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"Escape" (later known as "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)") was the highest-charting hit for Rupert Holmes. The song was also number one at the end of the 1970s and at the beginning of the 1980s. To this day, Holmes regards the song with a mixture of pride and chagrin; while it has made him wealthy and famous, as one of his friends described it, it is "the success that ruined his career", drawing attention from his more serious and heartfelt musical works. Contrary to what many people may believe, this is not a Jimmy Buffett song, nor has he ever covered it on any of his albums. [1]

The song speaks, in three verses and three choruses, of a man who, disenchanted with his current relationship, reads the personals and spots an ad that catches his attention: the ad of a woman seeking someone who, among other things, must like piña coladas.

His interest grabbed, he writes back and arranges to meet with the woman "at a bar called O'Malley's", only to find upon the meeting that his new lover is his current lover.

The song ends on an upbeat note, showing that the two lovers realized they have more in common than they suspected, and that they do not have to look any further than each other for what they seek in a relationship.

The chorus:

If you like Piña Coladas

And getting caught in the rain

If you're not into yoga

If you have half a brain

If you'd like making love at midnight

In the dunes on the Cape

Then I'm the love that you've looked for

Write to me and escape.

Contrary to the belief of some, the inspiration for "Escape" did not come from a similar event happening to Holmes. Recorded for 1979's Partners in Crime, the song came from an unused track for which Holmes wrote temporary lyrics (that version, "The Law of The Jungle", was released as part of his 2005 Cast of Characters box set), and the lyrics were inspired by a want-ad he read while idly perusing the personals. As Holmes put it, "I thought, what would happen to me if I answered this ad? I'd go and see if it was my own wife who was bored with me." The chorus originally started with "if you like Humphrey Bogart", which Holmes changed at the last minute, replacing the actor with the name of the first exotic cocktail he could think of (ironically, he doesn't care for them -- he once noted on TV's Uncle Floyd Show that they tasted like Kaopectate). The choice was a good one, it improved the scansion of the chorus immeasurably and made the song into an instant earworm. The rest was history.

After its release as a single, the song became immediately popular, though sales were slow due to the song's actual title, "Escape" going unnoticed in the place of the oft-repeated cocktail. Holmes reluctantly agreed to rename the song "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)". The song shot up through the charts, becoming the last number-one Billboard Hot 100 hit of the 1970s. Although some sources list this song as the first number-one hit of the 1980s, this is not true; the first chart of that decade, dated on January 5, 1980, was topped by "Please Don't Go" by KC and the Sunshine Band. "Escape", which was #2 that week, returned to #1 for an additional week on the January 12 chart.

"Escape" has made appearances in such movies as Shrek, Bewitched, Dirty Work, The Sweetest Thing, Detroit Rock City, Tommy Boy and Mars Attacks!. Also on Mystery Science Theater 3000, during one of the host segments of Show #421 Monster A-Go Go, Joel, and the robots discuss the parallels surrounding the song. The song was also the basis of a major episode storyline for the popular Australian television series Kath and Kim.

While Holmes has since had a successful career as a playwright and novelist, and fans feel affection for his other musical works, this song remains his most recognizable trademark. Holmes himself joked "No matter what else I do, my tombstone will be a giant pineapple."

• Performed by Kiki and Herb on the 2004 live album Kiki and Herb Will Die for You: Live at Carnegie Hall.
• Covered by Grindcore band Anal Cunt on their 1995 album Top 40 Hits.

In 2007, it was reported that a Bosnian couple experienced a similar situation as this song, although it lacked the happy ending. Feeling trapped in a miserable marriage, Sana Klaric and her husband Adnan both began having online affairs in the same internet chatroom. After falling madly in love with their anonymous online paramours, they arranged to meet in person. At their rendevous, they discovered that the "new" person they were in love with was actually their spouse. However, unlike the song, their reaction was negative. With Sana feeling betrayed and angry, and Adnan deeply disappointed, the couple divorced.[[2]]

• "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" at songfacts.com