Artists

Enya – vocals, keyboards

Written by Enya & Roma Ryan, with Nicky Ryan also credited as a composer on some listings. Arranged by Enya & Nicky Ryan, produced by Nicky Ryan, co-produced by Enya & Ross Cullum, mixed by Ross Cullum, with Rob Dickins as executive producer. The second track (about 4:06) on Watermark (WEA, 19 September 1988).

Sung entirely in Latin, with a title meaning “I finish the course,” from an inscription on the portico of Marilyn Monroe’s last home that reads “my journey ends here,” according to Roma Ryan’s liner notes. Enya has said the duo tried Gaelic and English but found the Latin worked best, and chose to leave the vocals bold and up-front, like a choral piece. The lyrics also quote the proverb “after the clouds, the sun.”

Enya – Cursum Perficio Lyrics

Cursum perficio.
Verbum sapienti:
Quo plus habent,
Eo plus cupiunt.
Post nubila, Phoebus
Iternum

[Translation]

I finish the course.
A word to the wise:
The more people have,
The more they want.
After the clouds, Phoebus

To listen to other songs from the the Teleskop 24 program click here.

Artists

Enya – vocals, keyboards
Neil Buckley – clarinet

Written by Enya & Roma Ryan. Arranged by Enya & Nicky Ryan, produced by Nicky Ryan, co-produced by Enya & Ross Cullum, mixed by Ross Cullum, with Rob Dickins as executive producer. Recorded 1987–88 at Aigle Studio (Killiney, County Dublin) and Orinoco/Miloco Studios (London). The third track (3:59) on Watermark (WEA, 19 September 1988).

The track was first recorded with wordless vocals before Rob Dickins suggested lyrics, in particular poetry by Wilfred Owen, which led Roma Ryan to write a set of words inspired by Owen’s style. Nicky Ryan has explained that the clarinet solo exists because Enya sang that line on the demo and it clearly needed to be played on clarinet, though he never expected the clarinet and the title to invite comparisons with Acker Bilk’s “Stranger on the Shore.”

Enya – On Your Shore Lyrics

Strange how my heart beats
To find myself upon your shore.
Strange how I still feel
My loss of comfort gone before.

Cool waves wash over
And drift away with dreams of youth
So time is stolen
I cannot hold you long enough.

And so this is where I should be now
Days and nights falling by
Days and nights falling by me.
I know of a dream I should be holding
Days and nights falling by
Days and nights falling by me.

Soft blue horizons
Reach far into my childhood days
As you are rising
To bring me my forgotten ways.

Strange how I falter
To find I’m standing in deep water
Strange how my heart beats
To find I’m standing on your shore.

To listen to other songs from the the Teleskop 24 program click here.

Artists

Enya – vocals (Irish/Gaelic), keyboards, synthesizers
Chris Hughes – rototoms, African hand drums
Nicky Ryan – handclaps

Written by Enya & Roma Ryan, with the Irish adaptation by Enya. Arranged by Enya & Nicky Ryan, produced by Nicky Ryan, co-produced by Enya & Ross Cullum, engineered and mixed by Ross Cullum, with Rob Dickins as executive producer. Recorded at Orinoco Studios (London) and Aigle Studio (Artane, Ireland), mixed at Wessex Studios. The fourth track (about 4:03) on Watermark (WEA, 19 September 1988), released as a single on 5 June 1989.

Recorded in Irish, this is the album’s original version; a rearranged English-language remake, “Storms in Africa (Part II),” came out as a single in 1989 and reached No. 41 on the UK chart. The team wanted the song to capture a feeling of unrest, so Ross Cullum suggested bringing in Chris Hughes (formerly of Adam and the Ants) to play rototoms and African hand drums. AllMusic noted how his drums add to the “understated, evocative fire” of the song. Enya performed it at the 1989 World Music Awards in Monte Carlo.

Enya – Storms In Africa Lyrics

Ca fhad e o
Ca fhad e o
Siul tri na stoirmeacha
Gabh tri na stoirmeacha

Ca fhad e o
Tus na stoirm
Ca fhad e
O tus go deireadh

Tog do chroi
Siul tri na stoirmeacha
Tog do chroisa
Gabh tri na stoirmeacha

Turas mor
Trom tri na Stoirmeacha

Turas fada
Amharc tri na stoirmeacha.

[Translation]

How long is it since
How long is it since
Walk through the storms
Go through the storms

How long is it since
The start of the storm
How long is it
From beginning to end

Lift your heart
Walk through the storms
Lift your heart!
Go through the storms

Great Journey
Heavy, through the storms

Long Journey
Look through the storms

To listen to other songs from the the Teleskop 24 program click here.

Artists

Enya – vocals, keyboards, synthesizers
Davy Spillane – low whistle

Written by Enya & Roma Ryan. Arranged by Enya & Nicky Ryan, produced by Nicky Ryan, co-produced by Enya & Ross Cullum, engineered and mixed by Ross Cullum, with Rob Dickins as executive producer. Recorded at Aigle Studio (Killiney, County Dublin) and Orinoco/Miloco Studios (London), mixed at Wessex Studios. The fifth track (about 4:20) on Watermark (WEA, 19 September 1988), released as a single on 20 May 1991.

The first lyric Roma Ryan wrote for the album, a song of loneliness and separation from a loved one that also carries “hope and determination” that they will return, as she later described it. The 1991 single release marked the song’s use in the films Green Card and L.A. Story, and a vocalised version, “As Baile,” appeared as a B-side. Davy Spillane, a leading Irish uilleann pipes and low whistle player, adds the whistle part on this track.

Enya – Exile Lyrics

Cold as the northern winds
In December mornings,
Cold is the cry that rings
From this far distant shore.

Winter has come too late
Too close beside me.
How can I chase away
All these fears deep inside?

[Chorus:]
I’ll wait the signs to come.
I’ll find a way
I will wait the time to come.
I’ll find a way home.

My light shall be the moon
And my path – the ocean.
My guide the morning star
As I sail home to you.

[Chorus]

Who then can warm my soul?
Who can quell my passion?
Out of these dreams – a boat
I will sail home to you.

To listen to other songs from the the Teleskop 24 program click here.

Artists

Enya – vocals, keyboards, synthesizers (including Roland D-50)
James “Jimbo” Barton – mixing

Written by Enya & Roma Ryan. Arranged by Enya & Nicky Ryan, produced by Nicky Ryan, co-produced by Enya & Ross Cullum, engineered by Ross Cullum, mixed by Jimbo Barton, with Rob Dickins as executive producer. Recorded at Orinoco Studios (London) and Aigle Studio (Dublin). The seventh track (4:25) on Watermark (WEA, 19 September 1988), released as the lead single on 3 October 1988, it reached No. 1 in the UK for three weeks, and also topped the charts in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.

An unexpected worldwide hit for a quiet new-age album: when Rob Dickins asked jokingly where the single was after Watermark was finished, Nicky Ryan reportedly said he hadn’t wanted to be pushed for singles. After a falling-out with her engineers, the team brought the track to mixer Jimbo Barton, who recorded a 30-piece string ensemble and live timpani, with most of the other layers built from Enya’s own voice. The title nods to Orinoco Studios and the river, and the lyrics name-check “Rob Dickins at the wheel” and a pun on “Ross and his dependencies.” The Guardian ranked it No. 77 among the 100 greatest UK number-one singles.

Enya – Orinoco Flow Lyrics

Let me sail, let me sail
Let the orinoco flow
Let me reach, let me beach
On the shores of Tripoli
Let me sail, let me sail
Let me crash upon your shore
Let me reach, let me beach
Far beyond the Yellow Sea
De, De, De, De, De, De, De, De, De, De

Sail away, sail away, sail away [x4]

From Bissau to Palau – in the shade of Avalon
From Fiji to Tiree and the Isles of Ebony
From Peru to Cebu hear the power of Babylon
From Bali to Cali – far beneath the Coral Sea

De, De, De, De, De, De, De, De, De, De
Turn it up, Turn it up, Turn it up, up, Adieu, Ohhhh
Turn it up, Turn it up, Turn it up, up, Adieu, Ohhhh
Turn it up, Turn it up, Turn it up, up, Adieu, Ohhhh

Sail away, sail away, sail away [x4]

From the North to the South
Ebudae into Khartoum
From the deep sea of Clouds
To the island of the moon
Carry me on the waves
To the lands I’ve never been
Carry me on the waves
To the lands I’ve never seen

We can sail, we can sail
With the orinoco flow
We can sail, we can sail…(Sail away, Sail away, Sail away)
We can steer, we can near
With Rob Dickins at the wheel
We can sigh, say goodbye
Ross and his dependency
We can sail, we can sail…(Sail away, Sail away, Sail away)

To listen to other songs from the the Teleskop 24 program click here.

Artists

Enya – vocals, keyboards, synthesizers

Written by Enya & Roma Ryan. Arranged by Enya & Nicky Ryan, produced by Nicky Ryan, co-produced by Enya & Ross Cullum, engineered and mixed by Ross Cullum, with Rob Dickins as executive producer. The eighth track (about 3:46) on Watermark (WEA, 19 September 1988), released as the second single on 12 December 1988; it reached No. 20 in the UK and No. 3 in Ireland.

Roma Ryan described the song as a “song of a spirit travelling,” inspired by a ghost story about a woman who kept dreaming of a house and later discovered, on finding it by accident, that she had been haunting it. Nicky Ryan felt a melody Enya had already written suited the story, which led to Roma writing the lyric. The track is dedicated to American producer Bones Howe, who inspired the only word Enya sings on it, “Howe.” It became a crossover hit in the US after getting airplay on progressive rock, Top 40, and new-age stations.

Enya – Evening Falls Lyrics

When the evening falls
And the daylight is fading,
From within me calls
Could it be I am sleeping?
For a moment I stray,
Then it holds me completely
Close to home – I cannot say
Close to home feeling so far away

As I walk the room there before me a shadow
From another world, where no other can follow
Carry me to my own, to where I can cross over
Close to home – I cannot say
Close to home feeling so far away

Forever searching; never right,
I am lost in oceans of night.
Forever hoping I can find memories
Those memories I left behind

Even though I leave will I go on believing
That this time is real – am I lost in this feeling?
Like a child passing through,
Never knowing the reason
I am home – I know the way
I am home – feeling oh, so far away

To listen to other songs from the the Teleskop 24 program click here.

Artists

Enya – keyboards, synthesizers
Chris Hughes – rototoms

Written by Enya. Arranged by Enya & Nicky Ryan, produced by Nicky Ryan, co-produced by Enya & Ross Cullum, engineered and mixed by Ross Cullum, with Rob Dickins as executive producer. Recorded at Aigle Studio (Killiney, County Dublin). The ninth track (about 3:10) on Watermark (WEA, 19 September 1988).

An instrumental named by Nicky Ryan after the image of a river it conjured in his mind; he knew Enya had the final say on titles, but she liked the suggestion and kept it. Ryan has also described how Enya plays chords over five MIDI-linked synths driven by random arpeggiators, with notes popping in and out unpredictably, and somehow makes it work. Chris Hughes adds rototoms to the track, one of the few parts on the album played by a guest.

Enya – River Lyrics

Our words go beyond the moon.
Our words go into the shadows.
The river sings the endlessness.
We write of our journey through night.
We write in our aloneness.
We want to know the shape of eternity.

Who knows the way it is?
Who knows what time will not tell us?

Mountains, solitude and the moon
Until the journey’s end?
The river holds the lost road of the sky;
The shape of eternity?

Who knows the way it is?
Who knows what time will not tell us?

Where is the beginning?
Where is the end?
Why did we fall into days?
Why are we calling out into the endlessness?

Who knows the way it is?
Who knows what time will not tell us?

To listen to other songs from the the Teleskop 24 program click here.

Artists

Enya – vocals (Irish/Gaelic), keyboards, synthesizers
Davy Spillane – uilleann pipes

Written by Enya & Roma Ryan, with the Irish adaptation by Enya. Arranged by Enya & Nicky Ryan, produced by Nicky Ryan, co-produced by Enya & Ross Cullum, engineered and mixed by Ross Cullum, with Rob Dickins as executive producer. The eleventh and closing track (about 3:54) on Watermark (WEA, 19 September 1988).

The title translates from Irish as “The Brighter Days of My Youth,” a lament in the vein of traditional Irish music about the happy memories of Enya’s childhood and their loss, with the cry “ochón ‘s ochón ó” at its heart. It is dedicated in Irish to her grandparents. AllMusic singled it out as a fascinating closer, calling Davy Spillane’s uilleann pipe solo gripping and heartbreaking against the otherwise calm, synth-based performance. Enya has said the song would be difficult to sing in any other language because of its particular Gaelic phrasing.

Enya – Na Laetha Geal M’óige Lyrics

Ag amharc trí m’óige
Is mé bhí sámh
Gan eolas marbh
Bhí mé óg san am

Anois, táim buartha
‘S fad ar shiúl an lá
Ochón is ochón ó

Na laetha geal m’óige
Bhí siad lán de dhóchas
An bealach mór a bhí romham anonn
Bhí sé i ndán domh go mbeinn, slán, slán

Anois, táim buartha
‘S fad ar shiúl an lá
Ochón is ochón ó

Na laetha geal m’óige
Bhí siad lán de dhóchas
An bealach mór a bhí romham anonn
Bhí sé i ndán domh go mbeinn, slán, slán

Anois, táim buartha
‘S fad ar shiúl an lá
Ochón is ochón ó

[Translation]

Looking back at my youth
I was happy
Without knowledge of death
I was as a child

Now, I am sorrowful
Long gone the day
Woe is me

The brighter days of my youth
They were full of hope
The great way before me
It was destined for me to be safe, secure

Now, I am sorrowful
Long gone the day
Woe is me

The brighter days of my youth
They were full of hope
The great way before me
It was destined for me to be safe, secure

Now, I am sorrowful
Long gone the day
Woe is me

To listen to other songs from the the Teleskop 24 program click here.