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'
Paint The Sky With Stars
Enya Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hues of indigo arise
With them how my spirit sighs
Paint the sky with stars
Only night will ever know
Why the heavens never show
All the dreams there are to know
Who has placed the midnight sky
So a spirit has to fly?
As the heavens seem so far now,
Who will paint the midnight star?
Night has brought to those who sleep
Only dreams they cannot keep
I have legends in the deep
Paint the sky with stars
Who has placed the midnight sky
So a spirit has to fly?
As the heavens seem so far now,
Who will paint the midnight star?
Place a name upon the night
One to set your heart alight
And to make the darkness bright
Paint the sky with stars.
The lyrics to Enya’s song “Paint the Sky with Stars” may appear simple and straight forward, but they contain a profound message of hope, inspiration, and beauty. The first verse begins with “Suddenly before my eyes, Hues of indigo arise, With them how my spirit sighs, Paint the sky with stars”. This verse is about the realization of hope, of dreams, and of aspirations. The indigo colors that arise before the singer's eyes signify the endless possibilities available to her or anyone who dares to dream. Then the singer speaks of sighing, an expression of contentment, rest, and hope. She acknowledges that the stars that light up the sky embody a significant percentage of the human heart, soul, and even dreams. By asking to paint the sky with stars, the singer is asking to fill the world with hope, to inspire people to dream big, and to find contentment in the things that truly matter in life.
The following verse talks about the darkness of the night, and it’s fathomless depths. The line “Only night will ever know, Why the heavens never show, All the dreams there are to know, Paint the sky with stars” suggests that the world is sometimes too dark and too deep for us to see our dreams, aspirations, and hopes. The heavens may not always show the dreams that we have to know because our eyes are not always looking. The message here is to keep dreaming because the stars themselves symbolize dreams that come true. The singer then poses a question, “Who has placed the midnight sky so that the spirit has to fly? As the heavens seem so far now, who will paint the midnight star?” the answer may be one that we cannot avoid. We are all responsible for our dreams, aspirations, and hope. We are the creators of our faith, and in doing so, we become the artists that can paint the sky with the stars.
Line by Line Meaning
Suddenly before my eyes
In an unexpected and sudden manner, I witness
Hues of indigo arise
The color of indigo appears, hinting at the beauty of the night sky
With them how my spirit sighs
The exquisite view fills my soul with wonder
Paint the sky with stars
This scene is so exceptional, it seems like the perfect time for the painter to embellish the sky with bright, dazzling stars
Only night will ever know
The beauty and the secrets of the night can only be perceived and comprehended in darkness
Why the heavens never show
The beauty and marvel of the sky can only be seen at night
All the dreams there are to know
All of the wonders and secrets of the universe can only be discovered in the still of the night
Who has placed the midnight sky
Who is responsible for the creation of the captivating night sky?
So a spirit has to fly?
Is it so that we must leave our physical selves and fly free within our spirits to truly appreciate and marvel at the splendor of the sky?
As the heavens seem so far now
The heavens can seem unreachable or distant, but attaining them could be an incredible experince
Who will paint the midnight star?
Who is responsible for painting the vivid stars and make the exceptional night sky we witness?
Night has brought to those who sleep
As people sleep, it is the night that grants them vivid and timeless dreams
Only dreams they cannot keep
The dreams experienced while sleeping are magically surreal, but one cannot retain or own them forever
I have legends in the deep
I have knowledge of secrets and mythologies, deep within my soul
Paint the sky with stars
Pure amazement, a call for the stunning night sky to be infused with the most brilliant stars
Place a name upon the night
An opportunity to put a personal touch in the sky, by giving the night a name
One to set your heart alight
A name that makes the heart race with excitement and amazement
And to make the darkness bright
The name to brighten up the darkness and the marvel of the night sky
Paint the sky with stars
A final request to make the sky more special and delightful with the addition of the most stunning stars
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: EITHNE NI BHRAONAIN, NICKY RYAN, ROMA RYAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@victoriabunnag4070
It's my birthday weekend. I will be 66 tomorrow, February 26, 1958. Enya music decribes my heart and souls jubilation of my birthday. I have no special plans with anyone special, but that's okay, because I am special. Lol. Joy from Los Angeles, 02/26/24.
@ExcitedCricket-ep4zu
Hope your day is adventurous with new and exciting things Keep your mind open
@DamianoftheRyans
🤗
@alexandergrande4881
Enya’s music allows the universe to pause, smile, hum along and enjoy her songs and spirit
@ernestheau9146
If I were to be told that for the rest of my life the only "popular" singer/songwriter/composer I would ever be allowed to listen to, it would be Enya.
@rosekansla9072
I listened to Enya from inside the womb and fighting for my life in an incubator born at 1lb 4oz... no wonder I have such affinity for ethereal music, polyrhythm, layered songs, with strong use of minor notes and foreign languages... it was like I was born stomping my hands and heart to the beat of the earth..thank u Enya..
@angelasoucy3268
That's really beautiful. It's like you were bathed in that music because it was in your mother's veins. God Bless e💕
@angelasoucy3268
You
@brucecarroll3563
The LORD held you in his hand until he knew you were able to venture out on your own. Bless you
@DamianoftheRyans
🤗