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'
Pale Grass Blue
Enya Lyrics
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Sun is high above and winds are still enough and all I want to do is stay
And everywhere the blues are moving in the air I see them in their flight
Sun is high above and winds are still enough and all I want to do is stay
For seven days they make the sky look down upon them as they go their way
Sun is high above and winds are still enough and all I want to do is stay
Sun is high above and winds are still enough and all I want to do is stay
And one by one they wander one by one meander never go astray
Sun is high above and winds are still enough and all I want to do is stay
And so I stand and gaze and so I watch the maze of blues depart the day
Sun is high above and winds are still enough and one by one they fly away
Sun is high above and winds are still enough and one by one they fly away
Sun is high above and winds are still enough and one by one they fly away
Enya's song Pale Grass Blue is a beautifully written poem that paints a picture of the author's surroundings. The lyrics revolve around the blue sky and the creatures that inhabit it. Enya sings of the "silver hue on wings of blue," referring to birds that fly around her. Shadows dancing in the light add a vibrant visual element to the scene. The poet looks up at the sun, a sign that it is midday and the breeze is still enough to allow the bird's wings to remain still in the sky. The poet conveys a sense of calm, wanting nothing more than to stay in this moment of beauty and tranquility.
The poem continues to describe the blue birds flying in the sky for seven days, making the sky darker. Their wings are motionless, a sign of the stillness of the atmosphere in this moment. The poet describes how the birds wait for seven nights, anticipating the sunrise when they can take flight again. The sight of the bright sun and the stillness of the winds are calming, and the poet yearns to stay.
The final stanza talks about the bluebirds' departure, where they "wander one by one meander never go astray." As they fly away, the poet watches the "maze of blues depart the day," feeling the sadness of the moment. Overall, Enya's Pale Grass Blue is a captivating piece that paints a vivid picture of nature and the tranquility it brings.
Line by Line Meaning
A silver hue on wings of blue as all around me shadows dance in light
I see blue butterflies with silver wings flitting around in the sunlight and casting shadows as they move.
Sun is high above and winds are still enough and all I want to do is stay
It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining and there's a light breeze, and I don't want it to end.
And everywhere the blues are moving in the air I see them in their flight
The blue butterflies are flying all around me, and their movement is graceful and beautiful.
For seven days they make the sky look down upon them as they go their way
The butterflies have been flying around for a whole week, and they seem to have captured the attention of the sky.
For seven nights they wait the moment for the morning light to come again
The butterflies rest at night and wait for daylight to start flying again.
And one by one they wander one by one meander never go astray
The butterflies fly around individually, but they all seem to follow the same path and never get lost.
And so I stand and gaze and so I watch the maze of blues depart the day
I watch the blue butterflies fly away at sunset and it's like watching a magical show.
Sun is high above and winds are still enough and one by one they fly away
The butterflies start to fly away in the calm afternoon air, one by one.
Sun is high above and winds are still enough and one by one they fly away
More butterflies fly away, and the peacefulness of the day is highlighted by their graceful exit.
Sun is high above and winds are still enough and one by one they fly away
The last few butterflies fly away, and the peace and tranquility of the day is brought to a close.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: EITHNE NI BHRAONAIN, NICKY RYAN, ROMA RYAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind