Awolnation - Sail Lyrics

Sail was written and produced in Venice, California by group member Aaron Bruno, with Kenny Carkeet performing the audio engineering. The song was first featured on the band's debut extended play Back from Earth (2010) and was later featured on their debut album Megalithic Symphony (2011).

Lyrically, the song's protagonist is wanting to "sail" away from his problems, which are overwhelming him, and it seems he is unable to shake off the fear of not being able to meet up to people's expectations. In an interview with the Red Bull company, Bruno was asked if the Lyrics are about suicide. He replied: "Well that's a dangerous world to talk about. I don't condone that but I definitely know what it's like to feel so low in your life that you wonder what the point is being around. I'd say 80% of people have fantasized about that for a second."

Speaking to Toronto.com, Bruno said the song was initially a diversion that took him less than an hour to record. "That was written at a time where I didn't know what direction I wanted to go," he said. "I was sitting at the studio trying to make these little pop songs for aspiring pop artists for chump change, [with] barely enough money to buy a bean and cheese burrito."

So, he decided to try to come up with something that was quirky and unusual. "I came up with the string section part at the beginning, and the song just came to me," Bruno explained. "I recorded the strings, the beat and the synth — all within 45 minutes. My engineer went down the street to get some sodas for us, and by the time he got back, I'd sung the Lyrics and it was done. It happened so quickly it was almost an accident."

The music video was directed by one of the singer's friends, Cameron Duddy, who appears as a rapper on the band's song "Knights Of Shame" under the name The Gatsby.