Brightman has received over 180 Gold and Platinum sales awards in over 40 different countries around the world and is the only artist to hold #1 spots on the Billboard Classical and Dance charts simultaneously, her other achievements feature her ranking by the Recording Industry Association of America as the best-selling female classical artist of the twenty-first century and a Guinness World Record for the success of “Time to Say Goodbye,” the best-selling single in German recording history.
She has established herself as the world's biggest selling soprano of all time, She has sold 78 million albums worldwide, including 40 million copies of the soundtrack of The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical), 26 million albums, over two million DVDs and 10 million copies of the single " Time to Say Goodbye "as a soloist.
She made her debut as a dancer in troupes such as Hot Gossip and later released a string of disco singles. She was a musical theatre performer and partner of theatre composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom she originated roles including Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera.
After her divorce, Brightman became a crossover artist with former Enigma producer Frank Peterson. Her style, a blend of classical vocals and pop-inspired instrumentation and arrangement, earned her further success.
She is often cited as the woman who paved the way for other international success stories such as Il Divo, Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban. She is said to be worth as much as £30m (about US$49m).
How Sweet the Answer
Sarah Brightman Lyrics
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To music at night;
When, rous'd by lute or horn, she wakes,
And faw away, o'er lawns and lakes,
Goes answering light.
Yet love hath echoes truer far,
And far more sweet,
Of horn, or lute, or soft guitar,
The songs repeat.
'Tis when the sigh, in youth sincere,
And only then,
The sigh, that's breath'd for one to hear,
Is by that one, that only dear,
Breath'd back again.
Again, again, again,
Sarah Brightman's "How Sweet the Answer" is a lyrical exploration of the echoes of sound and feeling. The opening lines evoke the beauty of the natural world, as Echo responds to the melody of music played at night. The image of this response is hauntingly ethereal, as if the music itself is giving life to the world around it.
However, as the song progresses, it becomes clear that there is a deeper resonance at play. Love, the song argues, is an even truer and sweeter echo than the natural world could ever produce. The song speaks specifically to the genuine, youthful sigh of love - when one feels so deeply for another person that their very breath feels like a response to their emotions.
The repetition of the final lines of the song ("breath'd back again, again, again...") emphasizes the cyclical nature of this relationship between love and echo. The same words and feelings are repeated between lovers, each time imbued with more depth and meaning. The song is a gorgeous tribute to the power of sound, emotion, and the interplay between the two.
Line by Line Meaning
How sweet the answer Echo makes
The sound of Echo's response is delightful
To music at night;
Especially when it happens at night and accompanied by music
When, rous'd by lute or horn, she wakes,
Echo responds when woken by the sounds of a lute or horn
And faw away, o'er lawns and lakes,
The response can be heard far away across meadows and water
Goes answering light.
Echo's response is a luminous one
Yet love hath echoes truer far,
The echoes of love are even more genuine
And far more sweet,
And much more pleasant
Then e'er beneath the moonlight's star,
Even more than music played under the starry night sky
Of horn, or lute, or soft guitar,
More than any musical instrument
The songs repeat.
Love's echoes continue to ring true over and over again
'Tis when the sigh, in youth sincere,
It happens when a heartfelt sigh is released in youth
And only then,
And only at that moment
The sigh, that's breath'd for one to hear,
The sigh is made for that one special person
Is by that one, that only dear,
And that dear person responds with an echo of their own
Breath'd back again.
Returning that same breath with a heartfelt response again and again.
Again, again, again,
A cycle of heartfelt responses that continue to echo on and on.
Lyrics © IMAGEM U.S. LLC
Written by: B. BRITTEN MOORE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind