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'
The Magic of the Night
Enya Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Make a wish then close your eyes.
Are you dreaming,
Angels singing,
Everything is right.
It's the magic of the night.
Far horizons made of snow,
Someone's dreaming,
Bells are ringing,
Everything is white.
It's the magic of the night.
High up in the sky,
Can you see a shining light?
Can it be that we can see
An angel who is flying, flying?
Can an angel lose their way,
Who of us on earth can say?
Someone's dreaming,
Angels singing,
Everything is right.
It's the magic of the night.
High up in the sky,
Can you see a shining light?
Can it be that we can see
An angel who is flying, flying?
When the stars are in the skies,
Make a wish then close your eyes.
Are you dreaming,
Bells are ringing,
Angels are in flight.
It's the magic of the night.
Angels are in flight,
It's the magic of the night
The lyrics of Enya's "The Magic of the Night" beautifully capture the wonder and enchantment of a starry night. The first verse encourages the listener to make a wish and close their eyes, inviting them into a dreamlike state. The second verse speaks to the hopes and dreams of children as they see the snow-covered landscape before them. The repetition of the phrase "someone's dreaming" emphasizes the peacefulness and contentment that the night can bring. The chorus repeats the phrase "it's the magic of the night" several times, further reinforcing the idea that there is something soothing and wondrous about being outside under a starry sky.
The song's third verse introduces the idea of angels and their potential presence in the sky. The lyrics ask if it's possible to see an angel flying and if they could ever lose their way. These questions invite the listener to contemplate the possibilities of the magical universe around us. The final chorus reinforces the idea that angels are in flight and that the magic of the night surrounds us.
Overall, the lyrics to Enya's "The Magic of the Night" evoke a sense of peacefulness, wonderment, and the infinite possibilities of the universe.
Line by Line Meaning
When the stars are in the skies,
The occurrence of stars at night reminds us to hope and dream.
Make a wish then close your eyes.
We close our eyes to visualize our deepest desire while making a wish.
Are you dreaming,
The possibility of dreams turning into reality.
Angels singing,
Spirits that are normally invisible are now making their presence felt.
Everything is right.
All our worries and troubles fade away in these magical moments.
It's the magic of the night.
The transformative power of the night sky.
Far horizons made of snow,
Snow-clad mountains expanding across the horizon.
Bring the hopes each child will know.
The innocence of children is represented by their hopefulness.
Someone's dreaming,
People in the world are wishing and dreaming.
Bells are ringing,
The sound of bells creates a vibrant atmosphere.
Everything is white.
The purity of snow and the calmness it represents.
High up in the sky,
When we look up towards the heavens.
Can you see a shining light?
The possibility of seeing a shooting star.
Can it be that we can see
The idea of seeing an angel in the sky.
An angel who is flying, flying?
Is it possible for an angel to take flight in the physical world?
Can an angel lose their way,
If we see something unusual, do we question its origin?
Who of us on earth can say?
It's hard to come up with a logical explanation to mysterious happenings.
Angels are in flight,
The idea that a world beyond our own exists.
It's the magic of the night.
The transformative power of the night sky.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Eithne Bhraonain, Nicky Ryan, Roma Shane Ryan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind