"Caribbean Blue" is a song by Irish musician

Enya Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (born 17 May 1961; anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan) known mononymously as Enya, is an Irish singer and composer. With an estimated equivalent of over 80 million albums sold worldwide, Enya is the best-selli ...

, included as the second track on her third studio album, '' Shepherd Moons'' (1991). It follows a waltz time signature, and mentions the

Anemoi In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, the Anemoi () were wind gods who were each ascribed a cardinal direction from which their respective winds came (see Classical compass winds), and were each associated with various nature, ...

(Ancient Greek wind gods): Boreas, Afer Ventus (Africus),

Eurus In Greek mythology and religion, Eurus () is the god and personification of the east wind, although sometimes he is also said to be southeast specifically. He is one of the four principal wind gods, the Anemoi, alongside Boreas (north wind), Ze ...

, and

Zephyrus In Greek mythology and religion, Zephyrus () (), also spelled in English as Zephyr (), is the god and personification of the West wind, one of the several wind gods, the Anemoi. The son of Eos (the goddess of the dawn) and Astraeus, Zephyrus is t ...

. The song was released as the lead single from the album on 7 October 1991 by WEA. "Caribbean Blue" reached number eight on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

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 Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart; on the latter listing, it was the 12th-most-successful song of 1992. The music video for the song features visual imagery based on the paintings of

Maxfield Parrish Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustration, illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. His works featured distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. The ...

and was an early appearance for British actress and singer Martine McCutcheon.

Critical reception

Ned Raggett from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

noted that on the song, the

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

'avoids repeating the successful formula of " Orinoco Flow" by means of its

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

time—a subtle enough change, but one that colors and drives the overall composition and performance, the closest

might ever get to a dance number.'

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

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'' described it as 'dreamy and evocative' and 'multilayered and intricate'. He noted further that 'rich tapestry of sound lulls the listener with the promise of complex musical textures. Enya's understated vocals swell into effective wavelike crescendos that ebb and flow with the picturesque melody.' David Browne from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' called it 'a breathy, upbeat waltz that personifies everything Enya'. Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' wrote that 'it is as dreamy as her 1988 global hit "Orinoco Flow", but more dressed with instruments'. A reviewer from ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''Peopl ...

'' stated that 'the Irish singer's angelic vocals lift this elegant and avant-garde waltz heavenward'.

Track listings

* UK 7-inch and cassette single : US and Australian cassette single : Japanese mini-CD single # "Caribbean Blue" # "Orinoco Flow" * UK CD single # "Caribbean Blue" # "Orinoco Flow" # "As Baile" # "Oriel Window" * European 12-inch single :A1. "Caribbean Blue" – 3:39 :A2. "Orinoco Flow" – 3:44 :B1. "Angeles" – 3:58

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1991 singles 1991 songs Enya songs Songs with lyrics by Roma Ryan Songs with music by Enya Warner Music Group singles