Released: August 1, 1983

Songwriter: Max Gronenthal

Producer: Chuck Plotkin

Walking along the beach last night
Who do you think I spy?
A girl with ebony fire eyes
Soft and low do she cry
Now what could be such a source of pain?
I so boldly inquire
Pointing finger Havana way
These three words which transpire:

She told me that only in Miami
Is Cuba so far away?
Only in Miami
My story, she goes this way
Fish may fly through the purple keys
Golden birds take to air
I am bound to the earth, it seems
My life can be so unfair
Only in Miami
Is Cuba so far away?
Only in Miami
Is Cuba so far away?

Standing on the shoreline waiting
Everyone anticipating
I can hear the broken hearted say:
Only in Miami
Is Cuba so far away?

And she cries for her child without a mother
And she cries for her son without a father
And she cries for herself without a lover
Can't face another day
Chase the fears away
I thought I heard her mumble as she
Turned away:

Only in Miami
Is Cuba so far away?
Only in Miami
Is Cuba so far away?

Standing on the shoreline waiting
Everyone anticipating
I can hear the broken hearted say:
Only in Miami
Is Cuba so far away?
Only in Miami
Is Cuba so far away?
Only in Miami
Is Cuba so
Only in Miami..

Bette Midler

Bette Midler is a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, comedienne and actress. Named in honor of Bette Davis, Midler’s career began performing off-broadway until she developed the stage persona The Divine Miss M while singing at the world-famous Continental Baths gay bathhouse. A pre-fame Barry Manilow, the venue’s in-house piano player, produced her Grammy-nominated debut album which scored three US top 40 singles including the Grammy-nominated “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”. Midler took home the Best New Artist Grammy that year, her first of three career wins.

Throughout the 1970s, Midler found further success with music, Broadway, television and film. The Rose, Midler’s 1979 acting debut, earned her both Oscar and Academy Award nominations, and its namesake song won her a Golden Globe and another Grammy – also giving Midler her first success overseas.

The early 1980s proved less successful for Midler with four under-performing singles and a box office flop with the film Jinxed. However, the second half of the decade would prove far more fruitful with a handful of very successful films including Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People, Outrageous Fortune and Beaches, the latter featuring a chart-topping cover of “Wind Beneath My Wings” that won Midler her third Grammy and is considered one of the greatest songs in American film history.