of a certain age will think of this one, though there are rather a lot of songs that possess the same title.
Sail away (David Gray) from "White ladder"
One of the big hits from his most successful album, "White ladder", this song is a slow, acoustic laidback piece that just makes you think of, well, sailing away without a care in the world.
Sail away (Chris Rea) from "King of the beach"
Another slow and lazy ballad (come on, you didn't expect any of these to be headbanging rockers, did you?) this song rides mostly on a lovely little piano line and some smooth slide guitar from Rea, but whereas Gray's song is one of escape, and of two people escaping together, Chris's is a sadder song, as he watches his lover sail away without him.
Sail away (Creedence Clearwater Revival) from "Mardi Gras"
Certainly more uptempo, and going right back to 1972, Creedence also had a song called "Sail away" on their last album. As you might expect it's not so much a ballad as the others above, and again it's a song of escape but more of one man turning his back on the world and just leaving it all behind. Rather appropriate, given that this was their final album.
Sail away (Pet Shop Boys) from "Nightlife"
Not strictly speaking on the album but released as the B-side to one of the singles on it, this would appear to be a version of a (very) old song by Noel Coward, given the PSB's upbeat treatment, with honking synths and clicking drum machines but still betraying its age.
Sail away (Kenny Rogers) from "Love or something like it"
Crossing the genres even further, this was released by country legend Kenny Rogers on one of his early albums. It's got a toe-tapping upbeat sound about it, and more optimism than some of the other songs that bear its title. It also has an opening riff that is curiously reminscent of Orleans' "Dance with me"...
Sail away (Randy Newman) from "Sail away"
Back to 1972 again for a classic from Randy Newman, with full orchestra and almost an anthem from one of his very early albums. Also later covered by Joe Cocker.
Sail away (Great White) from "Sail away"
Yes, even a rock/metal band wrote a song called "Sail away". In fact, like Randy Newman above, though twenty-two years later, they also used the title for one of their albums. Again it's not a headbanger, not quite a ballad but with a nice sort of country-ish feel and again a very familar opening --- Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson"? I'm not kidding!
Sail away (Ten) from "Return to Evermore"
There are far more songs written with this title than you'd expect, and I could probably feature twenty, but we have to draw the line somewhere, so I'm bringing this to an end with a song from one of my favourite bands you never heard of. This is a lovely ballad with some fine piano and a great guitar solo.