She is the elder sister of the singer Enya, who was also briefly a member of Clannad in the early 1980s.
Her music is usually classified as New Age or Celtic. She accepts the Celtic label, but has at times indicated a slight discomfort with being seen as "New Age" as much of her music is strongly Christian, with some of her songs showing additional influences from her Catholic upbringing.
Since 2002, she has promoted herself as Moya Brennan -- a spelling closely resembling the phonetic pronunciation of her name for those not familiar with the Irish variant of the spelling.
According to her official website, her early influences included the likes of Joni Mitchell and the Beach Boys, before she discovered "the extraordinary wealth of Celtic history and melody on her doorstep".
Moya is also a member of Irish vocal supergroup T with the Maggies.
Heal This Land
Máire Brennan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Here lies a desert
With spirits running dry
It's braver to listen
Open our hearts
With our history and fame
Is it clear who's to blame?
Called on the storms to die
With our faith how we look to the sky
Our nations built from the same rock not the sand
O Lord you can heal this land
Honour and glory tied up in chains
Blind to the future that keeps us in pain
Let's change our armour
For words of love
With His spirit as our sword
Fill our hearts with trust my lord
You calmed the waters
Called on the storms to die
With our faith how we look to the sky
Our nations built from the same rock not the sand
O Lord you can heal this land
Wonderful children destined to be
Climbing in darkness
Ashamed for you and me
Prayers can be answered
Let's move mountains high
God we reach for ancient skies
Let our faith never die
You calmed the waters
Called on the storms to die
With our faith how we look to the sky
Our nations built from the same rock not the sand
O Lord you can heal this land
Máire Brennan's song Heal This Land is a powerful prayer for healing and renewal. The opening lines speak of our yearning for heavenly places, but the reality we face is a spiritual desert, where spirits are running low. Brennan acknowledges that the path to healing requires us to be brave and open our hearts. She questions whether we really understand the root causes of our problems and who is to blame.
The chorus speaks of our faith in a higher power who can calm the waters and call on the storms to die. Our nations are built on the same rock, not the sand, and we believe that with divine intervention, this land can be healed. The second verse speaks of honour and glory, but how it can be tied up in chains, leaving us blind to a better future. Brennan urges us to change our armour, to shed our defensive postures and embrace words of love. By doing so, we can wield the spirit as our sword and fill our hearts with trust in the divine.
The final verse speaks of the many children who are lost in darkness and feel ashamed for us and themselves. Brennan implores us to move mountains with our prayers, to reach for the ancient skies and let our faith never die. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus, affirming our belief that we can heal this land.
Line by Line Meaning
Heavenly places we seek to find
We are searching for somewhere divine
Here lies a desert
However, we are currently in a barren and unfulfilling place
With spirits running dry
Our emotional and spiritual resources are becoming depleted
It's braver to listen
True courage is found in being attentive to others
Open our hearts
We need to be vulnerable and receptive to change
With our history and fame
Despite our past achievements and reputation,
Is it clear who's to blame?
we are uncertain of who is responsible for our current situation
You calmed the waters
Lord, you have the power to bring tranquility to chaos
Called on the storms to die
You can make even the most turbulent situations calm
With our faith how we look to the sky
We look up to the heavens with the hope and belief that our prayers will be answered
Our nations built from the same rock not the sand
We are all connected and share a common foundation
O Lord you can heal this land
We have faith in your power to bring healing to our community
Honour and glory tied up in chains
Our values and achievements are being impeded by oppressive forces
Blind to the future that keeps us in pain
We are unable to foresee a better future and are stuck in our suffering
Let's change our armour
We need to shed our defensive and harmful ways of being
For words of love
Instead, let us embrace compassionate and empathetic language and actions
With His spirit as our sword
Let us harness the power of grace and divine intervention in overcoming difficulties
Fill our hearts with trust my lord
We ask for your help in fortifying our faith and trust in you
Wonderful children destined to be
The next generation is full of potential and opportunity
Climbing in darkness
However, they are struggling to make progress due to the lack of guidance and support
Ashamed for you and me
They feel ashamed of our collective failures and shortcomings
Prayers can be answered
Despite this, we know that our pleas for help will not go unheard
Let's move mountains high
We are ready to take on seemingly insurmountable challenges with the help of a divine power
God we reach for ancient skies
We strive for a connection with the divine, and aspire to be part of something greater than ourselves
Let our faith never die
Despite setbacks and disappointments, we hold fast to our belief in something bigger and better
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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