Sail Away by Randy Newman Song Info
"Sail Away" is representative of Newman's trademark unconventional and clever approach to songwriting: it takes the form of a "come on" or a "pitch" from an American slave trader to potential slaves. The slaver attempts to convince his listeners to climb aboard his ship and "sail away" with him to America (specifically Charleston), which he portrays as a land of happiness and plenty. The lyrics contain several subtle references to the extreme ideological dichotomy going on in America at the time of the slave trade. For example, the slaver sings "In America, every man is free," emphasizing the American ideal of liberty. However, after a caesura he quickly concludes that sentence with "to take care of his home and his family," implying that every man in fact isn't "free" in every sense of the word.
