music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Boat on the River" is a 1979 song by Styx, from their album Cornerstone. It was released as a single in 1980 in various countries, but not in the band's native United States, where "Borrowed Time" was released instead.

"Boat on the River"
Single by Styx
from the album Cornerstone
B-side	"Borrowed Time"
Released	March 1980
Recorded	1979
Genre	Folk
Length	3:10
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	Tommy Shaw
Producer(s)	Styx
Styx singles chronology
"Why Me" (1979) "Boat on the River" (1980) "Borrowed Time" (1980)

It was popular in several European countries, becoming a top-five hit on the German, Austrian and Swiss charts (reaching number one on the latter).[1][2]

Background

The song features Tommy Shaw on lead vocals and mandolin, with Dennis DeYoung accompanying on accordion and harmony vocals. In the video for the song, Chuck Panozzo, John Panozzo, and James J.Y. Young play bowed double bass, tambourine/bass drum and acoustic guitar respectively (even though James J.Y. Young does not play on the original recording).[3]

Reception

Allmusic reviewer Mike DeGagne praised both "Boat on the River" and fellow Cornerstone single "Lights" for their "silky harmonies and welcoming choruses".[4] Canadian Press critic Michael Lawson said it has a "Russian folksong flavor" and called it a "showcase for Shaw's balalaika-like mandolin work"[5] The Pittsburgh Press critic Pete Bishop called it a "zippy Mediterranean-style dance on which Tommy Shaw stars on mandolin" and "a fine novelty number."[6] Eric Hegedus of The Morning Call said that the song "charts a new course for Styx" and that "the mandolin and autoharp, both played by Shaw, lend a tranquil Venetian air to the song; you can actually picture yourself floating down a canal in a gondola."[7] On the other hand, Wichita Beacon reviewer Terre Johnson felt that Styx should not have tried a folk song, saying that "it muddles about with a folksy sound without building into anything close to the magnitude, intensity or emotion in the other songs [on Cornerstone].[8]

Classic Rock critic Malcolm Dome rated "Boat on the River" as Styx 8th greatest song, saying that Shaw's mandolin and DeYoung's accordion give the song a "somewhat expressive European flavour, which makes it more than just another power ballad."[9]

Cover versions

The song has been covered by Seventh Avenue, Guano Apes, and Finland's Riki Sorsa. The song has also been covered by Turkish artist Metin Özülkü and German folk rock band Fiddler's Green.

The 1994 Slovenian song "Mlinar na Muri", which immediately became hit and eventually evergreen, with new lyrics by Tomaž Domicelj, sampled the melody of this tune.[10][11]

Track listings

7" Single

1. Boat on the River – 3:10
2. Borrowed Time – 4:58

Personnel

• Tommy Shaw - lead vocals, mandolin, acoustic guitar, autoharp
• Dennis DeYoung - accordion, harmony vocals
• Chuck Panozzo - double bass
• John Panozzo - tambourine/bass drum

Charts

Chart (1980)	Peak position
German Singles Chart[12]	5
Austrian Singles Chart	2
South African Top 20[13]	7
Swiss Singles Chart	1
Dutch Top 40	29

References

---