About The Song
“La Isla Bonita” (Spanish for “The Beautiful Island”) is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album True Blue (1986). Patrick Leonard and Bruce Gaitsch created it as an instrumental demo and offered it to singer Michael Jackson, who turned it down. When Leonard met Madonna to start working on True Blue, he played the demo for her. Madonna came up with the title, wrote the lyrics and produced the song with Leonard. It is her first song with Latin influences. Its instrumentation features flamenco guitar, Latin percussion, maracas, and includes four lines sung in Spanish. The lyrics talk about an island named San Pedro, whose location has been debated. Madonna said the song was her tribute to Latin Americans.
Upon its release as the fifth and final single from True Blue on February 25, 1987, “La Isla Bonita” was positively received by music critics, who cited it as a highlight in the album. It was commercially successful, becoming her eleventh top five hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and second Adult Contemporary number one. It topped the charts in Canada and several countries in Europe, including the United Kingdom―where it became Madonna’s fourth number one―France, West Germany, and Austria. In the accompanying music video, Madonna portrays two opposite characters: a young Catholic woman, and a flamenco dancer. The clip received mixed reviews from authors and contemporary critics: some saw the use of Hispanic imagery as a successful marketing strategy, while others accused the singer of cultural appropriation.
“La Isla Bonita” has been included on eight of Madonna’s concert tours and covered by multiple artists, including Ricky Martin and Alizée. It has also been referred to as one of Madonna’s best songs, and features on her compilation albums The Immaculate Collection (1990) and Celebration (2009).
“La Isla Bonita” was written and produced by Madonna and Leonard, with additional lyrics by Gaitsch. Personnel working on the song included Leonard on keyboard arrangement and programming, Gaitsch on guitars, and Paulinho da Costa as percussionist; background vocals were performed by Siedah Garrett and Edie Lehmann. The song has been described as a “Latino-pop dance ballad”, while its sound has been compared to Bossa nova. According to author Mary Cross, “La Isla Bonita” marked a departure in Madonna’s sound, as it combines flamenco guitar, Latin percussion, electronic sounds, maracas, and includes four lines sung in Spanish. To get the correct translations, Leonard and Madonna talked over the phone with a Hispanic housekeeper. According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Inc., “La Isla Bonita” is set in the time signature of common time, with a tempo of 100 beats per minute. The song is set in the key of C♯ minor (F♯ minor for the bridge), with Madonna’s voice spanning between G3 to C5 .
Video
Lyrics
¿Cómo puede ser verdad?
Last night I dreamt of San Pedro
Just like I’d never gone, I knew the song
A young girl with eyes like the desert
It all seems like yesterday, not far away
Tropical the island breeze
All of nature wild and free
This is where I long to be
La isla bonita
And when the samba played
The sun would set so high
Ring through my ears and sting my eyes
Your Spanish lullaby
I fell in love with San Pedro
Warm wind carried on the sea, he called to me
Te dijo: “te amo”
I prayed that the days would last, they went so fast
Tropical the island breeze
All of nature wild and free
This is where I long to be
La isla bonita
And when the samba played
The sun would set so high
Ring through my ears and sting my eyes
Your Spanish lullaby
I want to be where the sun warms the sky
When it’s time for siesta, you can watch them go by
Beautiful faces, no cares in this world
Where a girl loves a boy, and a boy loves a girl
Last night I dreamt of San Pedro
It all seems like yesterday, not far away
Tropical the island breeze
All of nature wild and free
This is where I long to be
La isla bonita
And when the samba played
The sun would set so high
Ring through my ears and sting my eyes
Your Spanish lullaby
Da-da, da-da-da
Tropical the island breeze
All of nature wild and free
This is where I long to be
La isla bonita
And when the samba played
The sun would set so high
Ring through my ears and sting my eyes
Your Spanish lullaby
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
Te dijo: “te amo”
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
El dijo que te ama
Pa-pa-ra-pa-pa, pa-pa-pa-pa (ah-ah)
Ah-ah, ah-ah
La isla bonita
Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah