| …Eurus… |
Eurus is a god from which personifies the east wind. (Eurus is Latin; in Greek mythology, it is spelt Euros). Since the sun rises from the east, it seems appropriate for Caribbean Blue to start off with Eurus, the god of the east wind. Dawn is the beginning of a new day which symbolizes a fresh start. Caribbean blue is the first song in Shepherd Moons which has words. Usually, the beginning of anything can be said to be uncertain; one knows not what the day holds. This may hint of an interesting journey through the song and the album with different shades, climaxes, moods, etc. Through this album, one will notice that many of the songs revolve around the theme of nature and powerful forces. |
| …Afer Ventus… |
Afer Ventus is Latin for African Wind. The word Ventus is usually used for a named wind. Again, we see the reinforcement of nature. In this song, the winds play a major role. Since winds are said to change quite often, one tends to reflect upon the uncertain habits of human nature. In many religions, the winds are said to be guiding forces. The use of winds in this song suggests to the listener that the ‘uncertain’ human can always depend on forces greater than it. Rather than having to make our own decisions or follow those of another human, the first two lines of this song allow us to let go of earthly burdens and to let the winds guide us through a magical journey of music. |
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| …so the world goes round and round |
Of course the world goes round and round! But the way this statement is written has a special meaning. Notice the ellipses in the beginning portion. Since this line has no definite beginning (or end for that matter), it means that the world will never stop revolving and evolving. |
| with all you ever knew – |
By carrying over the previous thought to this line, one can say that all that we hold in knowledge will never stop growing, but rather, our knowledge will continue to expand with the movement of the planet. |
They say the sky high above
is Caribbean blue… |
This is a simple sentence. Again, it is left unfinished with ellipses because this thought still has room to grow upon itself. ‘They’ refers to the average person. Most people will agree that the sky is indeed blue. The Caribbean is a beautiful sea with many islands. Characteristically, the Caribbean is usually calm, serene, and undisturbed. By denoting the sky as Caribbean blue, this statement tells us how humans want perfection and how sometimes they force themselves to see perfection even when it isn’t there. This notion carries over to other topics too. Most people will agree that the most perfect things on earth are gems of life, but what is perfect? Because this part of the song isn’t an exact statement (it trails off), it challenges given facts (the sky is blue), human nature (to want perfection), and humans in general. |
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…if every man says all he can,
if every man is true, |
This verse shows a doubt in fellow human beings. The first two lines describe the impossible: every man saying all that he can in an honest manner. |
do I believe the sky above
is Caribbean blue… |
Even if such an impossible feat is acquired, can ‘I’ believe the fact that the sky is Caribbean blue? This portion of the song shows distrust in man. Reasonable human beings will tell you that the sky is blue, and if you ask anyone if the sky can be said to be Caribbean blue, most will answer yes, and even if a man explains all that he can in an honest manner, this line still questions the simple fact that the sky is blue, therefore showing how it is human-nature not to rely on other humans because humans are not always right. This reinforces the thoughts of the first two lines of the song (that one can rely on greater powers, but not on oneself or humans in general). So this can be interpreted as advice to follow one’s instincts and intuitions, not the physical body. |
| …Boreas… |
Boreas, in Greek mythology, is the personification of the north wind. This wind is depicted in art as bearded, powerful, draped against cold, and winged. The north wind is usually associated with angry storms and bitterness. |
| …Zephryus… |
Zephryus, on the other hand, is the gentle west wind. These two winds contrast and represent the two different sides of humans: the good side related to well-doing, etc, and the bad side related to evil, sinning, etc. Because of such a wide spectrum, humans are easily changeable and unreliable. Again, one should trust the ‘Forces.’ |
…if all you told was turned to gold,
if all you dreamed was new, |
This verse is quite similar to the preceding verse (before the winds), except in this one, a new path is revealed. All along, the song tells of distrust and doubt…until now. Here, the song tells of your words turning to gold. Since gold is considered of high value and worth, it means that your words have passed the tests and can be considered as true. ‘If all you dreamed was new’ means the start of a new idea. Indeed this is a new idea, but it also relates to the human mind; the brain is useless unless it can dream up of new patterns and unique ways. This is the turning point of the song. The ‘person’ finally reaches an epiphany and can conclude that these given words are true (that the sky is Caribbean blue), thus there is something new in their minds. |
imagine sky high above
in Caribbean blue… |
This last portion concludes the epiphany but in a unique way. Rather than just taking the given fact bluntly, one is told to imagine and dream of the situation. This is a generalization of the thinking patterns of man. For example, there are theories that if one were to enter a black hole, time would eventually stop. Through numerous processes of examination, many take this theory as a fact. Since this theory can’t actually be physically proven, one must enable the imagination to convince the mind that it is indeed possible. |
| …Eurus… |
Here, we have a collection of the winds, starting from the East wind (representing a new start), |
| Afer Ventus… |
then the African wind [which can be said to be the south wind; Europe is generally said to be the center of the world, so the African wind would be the south wind since Africa is south of Europe (represents warmth and nurturing)], |
| …Boreas |
the North wind (represents coldness, bitterness, and anger), |
| Zephryus… |
and the West wind (represents gentleness). |
| …Africus… |
At the end of the song, a new wind is introduced. Africus is a god personifying the southwest storm-rain wind. Since rains bring life, this can be used to represent the cycle of life; the rain gives life to the land, yet the storms can destroy all that it creates. By putting all these winds together, we have a general structure of the human emotions: fresh starts, warmth & nurturing, coldness & bitterness & anger, and gentleness. The last wind is the shell of which all these emotions are kept in. By releasing the emotions, it can either cause growth or destruction. |
