“Caribbean Blue” by Enya

Enya is an abstract artist who sometimes uses elaborate metaphors to point to basic ideas.  So for instance in this iconic song of hers, she regularly references the “sky above” as being “Caribbean blue”. This expression, along with the rest of the lyrics that support it, has a surreal feel to it. Or expressed differently, the color of the sky itself is not what’s really at the heart of this song. Rather this expression represents a person looking upward, if you will. 

That is what this song is really based on – the imaginative spirit of man, as in the ability of a person’s thoughts to transcend their physical surroundings.  And once again, this type of subject matter is largely what Enya is famous for. Indeed the intended purpose of “Caribbean Blue”, as articulated by its lyricist Roma Ryan, is to encourage the listener to believe in him or herself. Thus the imaginative world-spanning journey featured therein is basically a metaphor for positivity thinking. 

And the “Caribbean blue” sky isn’t a tourist attraction or even an actual event per se but rather a symbol or representation of the vocalist’s optimistic thoughts.

When was “Caribbean Blue” released?

“Caribbean Blue” is the lead single from “Shepherd Moons”, Enya’s third album. The song was released by the Warner Music Group on 7 October 1991.

“Caribbean Blue” also appeared on Enya’s 2009 compilation album titled “The Very Best of Enya”. Other notable Enya hits that were included in this album included: “Only Time” and “Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)“.

Song Meets with Success

This classic proved to be quite successful for Enya. It peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart in addition to charting in approximately 10 other countries.

Did Enya write “Caribbean Blue”?

Enya contributed to the writing of this iconic song. However, the title was given to her by her loyal lyricist, Roma Ryan.

And the song was produced by Roma’s husband and another frequent collaborator of Enya’s, Nicky Ryan.

The music video to “Caribbean Blue” was influenced by the works of Maxfield Parrish, one of the most-popular painters of the early 20^th century.

This song references the entities “Eurus”, “Boreas”, “Zephryus”, “Āfer Ventus” and “Africus”. The latter two are actually the same. And these titles are the names of wind deities from Ancient Greece. Moreover their mentions are meant to allude to the transient nature of the singer’s thoughts.