Enya was born into a musical family. Her father, Leo Brennan, was the leader of the Slieve Foy Band, a popular Irish show band; her mother was an amateur musician. Most important to Enya's career were her siblings, who formed Clannad in 1976 with several of their uncles. Enya joined the band as a keyboardist in 1979, and contributed to several of the group's popular television soundtracks. In 1982, she left Clannad, claiming that she was uninterested in following the pop direction the group had begun to pursue. Within a few years she was commissioned, along with producer/arranger Nicky Ryan and lyricist Roma Ryan, to provide the score for a BBC-TV series called The Celts. The soundtrack was released in 1986 as her eponymous solo album.
Enya didn't receive much notice, but Enya and the Ryans' second effort, Watermark, became a surprise hit upon its release in 1988. "Orinoco Flow," the first single, became a number one hit in Britain, helping the album eventually sell eight million copies worldwide. Enya spent the years following the success of Watermark rather quietly; her most notable appearance was a cameo on Sinéad O'Connor's I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. She finally released Shepherd Moons, her follow-up to Watermark, in 1991. Shepherd Moons was even more successful than its predecessor, eventually selling over ten million copies worldwide; it entered the U.S. charts at number 17 and remained in the Top 200 for almost four years.
Again, Enya was slow to follow up on the success of Shepherd Moons, spending nearly four years working on her fourth album. The record, entitled Memory of Trees, was released in December of 1995. Memory of Trees entered the U.S. charts at number nine and sold over two million copies within its first year of release. In 1997 came the release of a greatest-hits collection, Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya, which featured two new songs. Enya's first album of new material in five years, A Day Without Rain, was released in late 2000. In 2001, she contributed material to the first film in Peter Jackson's award-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy, scoring a hit with the single "May It Be." Amarantine, her first full-length recording since Day Without Rain, followed in November of 2005, and has so far sold nearly five million copies.
(Much of the above content of this biography has been taken from http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:0ifoxqe5ldhe~T1.)
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, her song "Only Time" (from A Day Without Rain) was used as a backdrop in many radio and TV reports about the attacks. She initially frowned upon this use, especially when many bootlegged versions of Only Time mixed with sound effects from the attack began to appear.
Enya eventually agreed to release a special edition of the song with funds going to the families of victims. Many Enya fans, however, are resentful that her music has been linked with the attacks; an example of this occurred on a 2002 appearance on CNN's Larry King Live when images of battle in Afghanistan were shown on screen as she performed "May It Be", a song with little war connection. This sparked some complaints within Enya's fan community.
Enya is admittedly a slow worker when it comes to composing music. As a result, fans have had to wait as long as five years between albums. In September 2004, a new song, set to words from a Japanese poem Roma Ryan had written and called "Sumiregusa" ("Wild Violet") was unveiled in Japan as part of an advertising campaign for Panasonic. In announcing the new recording, Warner Music Japan stated that Enya's next album was scheduled for release (in Japan at least) in mid-November. Enya issued a press release on her official Web site on 19 September stating that this was a mistake and no new album was immediately forthcoming.
Enya was awarded the World's Best-Selling Irish Act award at the World Music Awards in London on 19 November 2006. On February 11, 2007 Amarantine won Enya her fourth Grammy when it was awarded the Best New Age Album award.
Recent Releases
In November of 2005, a new album, entitled Amarantine, was released. It won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album for 2007.
In 2006, Enya released several Christmas-themed CDs with newly recorded material. On October 10, 2006, Sounds of the Season was released containing six songs: the previously released "Oíche Chiúin" (a.k.a. "Silent Night") and "Amid the Falling Snow", new recordings of the standards "Adeste Fideles" (a.k.a. "Oh Come All Ye Faithful") and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" as well as two original songs, "Christmas Secrets" and "The Magic of the Night". This CD was released only in the United States in an exclusive partnership with the NBC television network and the Target department store chain.
In later November two new editions of Amarantine were released. In North America, it was reissued as Amarantine - Special Christmas Edition with a second disc containing the four new Christmas songs previously issued on Sounds of the Season (the original album already had "Amid the Falling Snow" while "Oíche Chiúin" is a recording dating back to 1988 which had already been featured on numerous collections). The UK received a deluxe version of this release (Amarantine - The UK Special Edition) which also included three postcards and a copy of Roma Ryan's book Water Shows the Hidden Heart which is referenced on the original album. Canadian fans could choose from the Special Christmas Edition of Amarantine, or an EP entitled Christmas Secrets which only contained the four new songs.
Coinciding with these releases was the relaunch of Enya's official website on Nov. 2, 2006. On November 16, 2006 Enya mentioned on ITV1's that she is working on a new album. A month later, in a Japanese interview Enya said that the album will be a complete Christmas album and it will be released in the winter of 2007. There is no schedule for the release date itself.
Enya's album, "And Winter Came", was released in November 2008. It contains twelve tracks - ten brand new songs plus a newly recorded choral rendering of Oiche Chiuin (Silent Night) and a stunning version of the traditional Christmas hymn 'O come, o come Emmanuel'
08 After Ventus
Enya Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mare Imbrium. Ariel.
Et itur ad astra.
Et itur ad astra.
Mare Undarum. Io. Vela.
Mirabile dictu. Mirabilia.
Mirabile visu. Mirabilia.
Et itur ad astra.
Sempervirent. Rosetum.
Afer Ventus. Zephyrus.
Volturnus. Africus.
Et itur ad astra.
Et itur ad astra.
Etesiarum. Eurus.
Suus cuique mos. Suum cuique.
Meus mihi, suus cuique carus.
Mememto, terrigena.
Mememto, vita brevis.
Meus mihi, suus cuique carus.
The lyrics of After Ventus by Enya are heavily influenced by Latin names given to various lunar mare (or seas) and mythological deities. The song reflects the artist's love for the ocean and the vastness of the world beyond. The opening lines, "Mare Nubium, Umbriel, Mare Imbrium, Ariel" refers to the Moon's Mare Nubium and Mare Imbrium and their moon's, Umbriel and Ariel respectively. The following phrase, "Et itur ad astra", translates to "And we go to the stars".
The subsequent lines, "Mare Undarum, Io, Vela, Mirabile dictu, Mirabilia, Mirabile visu, Mirabilia", make references to other lunar seas such as Mare Undarum and mythical deities such as Io and Vela. The phrase "Mirabile dictu" means "wondrous to tell" and "mirabile visu" means "wonderful to see". The verse ends with "Sempervirent, Rosetum" meaning "the evergreen rose garden".
The chorus of the song talks about the different winds that blow, such as Afer Ventus, Zephyrus, Volturnus, Africus, Etesiarum, and Eurus, all of whom were named after mythical deities. The phrase "Et itur ad astra" is repeated throughout the song, meaning "And we go to the stars", emphasizing the vastness of the universe.
Enya's influences for the song come from her childhood memories of her grandfather, who was a keen sailor. The song is said to be a tribute to his adventurous spirit and to the vastness of the sea. Interestingly, the song's title, "After Ventus," means "following the wind" in Latin. Another interesting fact is that the album, "Shepherd Moons" on which the song appears, received a Grammy Award in 1992 for Best New Age Album.
Line by Line Meaning
Mare Nubium. Umbriel.
The sea of clouds. A moon of Uranus.
Mare Imbrium. Ariel.
The sea of showers. Another moon of Uranus.
Et itur ad astra.
And so we go to the stars.
Et itur ad astra.
And so we go to the stars.
Mare Undarum. Io. Vela.
The sea of waves. A moon of Jupiter. The sails.
Mirabile dictu. Mirabilia.
Amazing to say. Wonders.
Mirabile visu. Mirabilia.
Amazing to see. Wonders.
Et itur ad astra.
And so we go to the stars.
Et itur ad astra.
And so we go to the stars.
Sempervirent. Rosetum.
Evergreen. A rose garden.
Afer Ventus. Zephyrus.
African wind. Greek god of the west wind.
Volturnus. Africus.
Italian god of the Tiber river. African wind.
Et itur ad astra.
And so we go to the stars.
Et itur ad astra.
And so we go to the stars.
Etesiarum. Eurus.
The annual strong winds of the Aegean sea. Greek god of the east wind.
Suus cuique mos. Suum cuique.
To each their own custom. To each their own.
Meus mihi, suus cuique carus.
Mine is dear to me, but for everyone there is something dear.
Mememto, terrigena.
Remember, earthborn one.
Mememto, vita brevis.
Remember, life is short.
Meus mihi, suus cuique carus.
Mine is dear to me, but for everyone there is something dear.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ShyNirvanaDemon
This song puts a certain image in my mind...I imagine being at the end of life, lying on a beach or a field somewhere with the sun shining down....then slowly ascending towards the heavens and being at complete peace, watching the stars and planets soar, reaching for that bright light at the far end of the galaxy. Music this beautiful can only come from divine inspiration.
666.diablo
Yes. The lyrics as well as the music is so peaceful. I play this song and all my troubles go away - at least, for four minutes.
Alan Fothergill
I can never get enough of this beautiful song. The music is on my mind every day and I never tire of it. It has a haunting, yet incredible feeling of peace and tranquility about it. The harmony is just breathtaking, the composition is beyond the celestial heavens. Enya is an angel living among us mere mortals on earth.
jonathanrouse36
One of my favorites! I couldn't help noticing while watching your beautiful slides that one of them is of the Olympic Mountain Range. I felt so connected when I saw that since that's a view I see every day! And to see it with Afer Ventus playing is just wonderful! Thanks!
0okamino
It shows how truly fantastic reality can be. :)
gravelandgrain100
the most relaxing song I have ever heard!
Alan Fothergill
I 100% agree, it is my all time favourite too.
frueherauf
Schöne Fotos, gelungene Komposition!
witness108
Ookamino is right - look at any photo of nature while listening to this piece and see what happens. And Shy Nirvana too - divine inspiration - and the music itself is inspiring.
moeharvard
in touch with the Divine.Thank you.