Journey – “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”:
Love Lost, Arena Loud
Released in January 1983 as the lead single from their album Frontiers, Journey’s “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” is the band at their most intense. This pounding, synth-driven rock anthem turns heartbreak into pure, stadium-sized catharsis. Written by Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain during a tour filled with personal struggles, the song really came from a place of real pain: two band members were going through divorces, and Perry and Cain wanted to transform that emotional wreckage into something incredibly powerful.
A Breakup Anthem That Refused to Wallow
The result is a song that doesn’t tiptoe around the end of a relationship. It charges in with that iconic keyboard riff, a powerful, chugging guitar line from Neal Schon, and Perry’s instantly recognizable soaring vocals declaring, “Someday, love will find you / Break those chains that bind you.” It’s definitely a breakup song, yes – but one that completely refuses to wallow in sadness. Instead, it’s all about letting go with dignity and hope, even when every fiber of you hurts.
From Hotel Room Jam to MTV Mayhem
The song came together incredibly fast. Legend has it, it was written in a hotel room on a tiny Casio keyboard, then tested live the very next day at soundcheck. The crowd went wild, even though Perry was still kind of mumbling half the lyrics! That raw energy clearly carried into the studio version, which became a Top 10 hit in the U.S. and a staple on rock radio.
Then came the video. Oh, that video. Shot on a wharf in New Orleans, it featured the band miming their instruments out in the open air – no cords, no amps, just pure, unadulterated air-band glory. It was Journey’s first “concept” video, and while it’s been lovingly (and sometimes hilariously) mocked over the years (thanks, Beavis and Butt-Head), it’s also become a cult classic in its own right. You can’t deny its charm!
Still Not Going Their Separate Ways
“Separate Ways” has had a long, vibrant afterlife. It’s popped up in everything from The O.C. to Stranger Things, and a 2022 remix even found its way back onto the charts thanks to the Netflix series’ dramatic use of the song in a fantasy sequence. Decades later, it still hits like a freight train – a powerful reminder that even when love falls apart, the right song can make that feeling feel truly epic.