Enya
Birth name Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, is Ireland's best-selling solo musician.
I have never come close to being married or engaged. I was with someone eight years ago when I questioned whether I wanted the pressure of being married or having children. I always felt that if pregnancy was to happen, it would happen; if it didn't, it didn't. ... I have security, I don't need a man in my life. I don't have pets, I have two guard dogs; and I don't do my own shopping; it's a security thing....The downside of success is stalkers. I have had death threats from people with fixations who need help.
You know love is everything you say;
a whisper, a word,
promises you give.
You feel it in the heartbeat of the day.
You know this is the way love is.
Late at night
I drift away -
I can hear you calling,
and my name
is in the rain,
leaves on trees whispering,
deep blue sea's mysteries.
There might be one little thing that makes all the difference, one note or one word. The fine-tuning is all important, and you've got to stay there until you get it right ... That's why it can take years.
There's something about Celtic mythology which is deep in the soul, and I just think that somehow she has tapped right into it.
I and Nicky have got a lot of disagreements, but they are nearly always associated to music. Because we both are very strong-willing persons, we might sit in the opposite corners in the studio argueing about things. One does never know beforehand, whose idea works the best way.
Enya is more than just me. It's also Nicky, who arranges my melodies, and his wife Roma, who writes the lyrics. They believed in my music from day one
I loved to talk about music to Nicky ... His influence came from people like The Beatles and The Beach Boys, and he had these ideas about layering vocals, painting landscapes with music. Roma knew about Irish mythology, told stories, wrote poetry and had this special feeling for lyrics. My grounding came from the classics.
How far to go
I cannot say.
How many more
Will journey this way?
You know when you give your love away
it opens your heart,
everything is new.
And you know time will always find a way
to let your heart believe it's true.
Always looking for a meaning,
all the time you keep believing,
but I don't know why
you won't say goodbye.
Even when the sun is shining
you don't see the silver lining,
but I don't know why
you won't say goodbye.
You know when love's
shining in your eyes
it may be the stars
fallen from above.
And you know love
is with you when you rise,
for night and day belong to love.
I started writing instrumentals but Roma pointed out they were very visual, so she started writing lyrics .. and Nicky had this idea of creating a wall of sound and started multi-tracking my voice.
Regardless of how I live my life, there are people who develop fixations that are not healthy. It could be a visual thing, or it could be the music that they are drawn to. These people need help.
It's only now when words are said
that break my heart in two,
I wonder how you can endure
all I've said, all I say to you.
I like to stay up-to-date with what's happening musically ... I wish people wouldn't think that such things were going to shock me. 'Wow! Does Enya really watch TV?'
Enya knew nothing about recording, about production or arrangements. Originally, we were stock-piling music and just letting her get on with it. There was no name on the music she was writing. All I knew was that hard work succeeded.
I'm not one for walking the beaches humming a melody ... I love the discipline of sitting in the studio, writing and listening. That is my domain.
Out of night has come the day
Out of night, our small earth.
Our words drift away.
Our words journey
to find those who will listen.
I'm very happy as I am. I realise that I made sacrifices early in my career and that it was hard on my relationships because, when I am working, I am very focused and it isn't easy, when you have been in the studio all day, to say to someone, 'I'll meet up with you later on.' I learned that it was necessary to be dedicated and put work first. But, at the same time, it was a wonderful feeling to be successful at doing something I loved.