"Calypso" is a song written by

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

in 1975 as a tribute to

Jacques-Yves Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA), called the A ...

and his research ship, the '' Calypso.'' It was featured on Denver's 1975 album '' Windsong.'' Released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of " I'm Sorry", "Calypso" received substantial airplay, enabling it to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. After "I'm Sorry" fell out of the #1 position, "Calypso" began receiving more airplay than "I'm Sorry," thus causing ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' to list "Calypso" as the new A-side, starting the week ending October 11, 1975. Hence, "Calypso" is itself considered a #2 hit on the Hot 100. John Denver was a close friend of Cousteau. ''Calypso'' was the name of Cousteau's research boat that sailed around the world promoting ocean conservation. This song features the sounds of ship bells, which is heard in the instrumental introductions before both two verses, in which Milton Okun's orchestral arrangement, featuring strings and winds, are heard mimicking the sounds of the oceans and seas.

In popular culture

filk Filk music is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has existed since the early 1950s and been played primarily since the mid-1970s. The genre has a ni ...

song exists in ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' fandom (and has been quoted in Chapter 8 of

Diane Duane Diane Duane (born May 18, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author, long based in Ireland. Her works include the ''Young Wizards'' young adult fantasy series and the ''Rihannsu'' Star Trek novels. Biography Born in New York C ...

's ''Star Trek'' novel '' The Wounded Sky''), based on John Denver's "Calypso," but adapted to the voyages of the ''

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

:'' "To sail on a dream in the sun-fretted darkness, to soar through the starlight unfrightened alone...." Additionally, Tom Smith wrote parody lyrics for the song, which he titled "Callisto," referring to a sexual desire for

Callisto CALLISTO (''Cooperative Action Leading to Launcher Innovation in Stage Toss-back Operations'') is a reusable VTVL Prototype, demonstrator propelled by a small 40 kN Japanese LOX-LH2 rocket engine. It is being developed jointly by the CNES, French ...

, originally a villainess in the TV show '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' and one of

Xena Xena is a fictional character from the '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' franchise, portrayed by New Zealand actress Lucy Lawless and co-created by Robert Tapert and John Schulian. She first appeared as a villain in the 1995–1999 television serie ...

's enemies. After Callisto was redeemed in the Xena stories, he wrote an extra verse and a variation on the refrain that attacked her for having stopped being evil. In the episode titled "Molly's Out of Town" of ''

Mike & Molly ''Mike & Molly'' is an American television sitcom created by Mark Roberts for CBS. It aired from September 20, 2010 to May 16, 2016. The series stars Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy as the eponymous Mike and Molly, a couple who meet in a Ch ...

'' some of the characters sing "Calypso" while they are on the roof of a house.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

References

1975 songs John Denver songs Songs about explorers Songs about scientists Songs about boats Songs written by John Denver Song recordings produced by Milt Okun Cultural depictions of Jacques Cousteau RCA Victor singles {{1970s-single-stub