"Show Me the Way" is a song by American rock band

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; ; lit. "Shuddering"), also called the River Styx, is a goddess and one of the rivers of the Greek Underworld. Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and she was the wife of the Titan Pallas and the moth ...

, written by

Dennis DeYoung Dennis DeYoung (born February 18, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist. He was a founding member of the rock band Styx and served as its primary lead vocalist and keyboardist from 1972 until 1999. DeYoung was the band's most ...

and released as the second single from '' Edge of the Century''. It peaked at number 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in March 1991 (Styx's eighth and last US top 10 single to date). The song's music video was directed by

Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget high-concept action films with fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special eff ...

Background

Lead vocalist/keyboardist

, a devout

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, originally wrote the song for his son Matthew as a pseudo-hymn about the struggle to keep the faith in a "world so filled with hatred". In January 1991, just prior to the United States' entry into the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

Chris Taylor from WAVA-FM in Washington, D.C., and Knoxville DJ Ray Edwards from WOKI-FM each did their own customized "Desert Shield Mix" incorporating television and call-in comments from officials, soldiers and callers as well as C-SPAN's coverage of the House and Senate debates. The single had not yet peaked''Billboard'' Hot 100, Week of March 2, 1991
/ref> when the war officially ended on February 28, 1991. Written in 6–8 time, the song begins quietly with the lone DeYoung on vocals and transitions into a big sounding vocal triad chorus. The bridge uses a solo DeYoung vocal praying and pleading that "if I see a light, should I believe? Tell me, how will I know?" followed by, on the album version, an acoustic guitar leading into an electric guitar solo.

Release and performances

The single rose up the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 reaching number 3 the week of March 16, 1991, and remained in the top 40 for 23 weeks. The song also hit number 3 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart, remaining in the top 40 of that chart for 31 weeks. It also peaked at number 4 on the Canadian pop charts. The song was Styx's fourth and final top 5 single to date (and eighth top 10 single), and comes in at number 68 on the ''Billboard'' rankings of the top Hot 100 singles of 1991.Hot 100 Singles of 1991
''

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 ...

'' The song also placed Styx among a handful of artists to have top 10 singles in three different decades, the 1970s ("

Lady ''Lady'' is a term for a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. "Lady" is al ...

", " Come Sail Away", " Babe"), the 1980s (" The Best of Times", " Too Much Time on My Hands", " Mr. Roboto", " Don't Let It End"), and the 1990s ("Show Me the Way"). Despite the song's enormous success along with "Babe", "Don't Let It End" and "The Best of Times", it has not been performed live by the band since singer

was dismissed in 1999. DeYoung, however, still performs the song regularly on his solo tours.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

– lead vocals, keyboards,

Roland D-50 The Roland D-50 is a synthesizer produced by Roland and released in April of 1987. Its features include digital sample-based subtractive synthesis, on-board effects, a joystick for data manipulation, and an analog synthesis-styled layout desig ...

* James Young – lead guitar, backing vocals * Glen Burtnik – rhythm guitar, backing vocals *

Chuck Panozzo Charles Salvatore "Chuck" Panozzo (born September 20, 1948) is an American musician best known as a co-founder of the rock band Styx. He is currently a part-time bass player in the band, sharing bass duties with Terry Gowan. Panozzo is living wit ...

– bass *

John Panozzo John Anthony Panozzo (September 20, 1948 – July 16, 1996) was an American drummer best known for his work with rock band Styx. Early life Panozzo was born to Tranquinino Panozzo and Elizabeth Lofrano Panozzo, both of whom were of Italian desc ...

– drums

References

{{Authority control 1990 singles 1990 songs 1990s ballads A&M Records singles American soft rock songs Gospel songs Music videos directed by Michael Bay Rock ballads Songs written by Dennis DeYoung Styx (band) songs Songs of the Persian Gulf War