He began writing the song with only the lyrics "highway run into the midnight sun" on a paper napkin while on a tour bus headed to Saratoga Springs, New York.

Like "Rosanna" by Toto, "Faithfully" contains lyrics delivered by the lead singer but written by another member of the band, which led many fans to believe Steve Perry wrote the song about a particular woman.

[8] The music video featured a then-unique "life on tour" theme parallel to the song's lyrics, showing the band's performances in different venues and their travels around the USA.

Classic Rock critic Paul Elliott named "Faithfully" as "the greatest power ballad of all time",[3] while Nate Larson of HuffPost ranked it as the seventh-best love song in history.

[9] Bryan Adams opened for Journey on their 1983 Frontiers Tour, and during that time wrote the song "Heaven", which was heavily influenced by "Faithfully".

[10] After recording the song "Purple Rain", Prince phoned Cain and, worried it might be too similar to "Faithfully", asked him to listen to it.