Caribbean Blue
1991 single by Enya
"Caribbean Blue" is a song by Irish musician Enya, included as the second track on her third studio album, Shepherd Moons (1991). It was written by Enya and Roma Ryan, and produced by Nicky Ryan. The song follows a waltz time signature, and mentions the Anemoi (Ancient Greek wind gods): Boreas, Afer Ventus (Africus), Eurus, and Zephyrus.
"Caribbean Blue" was released as the lead single from the album on 7 October 1991 by WEA. It reached number eight on the Irish Singles Chart and number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, it reached number 79 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The accompanying music video, directed by Michael Geoghegan, features visual imagery based on the paintings of Maxfield Parrish and was an early appearance for British actress and singer Martine McCutcheon.
Composition
The song is written in the key of E major with a fast tempo of 158 beats per minute in 34 (waltz) time. Halfway through the song, the key shifts up one semitone to F major. Enya’s vocals span from B3 to G4.
Critical reception
Ned Raggett from AllMusic noted that on the song, the singer 'avoids repeating the successful formula of "Orinoco Flow" by means of its waltz time—a subtle enough change, but one that colors and drives the overall composition and performance, the closest Enya might ever get to a dance number.'
Larry Flick from Billboard magazine described it as 'dreamy and evocative' and 'multilayered and intricate'.
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This entry incorporates text from “Caribbean Blue” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.