Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is a British recording artist, actres… Read Full Bio ↴Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is a British recording artist, actress, songwriter and dancer, largely credited for being a pioneer of Classical Crossover. She sings songs in many languages including English, Spanish, French, Latin, German, Italian, Russian, Hindi, and Mandarin.

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).

Oft in the Stilly Night
Sarah Brightman Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oft in the stilly night
Ere slumber's chain has bound me,
Fond Mem'ry brings the light
Of other days around me:
The smiles, the tears of boyhood's years,
The words of love then spoken;
The eyes that shone,
Now dimm'd and gone,

The cheerful hearts now broken!
Thus in the stilly night
Ere slumber's chain has bound me,
Sad Mem'ry brings the light
Of other days around me.

When I remember all
The friends, so link'd together,
I've seen around me fall
Like leaves in wintry weather,
I feel like one
Who treads alone
Some banquet-hall deserted,
Whose lights are fled,
Whose garlands dead,
And all but he departed!
Thus in the stilly night
Ere slumber's chain has bound me,

Sad Mem'ry brings the light
Of other days around me.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Sarah Brightman's song Oft in the Stilly Night speak about a person reminiscing about the past. The singer is in a state of restlessness and sleeplessness, unable to be bound by sleep's chain. The nostalgia sets in with memories of their youth, a time of joy, laughter, and love. The singer longs for those moments to come back to life, but alas, they're gone. The smiles, tears, words of love and the people who once shone, now dimmed and gone. The memories leave nothing but sadness and heartbreak - cheerful hearts, now broken. And while sleep lingers over the singer, the memories with the help of fond memory invade the mind and cause sleeplessness.

The second stanza of the song speaks about the longing to be with friends who have passed away. The memories bring forth images of the friends so linked together who fell like leaves in the winter weather. The singer feels like a person walking alone in a banquet hall which is deserted. With only memories left behind, the lights seem to have fled, the garlands dead, and everyone but me is gone. The singer is left feeling detached from the happy times they once shared with friends.

Line by Line Meaning

Oft in the stilly night
Many times in the quiet night

Ere slumber's chain has bound me,
Before falling asleep

Fond Mem'ry brings the light
Happy memories come to mind

Of other days around me:
Of days gone by surrounding me

The smiles, the tears of boyhood's years,
Reminding me of the joy and sadness of my childhood

The words of love then spoken;
The expressions of love I once heard

The eyes that shone,
The bright eyes that once shined

Now dimm'd and gone,
Now faded and disappeared

The cheerful hearts now broken!
The happy hearts now shattered

Thus in the stilly night
So, in the quiet night

Sad Mem'ry brings the light
Sad memories arise