When Havana lights recede
Swing me like Yemaya beads
Paint me in swaying starlight
At the bottom of the shipwreck sea
(Improvised vocal) I’ve got the ocean blues
Why don’t you tell me something new
A night made for catastrophe
Moonlight spells are cast for free
Answers smiling in his eyes
List of enemies at his bedside
He sings the sweetest lullabies
(Improvised vocal)
I’ve got the ocean blues
Why don’t you tell me something new
Hurricane island hold me tight
Firewater in the night
Sank his paintings out of sight
At the bottom of the shipwreck sea
Beads of blue and beads of white
Disappearing to the light
Golden chains remain forever bright
At the bottom of the shipwreck sea
(Improvised vocal)
I’ve got the ocean blues
Why don’t you tell me something new
I told you you’re the only one
Here under the withering sun
Cause babe I’m leaving for the Amazon
My love for you is already gone
Leaving for the Amazon
(Sofia Logan/Chuck Logan/Andrew Turpening)
The Story
Sofia started writing this song in Brazil two summers ago. The melody reflects her love of bossa nova and jazz.
"Leaving for the Amazon" tells the true story of Sofia's friend who dated a Cuban painter whose work focused on Yemaya, the Cuban goddess of the sea. During Hurricane Irma, the ocean engulfed his Havana art studio and his paintings floated into the ocean. Yemaya reclaimed her paintings.
Sofia wrote the lyrics with Chuck Logan and performed the vocals and guitar.
Andrew Turpening (www.soundandsight.net) composed the bassline and arranged the brass.