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'
On Your Share
Enya Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My heart beats
To find myself upon your shore.
Strange how
I still feel
My loss of comfort gone before.
Cool waves wash over
So time is stolen
I cannot hold you long enough.
And so
This is where I should be now
Days and nights falling by
Days and nights falling by me.
I know
Of a dream I should be holding
Days and nights falling by
Days and nights falling by me.
Soft blue horizons
Reach far into my childhood days
As you are rising
To bring me my forgotten ways.
Strange how I falter
To find I'm standing in deep water
Strange how
My heart beats
To find I'm standing on your shore.
Enya’s song On Your Shore reflects on the strange and nostalgic feeling of belonging somewhere or with someone, even if it may no longer be an option in reality. Enya sings about finding herself upon someone's shore, feeling the loss of comfort that was once there, and how strange it all feels. The cool waves wash over and take away the dreams of youth, and time is stolen as she cannot hold onto that comfort long enough. Despite this, Enya acknowledges that this is where she should be now, as days and nights continue to fall away. She longs for a dream that she should be holding onto now, but days and nights keep falling by her.
The second verse of the song is Enya reminiscing about her childhood days, as the soft blue horizons reach far into her memories, and someone is rising to bring back her forgotten ways. However, she falters as she finds that she is now standing in deep water, and it is strange how her heart still beats to find herself standing on the shore of the person who gave her that comfort before.
Line by Line Meaning
Strange how
It’s strange that
My heart beats
I feel excited
To find myself upon your shore.
to be where someone I love is
Strange how
It’s strange that
I still feel
I can't get rid of
My loss of comfort gone before.
the pain of losing somebody before
Cool waves wash over
The waves flow calmly
And drift away with dreams of youth
the memories of the past are being washed away by the waves
So time is stolen
time is passing too quickly
I cannot hold you long enough.
I wish I could stay with you longer
And so
That's why
This is where I should be now
I want to be with you
Days and nights falling by
Time flying by
Days and nights falling by me.
I can't hold onto time, it slips away from me
I know
I have an idea
Of a dream I should be holding
There's something I need to pursue
Soft blue horizons
The sky seems blue
Reach far into my childhood days
It makes me remember moments from the past
As you are rising
The sun is coming up
To bring me my forgotten ways.
To remind me of things I had forgotten
Strange how I falter
It's strange how I feel unsure
To find I'm standing in deep water
Finding myself in an unexpected place
Strange how
It’s strange that
My heart beats
I’m excited
To find I'm standing on your shore.
To be where the person I love is
Contributed by Ava N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@ogbonnayachukwuemeka7573
I walk the maze of moments
But everywhere I turn to
Begins a new beginning
But never finds a finish
I walk to the horizon
And there I find another
It all seems so surprising
And then I find that I know
You go there, you're gone forever
I go there, I'll lose my way
If we stay here we're not together
Anywhere is
The moon upon the ocean
Is swept around in motion
But without ever knowing
The reason for its flowing
In motion on the ocean
The moon still keeps on moving
The waves still keep on waving
And I still keep on going
You go there, you're gone forever
I go there, I'll lose my way
If we stay here we're not together
Anywhere is
I wonder if the stars sign
The life that is to be mine
And would they let their light shine
Enough for me to follow
I look up to the heavens
But night has clouded over
No spark of constellation
No Vela no Orion
The shells upon the warm sands
Have taken from their own lands
The echo of their story
But all I hear are low sounds
As pillow words are weaving
And willow waves are leaving
But should I be believing
That I am only dreaming
You go there, you're gone forever
I go there, I'll lose my way
If we stay here we're not together
Anywhere is
To leave the thread of all time
And let it make a dark line
In hopes that I can still find
The way back to the moment
I took the turn and turned to
Begin a new beginning
Still looking for the answer
I cannot find the finish
It's either this or that way
It's one way or the other
It should be one direction
It could be on reflection
The turn I have just taken
The turn that I was making
I might be just beginning
I might be near the end
@maggied5110
I'm almost in tears. I spent most of my life trying to find this song. My teacher would play this to my class during nap time😂 I knew the melody, but I had no idea what the lyrics were. God bless Enya.
@3AcesFilms
In the same.boat. I didn't even know the words, could just hum it. Just came across it going through each song in her discography
@tulsahondavintagecyclerest9197
Goodness, thank you for sharing. I know exactly how you feel about trying to find the artist behind precious childhood memories. Much love ❤️
@sidimlapper3248
did you play smw or watch blues clues because well...
@dumblewhoree
I tried to find it by typing in "It should be one direction" it didn't work 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@dagruddicker22
And GOD BLESS your teacher for sharing great music! I feel you are now obligated to pay it forward and pass out the tradition of sharing good music with others!
@sabelomdluli8655
her music is so refreshing, i am only 23 years and her music makes so much sense to me, how soothing and classy. 2023
@dannyevers7956
If you want someone to listen to that is your age that has an angelic voice also check out Faouzia Ouihya. I like her stripped versions of her songs but she also does pop versions.
@ronaldstrange8981
How can anyone be so beautiful and talented? It's so unfair! Loved her for ages and now, aged 87, still do. Love you Enya. Septmber, 2023.
@LocalSupportGuy
For 87 year old you use technology very well since you didn't make any grammar mistakes like older folks usually do