Comments: 44

• Chuck Rodgers from Pittsburgh, Pa 15209Que linda me la traiga Cuba
  La reina de la Mar Caribe
  Cielo sol no tiene sangreahi
  Y que triste que no puedo vaya oh va, oh va
  translation
  How nice Cuba brings it to me
  The Queen of the Caribbean Sea
  Sun sky has no blood, there
  And how sad that I can not go oh go, oh goes
• Kevin from Boobzf--kin love csny. very nice band that makes me happy. rock on!
• Anonymous from MidwestI hear: no me devuelvo a Cuba (I won't return to Cuba). and "quiero sol" (I want sun) as opposed to "cielo sol". Also "y que triste" (and how sad) as opposed to "why triste". I think "que no puedo vaya" is him trying to say "that I can't go" but he used the wrong "to go" verb conjugation. It would be "ir" instead of vaya in this context.
• Nikki from Ceresbeautiful.so sad. timeless.
• AnonymousThis has always been my favorite song
• Richard from UsaGarbled Spanish. Que linda me la traiga Cuba? Que linda, que me la atraiga Cuba-maybe. Del mar Caribe as another indicated. Finally que no pueda ir. Might as well do it right, but then, who was going to notice at that place and at that time?
• Gregorio from Ann Arbor, MichiganFrom the performance at Woodstock, 1969, what I understood in Spanish (and I can be wrong) is:
  
  Debí ir de Venezuela a Cuba, la reina de la [sic] Mar Caribe. Quiero son, a visitarme [sic] ahí. Y qué triste que no puedo bailar.
  
  The translation is:
  I should have gone from Venezuela to Cuba, the pearl of the Caribbean Sea. I want rhythm, (so you) can visit me there. And how sad it's (that) I can't dance.
• Susan from Cleveland, OhioThese guys could be brothers. That's how well blended their harmonies are. Musical magic to the ears.
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn November 13th 1969, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young performed at the Winterland Ballroom* in San Francisco, California {was the first of four nights at the 'Ballroom'}...
  They opened their thirteen song set with "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"; and at the time the song was at #27 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart, ten days later on November 23rd, 1969 it would peaked at #21 {for 2 weeks} and spent 12 weeks on the Top 100...
  The day before the concert, on November 12th, Neil Young celebrated his 24th birthday...
  * The venue was also known as the 'Winterland Arena' and was demolished in 1985 to make way for an apartment complex.
• Gary from Port Charlotte, FlStills wrote and usually performs the song in the "Bruce Palmer modal" tuning of EEEEBE as opposed to the standard EADGBE. The same turning is also employed by Stills in 4+20. In his 2007 release "Just Roll Tape" recorded April 26, 1968 he can be heard "down-tuning" his guitar.
• Sandy from Enterprise, FlIn Judy Collins' autobiography, "Singing Lessons," she says the reference to come see me on "Thursdays and Saturdays" was to her visits to her therapist -- a practice that Stills did not endorse. And no wonder, as her therapist was a quack who followed the now-debunked "Sullivan" method of therapy which espoused, among other ridiculous notions, that all children should be raised by someone other than their own parents. I love Judy Collins' music, but reading her life story kind of turned me off to her personally. She seems way too wrapped up in herself .... oh well, I guess that's part of being a Great Artist.
• Esskayess from Dallas, TxLengthwise, this one is right up there with MacArthur Park and American Pie.
• Diane from Providence, RiI must have heard this song a million times, but its one of those songs that never gets old. The lyrics are beautiful, but it's the musicality of every element that really draws me in. My favorite part is probably where it slows down, kind of in the middling-end, right before the closing Spanish verse. It sounds like a drowsy summer sky.
• Deethewriter from Saint Petersburg, Russia FederationThere are different translations. It's hard to translate, since it is broken Spanish and difficult to understand.
  Stills could be saying 'it would be' as well, it's not clear...
  'How nice it will (or 'would') be taking YOU to Cuba / The queen of the Caribbean Sea.'
  He could be saying 'visitarle', but this is only a matter of grammatical correction.
  'The only thing I want is to visit you there /And how sad that I can't, "damn"'.
  
  Stills changes this last verse on certain releases of the song (the intro of 4 Way Street or the Daylight Again video, for instance) and says: 'What a pity that I can't' or 'What a pity that I can't go'
  
  Stills in the liner notes on the Box Set: "The little kicker at the end about Cuba was just to liven it up because it had gone on forever and I didn't want it to just fall apart. I said, 'Now that we've sung all these lyrics about one thing, let's change the subject entirely.' And we did. Even did it in a different language just to make sure that nobody could understand it".
• Steve from Whittier, CaJudy Collins really does have real blue eyes.....This was 7 and 1/2 minutes long, still too long back in 1969 to really play on AM radio, then..the important test..soh-oh it was edited to 4 and a half minutes, and in mono.
  ----SJC
• Frank from San Felipe, Venezuela, TxSteven Stills wrote the last part in Spanish. I never knew that he had lived part of his youth in Costa Rica and Panama where he graduated from high school. He also spent time in Gainsville, Florida where he was friends with Eagles guitarist Don Felder.
• Andy from Glen Burnie, MdI prefer the box set version myself (drums from the beginning)
• Keith Malvern from St. Louis, MoGreat song, great band...does anyone know where one can hear the harmony vocals actually split from each other, so a band could perform this complex song to perfection?
• Kirby from Abilene, TxI've since added "So Begins The Task" and "Change Partners" to my Stephen and Judy set.
  
  These songs all seem to have a common thread.
• Kirby from Abilene, TxI sing MIDI Karaoke to the local Coledge kids at Open Mike night. I like to tell them the story behind the songs. With this song, I tell them of the impending break up of Steven and Judy, her seeking psychiatric help "I've got an answer/I'm going to fly away",(A female friend sings the parts that are obviously Judy's),
  His depression after the breakup ("Four And Twenty"), and his recovery ("Love The One You're With")
  
  These make a coherent set, and holds their attentuion while teaching them something about the songs. Thank you for this site.
• Barry from New York, NcOn the live CSNY album FOUR WAY STREET, you only hear about 20 seconds of the song as it fades in. I don't understand why CSNY couldn't either present the live track in its entirety or just eliminate it altogether.
• Joe from Danbury, CtThis song is great. I used it last week to explain our breakup in 1968 to the wonderful girl I hadn't spoken to since then. Life is strange.
• Wally from Carpinteria, Ca, CaMy old buddy Rick D., of Toronto gave this up for the final stanza sung in Spanish:
  
  "...¡que linda le encuentro á cuba
  la reina del mar caribe!
  quiero sol, no que se tarden allí
  y que triste que no puedo, vaya..."
  
  Which sounds like this:
  
  Kay-lee-ee-eeen-doe-lay eng-kwen-trwo-ah Koova
  La rey-ee-ee-eee-na day la mar Ca-ree-bey
  Kyay-ro so-o-o-o-o-o-ol-no kay say tar-deng ah-yee
  ee kay tree-ee-eee-stay kay no pweh-doe, va-ya
  Which loosely translates as:
  
  I find Cuba such a beautiful place,
  "The Queen of the Caribbean"
  I love the sun; everybody's hangin' there,
  And it's really sad I can't, that's all...
  
  
  
• Doug from Kansas City, MoYes..a fantastic song. Seems that Stephen really dug Judy..and who could blame him? Those eyes could take anyone in, not to mention her voice! Stephen auditioned for the Monkees but lost out. Thats ok..he did very well with CSN&Y, eh? Thank goodnes for the internet and songfacts...I never knew these lyrics and what the song meant..until now. Makes a great song even better!
• Andy from B'ham, AlThis song could be easily discotized. I mean, adding in a drummer to discotize virtually every measure... it'd be a piece of cake! And their harmonic voices... vohh, I can't stop listening to it! Yikes it sounds so good! More rock bands need to be like Crosby, Stills, & Nash! We know of the Byrds, Chad & Jeremy, Simon & Garfunkel, Grateful Dead, Royal Guardsmen, etc. Wow! They all have excellent voices!
• Andy from Chicago, IlIn late spring 2007 Stephen Stills went on a solo tour to promote his "Just Roll the Tape" CD of previously lost material. It included SJBE. On the tour he did play SJBE as part of his set.It actually wasn't too bad considering the shape He is in.
• The Last Dj from Hell.a., CaPoor ol' Stephen Stills got his heart broken by wicked Judy "Blue Eyes" Collins. And who did she leave him for? Stacy "Prison Break" Keach! Or stoner fans of Cheech & Chong's "Up in Smoke" will better know him as Sgt. Stedenko. I suppose in the end we should pin a medal on the old gal since her wrending of a heart did inspire one of the most beautiful love songs ever written. My hats' off to ya Judy!
• Daniel from Springfield, MaYou should trip to it. You'll never hear a more amazing song, I guarantee it! "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" by Elton John about tied it, but none more simply phenomenal than Steven Still's epic masterpiece.
• Robinson from Ottumwa, IaThe ultimate p-whipped guy song. End of Story.
• Dirk from Nashville, TnThe terrible thing about this beautiful song is that there could have been albums and albums more just like it. But there are not. Crosby Stills and Nash were hugely talented, and Young too, when he joined. But they were so drugged out they couldn't get along in the same studio. They had one album. Then when Young came, they tried to do a second one but fought so much Young simply recorded his pieces and split. Then that was it. Thanks very much, guys. Way to hang in there. ...Everything that has followed for the past 35 years has been an occasional valiant effort to "give it one more shot," and has met with just so-so results. Their reunion tours end up with them stressed out all over again... I mean... HOW DIFFICULT could it possibly be to simply put aside your drugs for a few weeks to record a billion-dollar album?
• Francisco from Cudahy, CaThis is a really amazing song i especialy like what it say's.
• Michelle from Anaheim, CaBeautiful song. I've always loved it.
• Matt from Downey, CaAs a follow up to my last comment, CSN has replaced this song live with "For What It's Worth". The 1967 hit that Stills wrote for his band Buffalo Springfield. Neil Young was also in this band. Instead of doing Judy Ble Eyes as the encore they do "For What It's Worth."
• Matt from Downey, CaCSN no longer plays this song live. Been to 3 CSN shows the last 2 years. They've completely dropped this song. Maybe because it's not half as good live and a little too much work for the aging rockers to do.
• Rafael from Pasadena, CaAmazingly enough they did not sing this in 2004 at the Greek Theater here in LA.
  
  I am saddenned, but not surprised that thier voices might not have been able to sign it the way they wanted it to be heard.
  
  One of my favorite songs.
• Ross from Independence, MoThis is #418 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 greatest songs.
• Stefanie Magura from Rock Hill, Scwhat a beautiful song. I'm 16 years old, and I'm a huge crosby, stills, and Nash fan because of it. It's probably one of my favorites. I'm a huge fan of them with Neil young,too.Y
• Ruben from Grove, OkI am 35 years old and have been hearing this song on the radio all my life, but I never really listened it to until recently. When I did finally take the time to really listen to it I fell in love with it. Really a beautiful song. Now one of my favorites.
• Hugh from Kansas City, MoI think Joni did them all....C, S, N, and sometimes even Y!
• Brian from Grand Forks, NdDan, You may be confused about the Joni Mitchell part because Our House written by Graham Nash... Graham and Joni had a little relationship at the time...
• Brian from Grand Forks, NdYeah the spanish section of the song is about Cuba and it was sung in spanish because Stephen Stills didn't want it easily understood since it had little to do with the theme of the song... Stephen Stills put that part in simply because the song had gone on forever and he didn't want it to just lay there at the end... The entire Suite: was a collection of thoughts that he had compiled in a notebook that he jammed together... The Majority of the thoughts were pertaining to Judy Collins...
• Geoff from Adelaide, AustraliaFirst time I heard this song was when I was watching footage of Woodstock. I had known a few CS&N songs when I watched it, but this song really connected with me. A really beautiful song.
• Dan from Auckland, New ZealandI always heard that this song was written about Joni Mitchell. It was in Joni's house that these three jammed as a trio for the first time. They could not form CS&N immediately however as they were all tied to contracts with existing (and very popular) bands.
• Jen from Pdc, WiAt the end of the song, there is a part in a different language. This part actually has nothing to do with the song; it's about Cuba.

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