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Amarantine (2005)

Amarantine (2005)

Enya's mesmerizing seventh album, Amarantine, made its debut on November 22, 2005. Recognizing its outstanding artistry, the album was honored with the prestigious Grammy Award for Best New Age Album in 2007, solidifying Enya's musical prowess. Within the enchanting tapestry of Amarantine a unique linguistic journey unfolds. While Irish Gaelic takes a backseat in this particular album, Enya and Roma Ryan ventured into uncharted territory, weaving three songs with an invented language known as Loxian. Described by Enya and Roma Ryan to The Times as "a futuristic language from a distant planet," Loxian adds an ethereal touch to the album's lyrical landscape. This creative endeavor was born out of their previous experiences crafting songs in Tolkien's Elvish languages, such as "May it Be" and "Aníron."

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Following the release of her compilation box set Only Time – The Collection (2002), Enya took a short break before she started work on a new album in September 2003, her first since A Day Without Rain (2000). Amarantine was recorded in Ireland with her longtime recording partners, arranger and producer Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan.

The release date was announced by Roma Ryan on September 23, 2005 at the official Enya forum. It was subsequently leaked to the Internet on November 11, 2005.

The promotional photography was shot by Simon Fowler during two days in June 2005 at Knebworth House, Hertfordshire, England.

A music video for the first single "Amarantine" was directed by Tim Royes. The surreal forest through which Enya walks was created by digital matte painter Charles Darby (The Fifth Element, Titanic, The Matrix).

The album was launched on November 27 in the Castle of Vaux Le Vicomte, France. Record company Warner gave Enya, who wore a stunning red gown by Maria Grachvogel, an impressive banquet starting with fireworks set to the new music.

Enya in "It's In The Rain" music video.

In November 2006, an extended version of the album was issued (Amarantine - Special Christmas Edition), containing four additional Christmas-themed tracks.

Three songs on Amarantine are sung in a fictional language Loxian created by Enya's lyricist Roma Ryan. The idea arose after Roma'd written lyrics in Elvish for The Lord Of The Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring. The main influence is from the sounds that Enya sings while the songs don't have actual lyrics yet.

Loxian songs:

About that language, Enya says that "[t]he Loxians, are much like us. They're in space, somewhere in the night. They're looking out, they're mapping the stars, and wondering if there is anyone else out there. It's to do with that concept: are we alone in the universe?"

On December 5, 2005, Roma published Water Shows the Hidden Heart, book icluding her poetry and story behind the Loxian songs. The re-release is available as a part of Deluxe Collector's edition of Amarantine (November 2006).

In September 2004 a new Enya song named "Sumiregusa (Wild Violet)" was released in Japan as part of an advertising campaign for Panasonic. As part of the announcement of the new song, Warner Music Japan stated that Enya's next album would be released in November 2004. On September 19, 2004 Enya made a press release available via her website stating that no release was immediately planned.

"Sumiregusa" has been included as one of the tracks on the Amarantine album. The "Sumiregusa" song was also used by Panasonic to advertise its products in Japan, featuring in TV commercials advertising its "Viera" and "Diga" range of flat-screen TVs and DVD recorders. The commercials appeared on several national TV channels for several weeks, helping both Panasonic and Enya's sales.

Enya has said that "Amarantine" and "If I Could Be Where You Are" are her favourite songs of the album.

Release date: November 22, 2005
Released as CD and cassette

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
2005 "Amarantine" Adult Contemporary (US) 12
2006 "Someone Said Goodbye" Adult Contemporary (US) 29
2005 "Amarantine" UK Singles Chart 53
2005 "Amarantine" Oricon Weekly Single 100 (Japan) 71

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Lyrics list

Videos

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Lyrics

Less than a pearl lyrics

Roma Ryan

Da rhay-sy o'
Mal lay-rhee o'
Sav-ay-ly o'
Kad-ay-ly o'
Hey o nay Kor-rhe-ay
Ah hey o nay ka ru mmay
Eh hymm a vl-la rhe-ea kan
Eh hymm a ka lla mmay o an
O ay ka nee hymm nno hymm
O ay ka nee hymm nno hymm a rhay.

Hii-yha...
Hii-yha...
Hii-yha...
Hii-yha...

He-ah vi-iya me-ne mmay
A he ah lu-ua no ee-tay
Eh o th-ay-a rhee lloo ka
Eh o mer-ra man a saa
Hey nal oroom-may hymm nno hymm
Ah hey nal ba-na hymm nno a rhay.

Hii-yha...
Hii-yha...

(repeat)

Translation

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.

We call out into the distance...
We call out into the distance...
We call out into the distance...
We call out into the distance...

Less than a pearl in a sea of stars,
we are a lost island in the shadows.

It may be our words become lost.
It may be our words find nothing, find no-one.

We call out into the distance...
We call out into the distance...

(repeat)

Amarantine lyrics

Roma Ryan

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.

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.

Amarantine...
Amarantine...
Amarantine...
Love is.
Love is.
Love...

Amarantine...
Amarantine...
Amarantine...
Love is.
Love is.
Love...

You know love may sometimes make you cry,
so let the tears go,
they will flow away,
for you know love will always let you fly
-how far a heart can fly away!

Amarantine...
Amarantine...
Amarantine...
Love is.
Love is.
Love...

Amarantine...
Amarantine...
Amarantine...
Love is.
Love is.
Love...

Amarantine...
Amarantine...
Amarantine...
Love is.
Love is.
Love...

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.

It's in the rain lyrics

Roma Ryan

Every time
the rain comes down,
close my eyes and listen.
I can hear the lonesome sound
of the sky as it cries.

Listen to the rain
Here it comes again
Hear it in the rain

Feel the touch
of tears that fall
-they won't fall forever
In the way the day will flow
all things come,
all things go.

Listen to the rain
...the rain...
Here it comes again...
...again...
Hear it in the rain
...the rain...

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.

Even when
this moment ends,
can't let go this feeling.
Everything
will come again
in the sound,
falling down,
of the sky as it cries.
Hear my name in the rain.

If I could be where you are lyrics

Roma Ryan

Where are you this moment?
only in my dreams.
You're missing, but you're always
a heartbeat from me.
I'm lost now without you,
I don't know where you are.
I keep watching, I keep hoping,
but time keeps us apart

Is there a way I can find you,
is there a sign I should know,
is there a road I could follow
to bring you back home?

Winter lies before me
now you're so far away.
In the darkness of my dreaming
the light of you will stay

If I could be close beside you
If I could be where you are
if I could reach out and touch you
and bring you back home
Is there a way I can find you
Is there a sign I should know
Is there a road I could follow
to bring you back home to me

Long long journey lyrics

Roma Ryan

City lights shine on the harbour,
night has fallen down,
through the darkness
and the shadow
I will still go on.

Long, long journey
through the darkness,
long, long way to go;
but what are miles
across the ocean
to the heart that's coming home?

Where the road
runs through the valley,
where the river flows,
I will follow every highway
to the place I know.

Long, long journey
through the darkness,
long, long way to go;
but what are miles
across the ocean
to the heart that's coming home?

Long, long journey
out of nowhere,
long, long way to go;
but what are sighs
and what is sadness
to the heart that's coming home?

(repeat)

Sumiregusa (Wild Violet) lyrics

Roma Ryan

Mono no awarē
Murasaki iro no hana
Haru no hana
To fuyu mo koyuki
Harahara

Shizēn no bi kana
Ah! Midori no ha to
Aki no iro

Kaze no koe
Tori no saezuri
Kanashii umi
Yorokobino umi
Yama
Koishi
Ayamegusa

Translation

Wild Violet

The poignancy of things
A purple flower
The blossoms of spring
And the light snow of winter
How they fall

The beauty of nature
A green leaf and
Autumn colours

The voice of the wind
The song of birds
A sad sea
A joyful sea
Mountains
Pebbles
A wild iris

Someone said goodbye lyrics

Roma Ryan

Summer. When the day is over
there's a heart a little colder;
someone said goodbye,
but you don't know why.
Somewhere there is someone keeping
all the tears they have been weeping,
someone said goodbye,
but you don't know why.

Is there a reason
why a broken heart begins to cry?
Is there a reason
you were lost although you don't know why?
Give me a reason
why you never want to say goodbye.
If there's a reason,
I don't know why.

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.

Is there a reason
why a broken dream can never fly?
Is there a reason
you believe and then you close your eyes?
Give me a reason
why you hide away so much inside.
If there's a reason,
I don't know why.

Is there a reason
why a broken heart begins to cry?
Is there a reason
you were lost although you don't know why?
Give me a reason
why you never want to say goodbye.
If there's a reason
I don't know why.
I don't know why.
I don't know why.
I don't know why.

A moment lost lyrics

Roma Ryan

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.

How strong, how brave, how true of you
to bear the hurt I gave.
I know it tears your heart in two;
all I've said, all I say to you.

After all the words are said,
after all the dreams we made;
every one a precious one,
every one a summer sun...

A moment lost, forever gone,
can never be again,
so know how much it means to me;
all you said,
all you gave,
all your love to me.

The River Sings lyrics

Roma Ryan

Mmer-hymm a rhee-a ka-n
Mmer-hymm a vl-a lu-ua
E-a hymm llay hey
A rhee o mmay
hOr-oom-may o nay rhay
hOr-oom-may he eer-hee-mo
h'er-ra-Kan sy ay a rhee a mmay

h'un-nin in la go dee rhee?
h'un-nin in la go chwk a too?
h'un-nin in la go dee rhee?
h'un-nin in la go chwk a too?

h'airr rin a kan a-he-ra,
h'airr rin a kan o-rhay-na?
E-a nno llow rro;
A rhee a mmay?

h'un-nin in la go dee rhee?
h'un-nin in la go chwk a too?
h'un-nin in la go dee rhee?
h'un-nin in la go chwk a too?

Ta-na mmo-ree va rhay?
Ta-na mmor rro nna oom a?
(yl) Le-a tor-ee-ay
A rhee a kan
Kor-rhee-ay ko-da nay a
Kor-rhee-ay a-ru hil-la
Vee a kyi a hey
A rhee a mmay.

Ah hey, Ah hey, Ah hey, Ah hey,
Ah hey, Ah hey, Ah hey, Ah hey.

Yll yy-ka pirr o bay ru
Yl-y-ka kal-la kwyay la
O-na han-ee ay
A rhee o mmay?

h'un-nin in la go dee rhee?
h'un-nin in la go chwk a too?
h'un-nin in la go dee rhee?
h'un-nin in la go chwk a too?

Mmer-hymm a rhee-a kan
Mmer-hymm a vl-a lu-ua
E-a hymm lly hey
A rhee o mmay
hOr-oom-may o nay rhay
hOr-oom-may he er-rhee-mo h'er-ra -
Kan sy ay a rhee a mmay.

Ah hey, Ah hey, Ah hey, Ah hey,
Ah hey, Ah hey, Ah hey, Ah hey.

Yll yy-ka pirr o bay ru
Yl-y-ka kal-la kwyay la
O-na han-ee ay
A rhee o mmay?

h'un-nin in la go dee rhee?
h'un-nin in la go chwk a too?
h'un-nin in la go dee rhee?
h'un-nin in la go chwk a too?

Mmer-hymm a rhee-a kan
Mmer-hymm a vl-a lu-ua
E-a hymm lly hey
A rhee o mmay
hOr-oom-may o nay rhay
hOr-oom-may he er-rhee-mo h'er-ra -
Kan sy ay a rhee a mmay.

Yll yy-ka pirr o bay ru
Yl-y-ka kal-la kwyay la
O-na han-ee ay
A rhee o mmay?

Translation

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?

Amid the falling snow lyrics

Roma Ryan

How I remember sleepless nights
when we would read by candlelight,
and on the windowpane outside
a new world made of snow;

a million feathers falling down,
a million stars that touch the ground,
so many secrets to be found
amid the falling snow.

Maybe I am falling down.
Tell me should I touch the ground?
Maybe I won't make a sound
in the darkness all around.

The silence of a winter's night
brings memories I hold inside;
remembering a blue moonlight
upon the fallen snow.

Maybe I am falling down.
Tell me should I touch the ground?
Maybe I won't make a sound
in the darkness all around.

I close my window to the night.
I leave the sky her tears of white.
And all is lit by candlelight
amid the falling snow.

And all is lit by candlelight
amid the falling snow.

Water shows the hidden heart lyrics

Roma Ryan

Er-rhee-mo may nay
Say la na or-ro
Pirr rro say a nna
A-he rhay
Pr-ma na so la
Be-o so bay hey
Abr a-ma rhay na
A-he rhay o rhay mr-hee mo-ay.

Plu vy a vay la
Neth-ee la rhay na
Beas t'ear rhee ay na
A-he rhay
Kor-rhee-ay a mmay he
Sy-fy ra may-na
Mmer koul a rhay a
A-he rhay o rhay mr-hee mo-ay.

In t-'so a llow
Mer-ra a rro yo ho
Pr-ma na o yo ho
Sa pur na o mmay
In t'-so a llow
Ymm b'-ear a-ya ah
Play m'-oo na na
So muor a nay ha
ln t'-so a llow
Ch'ear o nno ah mmay o
A bo'or ah mor rhee ay mo-ay.

Air ran-o-mma-yo
Pury-rhay-so am-ee
Es-pea rro a nno
A-he rhay
In ju lee a-ya
So llow la bay
Ka na mor a no
A-he rhay mo-ay.

Dh-r-hay m-ma lay
Sa-dh-ka lay
Da rhay da bay say
Sy-oo-nay
Nno mmay-day-nay
Sa-yee a rhay mo o

Kan ta so mmay o
Sy oom brra-a-ya
Dy a blay a llow
A-he rhay
A-ru la mma-ya
Orr-ran-to or-ro
Be-rus say a mma
A-he rhay mo-ay

Mo-ay eed-hoo dhoo ee-oo

Translation

From the City of Constellations
to the wanderer
and a Place of Rains
he journeys on...
...the City of hesitation and doubt
the Island of the house the colour of the sea
the Plain of Mementoes
he journeys on to find his love...
...the Valley of lost time
the City of End and Endlessness
the Isle of Revenents
he journeys on...
...the City of Solitudes
the City of the distance from you
the City of Words of blue
and yellow and red and green
he journeys on to find his love...

...where the road takes him throuh
the City of Sleep
the thinking that does not end is within him
Then he dreams
the road takes him
this man who is searching
it brings him
in silence through the night

where the Cities that do not Exist, exist
it brings him
in silence through the night
close to the City of Realisations;
it is here one finds the way...
...Mount Orison
the City of Days
the Tree of the lost
he journeys on...
...north of his love
a road through a valley of darkness
the islands that are not of this world
he journeys on to find his love...

It is a long way through darkness
to the way of the eremite
the eremite sings of the world and of
the journey of love, which is not lost in eternity
...the Valley where the moon is caught in the trees
water shows the hidden heart
endlong into midnight
he journeys on...
...the parable of day
the Room of Books
where the winds come to him and say...

Linear notes

Less than a Pearl

"...yet there is one sound that is not their own and which their hearts yearn to have. It is the sound of the Song of the Loxians. It is a sound that awakens in Valley-dwellers a strange feeling, one they cannot know yet one that is more familiar to them than their own heartbeat. And it awakens in the hearts of all the Valley-dwellers a longing that brings them to the edge of tears, because it is the song of both the beginning and the end..."

Amarantine

The word Amarantine I have used in the song Flora's secret. In that song the word was spelt a little differently. Then, it signified the colour purple and the eyes of a flower looking up to heavens.

In this song, Amarantine means "everlasting".

It is a song about love.

It's in the rain

A small oasis. A harbour. A haven.

The sound of the rain can soothe the mond. Quiet moments of reflection and imagination.

If I could be where you are

This is a song of sadness, for how else can one describe such sorrow? Not knowing where a loved one is, not knowing how they are, not knowing how to find them.

They are the missing.

The River Sings

This song is one of the trilogy of songs which come from the book "Water shows the hidden heart" and is written in the Loxian language. It is a song in which people send their words out into the night. It is a song expressing their quest to discover if they are alone in the universe and wonder if they will ever find other life within the vastness of space.

Long Long Journey

Faraway places. Oceans. Other lands.

Yet all the heart wants is to be home. This is a song about that journey home, no matter how far that journey is. For what are miles across the ocean to the heart that's coming home?

Sumiregusa

The lyrics are inspired by a hokku by the Japanese poet Basho, which was written while he was travelling to Otsu, in which he says that on his way through the mountain road his heart leapt at the sight of a wild violet.

I am sure we have all experienced an intense moment when we are moved by some part of nature.

Perhaps an epiphany.

Perhaps it is a celebration of life.

Perhaps just a moment that is ours alone.

Someone said goodbye

Everywhere life happens to everyone.

Sometimes, when the day is over, reflection might bring saddest times to mind. This song is about those feelings.

A Moment Lost

Words written in the sand disappear with the day, as the waves wash in and erase them. But words given to us in anger or in spite, particularly by one whom we loveve, etch themselves into the hidden corners of the heart and burn. They do not disappear with he day, but find themselves echoed in the night until other words come, to heal, to comfort, to restore love.

This is a song of regret about words uttered, and a song of love about words which are forgiven.

Amid the falling snow

And the air was filled with feathers...

It recalls the moment when you are first mesmerized by the falling snow as a child, remembering the wonder experienced as a child, particularly the magic of Christmastide. And there are those who even as they grow older are still able to experience the wonder of snow.

Water shows the hidden heart

This is a song telling the story of a man who is looking for whom he loves and hast lost. It desribes his emotional journey in images - cities, islands, valleys. memories and emotions take a physical form, a visualization. The lyric itself is adapted from a book of the same name which describes these places, this journey.

"...he looks into the eyes of the water and sees his own eyes, looking. They reflect everything, these waters, even the hidden heart."

Awards

Grammy Awards
Year Winner Category
2007 Amarantine Best New Age Album

Charts

Album
Country Peak position Certification Sales
Australia 13 Platinum 70,000+
Austria 4
Belgium 1 Platinum 40,000+
Brazil Gold 50,000+
Canada 4
Czech Republic 4
Denmark 7 Gold 15,000+
Finland 22
France 5 Platinum 300,000+
Germany 3 3x Platinum 600,000+
Hungary 7 Gold 5,000+
Ireland 15 Platinum 15,000+
Italy 9
Japan 1 2x Platinum 500,000+
Mexico Gold 50,000+
Netherlands 5 Platinum 70,000+
New Zealand 10 Platinum 15,000+
Norway 13
Poland Gold 20,000+
Portugal 5 (2 Weeks) Platinum 20,000+
Spain 9 Gold 40,000+
Sweden 4 Gold 20,000+
Switzerland 3 (3 Weeks) 2x Platinum 80,000+
United Kingdom 8 Platinum 351,194
United States 6 Platinum 1,800,000+

Singles
Year Single Chart Position
2005 "Amarantine" Adult Contemporary (U.S.) 12
2006 "Someone Said Goodbye" Adult Contemporary (U.S.) 29
2005 "Amarantine" UK Singles Chart 53
2005 "Amarantine" Oricon Weekly Single 100 71

Credits

Produced by Nicky Ryan

All titles composed by Enya
Lyrics by Roma Ryan
Prodiced by Nicky Ryan

All instruments and vocals
performed by Enya
Arranged by Enya and Nicky Ryan
Mixed by Enya and Nicky Ryan
Recorded at Aigle Studio
Engineered by Nicky Ryan

Mastered by Dick Beetham
of 360 Mastering, London
Digital technical advisor
and Engineer: Daniel Polley

Loxian language and font by Roma Ryan
All titles published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd
website: www.enya.com
enya is a registered trademark

Photography by Simon Fowler
Conceptual cover design by
Nicky Ryan and Ebony Ryan
Inner sleeve design and layout by
Ebony Ryan & Roma Ryan
Inner sleeve artwork by
Roma Ryan and Persia Ryan
Cover and inner sleeve
Production by Intro

Enya, Nicky & Roma would like to thank Edgar Bronfman,
Nick Phillips, Paul-Rene Albertini, Korda Marshall,
John Watson and all their friends, both old and new,
at Warner Music, with very special thanks to Joanne Carrigan.

We would also like to thank Guy Moot and Fran Malyan
of EMI Music Publishing Ltd.

Thanks also to Robert Mahon, Derek Hobbs,
Berry Klein, Glen Pratley and SSL for their support.

Enya, Nicky and Roma would like to dedicate this album
to the memory of their friend, BBC Producer, Tony McAuley.

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