I See a Boat on the River

"I See a Boat on the River / My Friend Jack"
Single by Boney M.
from the album The Magic of Boney M.
Released	April 1980
Recorded	1980
Genre	Pop, Euro disco
Label	Hansa Records (FRG)
Producer(s)	Frank Farian
Boney M. singles chronology
"I'm Born Again / Bahama Mama" (1979) ""I See a Boat on the River" / "My Friend Jack"" (1980) "Children of Paradise" / "Gadda-Da-Vida" (1980)

"I See a Boat on the River" / "My Friend Jack" is a double A-side single by German band Boney M., taken from their 1980 compilation album The Magic of Boney M. - 20 Golden Hits. "I See a Boat on the River" peaked at #5 in Germany but marked the group's waning popularity in the UK where "My Friend Jack" was promoted as the A-side, faring even worse than their former single "I'm Born Again", stalling at #57. Boney M. would use the double A-side format over the next years, typically with the A1 being the song intended for radio and A2 being more squarely aimed at discos. The sides would usually be switched on the accompanying 12" single.

"I See a Boat on the River"

"I See a Boat on the River" was written by another Farian artist Gilla (aka Gisela Wuchinger = G. Winger) and her fiancé Helmut Rulofs. Producer Frank Farian added some additional parts and lyricist Fred Jay re-wrote the original lyrics which went I beg you boat on the river and birds in the sky / Show me the way home or teach me to fly.^[1] There were two different single versions, one including an extra chorus before the 3rd verse and a different intro.

"My Friend Jack"

Originally a 1967 rock track by British group The Smoke, the song "My Friend Jack" is about Jack who eats "sugar lumps" (i.e. LSD^{[citation needed]}) and travels the world inside his mind. Original Smoke member Zeke Lund was by now working as a sound engineer for Frank Farian. The initial single pressings featured a 4:56 single mix, differing with the omission of a guitar solo which was included in the subsequent 4:40 mix which was faded 10 seconds earlier on the LP version. The French 12” single includes a version of the early single mix with the guitar solo added back in.

Releases

7" Single

• "I See a Boat on the River" (Rulofs, Farian, Winger, Jay) (Extended LP Mix) - 4:29 / "My Friend Jack" (Smoke) (Alternate 7" Version) - 4:56 (Hansa 101 750-100, Germany, A-3/B-2)
• "I See a Boat on the River" (Rulofs, Farian, Winger, Jay) (Extended LP Mix) - 4:29 / "My Friend Jack" (Smoke) (Extended LP Mix) - 4:40 (Hansa 101 750-100, Germany, A-6/B-7)
• "I See a Boat on the River" (Rulofs, Farian, Winger, Jay) (7" Version) - 4:40 / "My Friend Jack" (Smoke) (Extended LP Mix) - 4:40 (Hansa 101 750-100, Germany, A-16/B-7)
• "My Friend Jack" - 4:40 / "I See a Boat on the River" - 4:40 (Atlantic K11463, UK)
• "My Friend Jack" - 4:40 / "I See a Boat on the River" - 4:40 (Atlantic P-579A, Japan)

12" Single

• "My Friend Jack" (France 12" Version) - 5:00 / "I See a Boat on the River" - 4:40 (Carrere 49.621, France)
• "My Friend Jack" (Long Version) - 8:26 / "I See a Boat on the River" (Long Version) - 6:06 (Hansa 600 233-213, Germany)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1980) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[2] 3 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[3] 7 Finland (Suomen Virallinen)[4] 4 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[5] 7 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[6] 4 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[7] 9 West Germany (GfK)[8] 5 UK Singles (OCC)[9] My Friend Jack 57

Year-end charts Chart (1980) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10] 19 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[11] 54 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] 84 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 61 West Germany (Official German Charts)[14] 25

Sources

^{[15] [16] [17]}

1. "Boney M - the Seventies Disco Group - Main Index". www.themagicofboneym.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 December 2006. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
2. "Boney M. – I See a Boat on the River" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
3. "Boney M. – I See a Boat on the River" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
4. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
5. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 22, 1980" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
6. "Boney M. – I See a Boat on the River" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
7. "Boney M. – I See a Boat on the River". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
8. "Offiziellecharts.de – Boney M. – I See a Boat on the River" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
9. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
10. "Jahreshitparade Singles 1980". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
11. "Jaaroverzichten 1980". Ultratop. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
12. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1980". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
13. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1980". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
14. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
15. "Boney M. Albums: songs, discography, biography, and listening guide". Rate Your Music. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
16. "Fantastic Boney M. | Boney M". www.fantasticboneym.com. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
17. "Boney M - the Seventies Disco Group - Main Index". www.themagicofboneym.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 December 2006. Retrieved 17 January 2022.