“Orinoco Flow” premiered on Enya’s 1988 album Watermark, and was released as its first single a month later.
The single charted in at least 15 countries. It went to number one in the national singles charts of the UK, Ireland, and several other countries, and it topped the European Hot 100.
The so...
[Verse 1]
Let me sail, let me sail
Let the Orinoco flow
Let me reach, let me beach
On the shores of Tripoli
Let me sail, let me sail
Let me crash upon your shore
Let me reach, let me beach
Far beyond the Yellow Sea
[Interlude]
De-da, de-da, de
De-da, de-da, de
De-da, de-da, de
De-da, de-da, de
De-da, de-da, de
[Chorus]
(Ah)
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away
[Verse 2]
From Bissau to Palau
In the shade of Avalon
From Fiji to Tiree
And the Isles of Ebony
From Peru to Cebu
Feel the power of Babylon
From Bali to Cali
Far beneath the Coral Sea
[Interlude]
De-da, de-da, de
De-da, de-da, de
De-da, de-da, de
De-da, de-da, de
De-da, de-da, de
[Bridge]
Turn it up, turn it up
Turn it up, up
Adieu
(Ooh)
Turn it up, turn it up
Turn it up, up
Adieu
(Ooh)
Turn it up, turn it up
Turn it up, up
Adieu
(Ah)
[Chorus]
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away
[Verse 3]
From the North to the South
Ebudæ unto Khartoum
From the deep Sea of Clouds
To the Island of the Moon
Carry me on the waves
To the lands I've never been
Carry me on the waves
To the lands I've never seen
We can sail, we can sail
With the Orinoco flow
We can sail, we can sail
Sail away, sail away, sail away
[Verse 4]
We can steer, we can near
With Rob Dickins at the wheel
We can sigh, say goodbye
Ross and his dependency
We can sail, we can sail
Sail away, sail away, sail away
[Verse 5]
We can reach, we can beach
On the shores of Tripoli
We can sail, we can sail
Sail away, sail away, sail away
From Bali to Cali
Far beneath the Coral Sea
We can sail, we can sail
Sail away, sail away, sail away
[Verse 6]
From Bissau to Palau
In the shade of Avalon
We can sail, we can sail
Sail away, sail away, sail away
We can reach, we can beach
Far beyond the Yellow Sea
We can sail, we can sail
Sail away, sail away, sail away
[Verse 7]
From Peru to Cebu
Feel the power of Babylon
We can sail, we can sail
Sail away, sail away, sail away
[Coda]
We can sail, we can sail
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Ah, ah-ah
Ah, ah-ah
Ah
Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) was written by Nicky Ryan & Roma Ryan & Enya.
Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) was produced by Nicky Ryan.
Enya released Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) on Sat Oct 15 1988.
The song’s lyricist, Roma Ryan has explained that the entire song is a metaphor for “a journey of the imagination”.
On the surface, it’s another story: The lyrics are an invitation to sail around the world, and the singer imagines the places you will go together when she collects you on her journey...
According to both the sheet music and the lyrics in the CD booklet, it is indeed Tiree.
“From Fiji to Taree” sounds reasonable, since not only is Taree near Fiji, it’s also on the banks of the Manning River, which flows to the Tasman Sea only a few kilometres away. But, in each pair of placenames i...