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'
Angeles
Enya Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Are you near if rain should fall?
Am I to believe
You will rise to calm the storm?
For so great a treasure words will never do.
Surely, if this is,
Promises are mine to give you.
Mine to give
Here, all too soon the day!
Wish the moon to fall and alter tomorrow.
I should know
Heaven has her way
Each one given memories to own.
Angels, all could be
Should you move both earth and sea
Angels, I could feel
All those dark clouds disappearing
Even, as I breathe
Comes an angel to their keep.
Surely, if this is
Promises are mine to give you.
Mine to give
Enya's song "Angels" is a poetic and introspective meditation on the nature of faith and belief. The song opens with a series of questions posed to the angels themselves, asking if they will be there to comfort and guide the singer when troubling times come. In the face of this uncertain future, the singer offers promises of their own, suggesting that they will do everything in their power to keep the angels close.
Through the haunting and ethereal melody, the second verse offers a reflection on the fleeting nature of life itself. The singer laments the passing of time, wishing that they could somehow alter the course of fate to create a brighter tomorrow. However, the singer is also acutely aware that heaven has its own plan, and that each person is given their own unique set of memories and experiences to treasure.
Line by Line Meaning
Angels, answer me,
The singer is calling out to angels, hoping they will respond.
Are you near if rain should fall?
The singer is asking if the angels will be there to comfort them when they're feeling down.
Am I to believe
The singer is questioning if they should have faith in the angels.
You will rise to calm the storm?
The singer is asking if the angels will help them through tough times.
For so great a treasure words will never do.
The singer believes that their relationship with the angels is so valuable that words cannot describe it.
Surely, if this is,
The singer is confident that if their belief in the angels is true...
Promises are mine to give you.
...then they have promises to offer the angels.
Mine to give
The singer emphasizes that they are the one in control of making these promises.
Here, all too soon the day!
The singer laments how quickly time passes.
Wish the moon to fall and alter tomorrow.
The singer wishes that they could change the future, but knows they cannot.
I should know
The singer is implying that they should have some insight or understanding of their situation.
Heaven has her way
The singer acknowledges that they are at the mercy of fate or a higher power.
Each one given memories to own.
Everyone has their own unique experiences and memories to treasure.
Angels, all could be
The singer believes that with the help of the angels...
Should you move both earth and sea
...they could accomplish anything, even something as monumental as moving the earth and sea.
Angels, I could feel
The singer expresses gratitude for the angels' presence and how they can feel their support.
All those dark clouds disappearing
Metaphorically speaking, the singer believes that the angels can help dispel negative emotions.
Even, as I breathe
The singer implies that the angels are always with them.
Comes an angel to their keep.
The singer suggests that the angels are present and watching over them.
Surely, if this is
Once again, the singer expresses confidence in their belief in the angels.
Promises are mine to give you.
And reiterates that they have promises to offer the angels.
Mine to give
Once again, the singer asserts that they are the one with the power to make these promises.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: EITHNE NI BHRAONAIN, NICKY RYAN, ROMA RYAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind