It Can Happen

It began in Cinema in 1982, when Squire sang an early version. He wrote it on piano, and Rabin built the introduction around his chords. When Cinema became Yes, Anderson rewrote the lyrics and took the verses, sharing lead vocals with Squire, though he told Songfacts it was really Chris and Trevor's song. Squire called it a message of hope. Under the guitar solo sits spoken dialogue from Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.

Trevor Horn produced it in London. Released as the third single from 90125 in June 1984, with a live version of the song on the B-side, it reached 51 on the Hot 100 and five on the Mainstream Rock chart, and Cash Box took it as further proof of the band's new commercial touch. The video was made after Owner of a Lonely Heart and Leave It had done well on MTV. Yes played it right through the 90125 tour, 142 times by setlist.fm's count, and not after. The Cinema version with Squire singing came out on Yesyears in 1991 and on the 2004 reissue of 90125, and Asia featuring John Payne covered the song in 2014. The upload in the hypersongs web is the 1984 music video, which shows the band performing on an elaborate set.