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'
Celts
Enya Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hoireann is O, ha hi, ra ha, ra ho ra.
Hoireann is O, ha hi, ra ha, ra ha ra.
Hi-ri, Hi-ra, Hi-ri.
Saol na saol,
Tús go deireadh.
Tá muid beo
Saol na saol,
Tús go deireadh.
Tá muid beo
Go deo.
Hi-ri, Hi-ra, Hi-ri,
Hoireann is O, ho hi, ra ha, ra ha ra.
Enya's song The Celts is a beautiful and haunting melody that is infused with Celtic tradition and spirituality. The lyrics are in the Gaelic language, which is associated with the Celtic culture. It starts off with the Hi-ri, Hi-ro, Hi-ri chant which is repeated throughout the song. This chant is a tribute to the Celts who were the original inhabitants of Ireland. The Celts were a tribal society that believed in the power of nature and the cycles of life.
The lyrics then proceed to explore the theme of life and death. The chorus, "Saol na saol, Tús go deireadh, Tá muid beo Go deo," is a Gaelic phrase that means "Life of lives, Beginning to end, We are alive Forever." It acknowledges the cycle of life and that although we may die, the spirit of life continues on. The Hi-ri, Hi-ra, Hi-ri chant then offers a sense of mysticism and spirituality to the song.
Overall, The Celts is a beautiful homage to Celtic culture and its belief in the power of nature, the cycle of life, and spirituality. The Gaelic lyrics and the haunting melody offer a sense of connection to the traditions of the past and a reverence for the mysteries of life and death.
Line by Line Meaning
Hi-ri, Hi-ro, Hi-ri.
The chorus of the song, calling out to the Celts with an energetic and rhythmic chant.
Hoireann is O, ha hi, ra ha, ra ho ra.
A Celtic phrase representing a joyful noise or outcry of exultation and praise.
Hoireann is O, ha hi, ra ha, ra ha ra.
A continuation of the Celtic phrase, emphasizing the elation and celebration of the Celtic people.
Saol na saol, Tús go deireadh.
Life of life, beginning to end. Referring to the full cycle of life, birth to death.
Tá muid beo Go deo.
We are alive forever. Expressing the belief in the eternal nature of the soul and the continuity of existence beyond the physical realm.
Hi-ri, Hi-ra, Hi-ri.
Repetition of the chorus, reinforcing the energetic and celebratory tone of the song.
Hoireann is O, ho hi, ra ha, ra ha ra.
Final repetition of the Celtic phrase, bringing the song to a close with a joyous, vibrant tone.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: EITHNE NI BHRAONAIN, NICKY RYAN, ROMA RYAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@moonythespoonie9551
Alright.
Can I just say how much I love this video?
Enya is the pentacross, the bridge between my Old Faith and the Young (2000 years is young as religions go)...
The castle is the place of Christ, where the messenger takes up Enya's crown. But she is in the forests, with the Lord of Seasons and the Lady of Life. The old king is the Lord of Seasons in human form, and he gives up his throne to Enya, for what of the King Stag when the young stag (or the young hind, in this case) is grown? No one can reign forever.
And here's the beautiful part. Enya rides out from the Christian castle, and seeks the old king's blessing in the pagan forest. But she meets the messenger on the lake--neutral ground. She is the bridge.
She has taken the mantle of Mary, who kept the spirit of the Lady alive when the Old Faith went underground, and still keeps the balance now that we have returned.
Enya, Queen of the Celts, is queen of all her people, Old and Young Faiths alike.
How beautiful is that?
...I should probably knock off before I start a flame war. Gali out.
@redpen6528
Anyone listening to this in 2024?
@spuds2463
nah bro
@cinderbella2227
Yes!
@cinderbella2227
@@spuds2463yea you are lmao you're here
@ovidiu9000
Yes, me here!
@Virtual_Cadence
Me ❤
@LaBizarraRomina
She looks like an Ancient Celtic Queen in this awesome vid! Doesn' t she?
@greenlee7smythe
I think she was suppose to be a princess. a prince who finds his lost princess.
@FurryAminal
It's a story of power (the knight) granting sovereignty (the crown) to grace and beauty rather than taking it for itself.
@martinherrera5708
Música relax