Breakin' Away

Album: Breakin' Away (1981)
Charted: 43
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Breakin' Away" is the title track to Al Jarreau's most popular album, which expanded his audience outside the world of jazz. It also includes his hit "We're In This Love Together." Both songs have a theme of finding that special someone who makes you feel like you can take on anything together.
  • Jarreau wrote this song with Tom Canning and Jay Graydon. Canning is a keyboard player who wrote and produced tracks for Jarreau's first seven albums. Graydon is an architect of the West Coast melodic pop sound, writing and producing tracks like "After The Love Has Gone" and "Turn Your Love Around." Graydon worked on many of Jarreau's hits, but isn't a fan of his lyrics.

    Graydon told Songfacts: "We'd write a song, a love song or whatever. Now comes the big payoff, where the guy or the girl should be telling the other guy 'Get out. It's over. Go away.' Instead he starts talking about flowers and things. When it's time for the big payoff everything turns into candy. It's like in 'Breakin' Away': 'Show me some climbing boots, show me some parachutes,' what are you talking about?"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"They're Playing My Song

Gramm co-wrote this gorgeous ballad and delivered an inspired vocal, but the song was the beginning of the end of his time with Foreigner.

Kristian Bush of Sugarland

Kristian Bush of SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the Song

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the SongSong Writing

How a goofy detective movie, a disenchanted director and an unlikely songwriter led to one of the biggest hits in pop history.

Prince

PrinceFact or Fiction

Prince is shrouded in mystery, making him an excellent candidate for Fact or Fiction. Is he really a Scientologist? Does he own an exotic animal?

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)Songwriter Interviews

Steve Cropper on the making of "In the Midnight Hour," the chicken-wire scene in The Blues Brothers, and his 2021 album, Fire It Up.