“Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” by Journey 

Journey’s “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” is a breakup song, with the title being derived from the vocalist implying the inevitability of he and the addressee going their “separate ways”. That seems to be a foregone conclusion, that this relationship has run its course, even though the verses read like the two of them are still together in a physical sense. But the thesis sentiment is cast into the future, i.e. with Steve envisioning them already being separated and her with another man.

And as far as said sentiment goes, what he is letting the addressee know is that yes, their romance is in fact dead. But that reality is not going to cause him to stop loving her. He appears to imply that their relationship has developed into an intolerably-toxic one. But that understood, he knows that one day, her heart will remember that the feelings they share are genuine. And Steve is confirming that such is indeed the case, that his love for her is “true”. Owing to this, he is also wishing her the best as she goes on her ‘separate way’.

Release Date of “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”

This is a song that originally came out on 5 January 1983, through Columbia Records. It was issued as part of Journey’s album titled “Frontiers”. It served as the lead single from that project.

Song’s Achievements

“Separate Ways” performed impressively on its own, topping US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Furthermore, it also made it onto the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and Cashbox Top 100.

In 2022, this song recharted, that time around appearing on the Billboard’s US Rock Digital Song Sales list. Well actually in said case, it was a remix of “Separate Ways” which charted, one designed specifically to be utilized by one of the most-popular television series of the early 2020s, Netflix’s Stranger Things.

Credits for “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”

Journey is a band from San Francisco who were really poppin’ around the time this song came out, i.e. throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. During the “Frontiers” era, the band was held down by vocalist Steve Perry and the following:

• guitarist Neal Schon
• bassist Ross Valory
• keyboardist Jonathan Cain
• drummer Steve Smith

To note, Schon and Cain are still members of the band at the time of this writing.

The writing of “Separate Ways” is credited to Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain. The track’s producers, on the other hand, are Kevin Elson and the late Mike Stone (1951-2002).

Music Video

The music video to this track was filmed in New Orleans, with its director being Tom Buckholtz. 

This clip was Journey’s first in a manner of speaking, i.e. the initial one from the band not to rely on specifically-made visuals as opposed to past-performance footage. Also keep in mind that this was around the time American artists in general began regularly dropping music videos. 

So the clip has its artistic issues which, in hindsight, may seem unintentionally comical – so much so that Beavis and Butt-Head gave it a sound mocking (which significantly offended Jonathan Cain) on a 1993 episode titled Buff ‘N’ Stuff. 

And speaking of MTV, a few years later, in 1999, they also placed the clip on their MTV 25 Lame (Worst Music Videos) ranking. But generally speaking the visual has gone down in infamy, with fans of the band understanding that it harps back to a more-innocent era in music video production.