Enya quotes:

The ocean is a central image. It is the symbolism of a great journey.

The spring, summer, is quite a hectic time for people in their lives, but then it comes to autumn, and to winter, and you can't but help think back to the year that was, and then hopefully looking forward to the year that is approaching.

I find I'm not one of these composers that are, you know, walking along a beach or walking on the mountainside in County Donegal that's, you know, 'Oh, a melody.' It's more a matter of eventually taking that moment with me to the studio, and it begins to evolve.

The bright days of my youthThey were full of hopeThe great journey that was before me thenWas what was destined to be, bye bye.Now I'm sorrowful,The day is long past.Alas and woe, oh.

I don't have pets, I have two guard dogs; and I don't do my own shopping; it's a security thing.

Writing music on your own makes you think a lot about your life. Who are you? Would you change anything about yourself? This is where it comes from.

My core beliefs revolve around the idea that we should live to the best of our abilities-we should live and let live.

My first language is Gaelic.

Singing in Gaelic is very, very natural to do. I think lends itself very much so to being sung.

My influences are with Irish music, church music and classical music,

It's a noisy environment we all live in, whether it's traffic or the workplace, so it's very difficult to think about your life in general. A lot of people are afraid to do that. They like to hide behind their work and not face up to a big problem in their life.

When you spend two to three years working on an album that I feel very happy with the end result, there is nothing I would change. Musically, I have achieved what I set out to do.

It's very easy for me to keep a low profile because the focus I feel is always on the music. Success and fame are two different things. And so I feel the success is always towards the music, which means that I can have a very normal and private lifestyle.

I find that music makes people just sit and listen, firstly. Then, they seem to interpret their own emotions with the music and it makes them ponder their own life a lot. And then they start to question: Am I happy in my work? Am I happy in my relationships? What am I striving for?

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.

Over in the UK, the music press can be brutal. They can say wonderful things about you one week, and the next week, you're in the can.

The writing of a melody is an emotional moment; success doesn't make it easy.

I have had death threats from people with fixations.

When I was growing up, I'd be in the choir. My mum was the organist in the church, so I'd sing in the church.

I am privileged to do a job I love to do. I would never change any moment from my life.

The personal appearances and red carpet events are very glitzy, but it's a bit false.

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

A lot of people tend to think that because I need all this time on my own in the studio, that I need time on my own, period. And that's not really true.

There is no formula to it. Writing every song is a little journey. The first note has to lift you.

As with anything creative, change is inevitable.

I enjoyed the two years I was with Clannad. I enjoyed touring. We toured a lot in Europe.

When making music I sink myself into the process as deeply as I can and forget all of the success.

I didn't expect such a huge reaction, but I knew I was doing something different to everything else that was happening at the time.

Night has brought to those who sleep, only dreams they can not keep.

I am really a very shy person. If I appear, it is because of the music, not because I want to be seen.

I always felt that the music sells by itself. The music has always been the successful aspect on my career, and that means that, to me, I can always still stay very focused on music.

I am not reclusive. I just have a private life.

It's very homely, this castle. It doesn't have huge ballrooms. I didn't want a cold, cavernous place.

Wintertime for me is a time when I do a lot of my writing in the studio. It's a time I enjoy. And it's very reflective and a very calming time of the year. Throughout the year I gather a lot of musical inspirations, and this is where I bring them to the studio and see what will evolve musically.

I tend to listen to the classical composers: Rachmaninov, Satie.

It wasn't so long ago that it was not popular to speak Gaelic in Ireland because the areas that Gaelic is spoken in were much poorer areas.

My mouth is a womb. My teeth are my children. My tongue is their babysitter.

Fame and success are very different things.

I think they find it - they find me quite confusing, because - they know the music, but they don't know anything about me ... because I keep a very private lifestyle so they end up ... making up stories as such. But I don't really concern myself too much about them.

Music is like a mirror in front of you. You're exposing everything, but surely that's better than suppressing. ... You have to dig deep and that can be hard for anybody, no matter what profession. I feel that I need to actually push myself to the limit to feel happy with the end result.

People listen to the music and sense what it is about. Sometimes they know exactly what the songs are about, sometimes they interpret their own meaning to the music, and thats great when this happens because it shows its striking a chord.

There is no formula to it because writing every song, for me, is a little journey. The first note has to lift you and make you go, 'What's this?' You play C, but why is it that one day it leads to G and it didn't yesterday? I don't know. It's everything. It's the walk you take in the morning, it's the night before, the meeting with people, landscapes, the chats, all of that evolves in some way into melody, but I'm not sure how it's going to happen. I'm dealing with the unknown all the time and that is exciting.

The moon upon the ocean is swept around in motion, but without ever knowing.

I find it hard to work with other musicians because I know from experience that when they play, they play with their feeling, and that restricts me because I know I want to play in my own particular way.

The success of Watermark surprised me. I never thought of music as something commercial; it was something very personal to me.

I told the record company I didn't feel the need to be at red-carpet events. I wanted a career. But I wanted to keep myself intact as a person.

I do a so-called trip into myself: I sit down at the piano and the melody might start to evolve from my playing or then I might start to sing it.

The minuses of celebrity include having to live with security and the knowledge that you may be stalked.

I could have been more famous if I did all the glitzy things, but celebrity always seemed so unnecessary.

With my music, I can express myself so much. A lot of the fans can sense that I'm relating to them something that's quite personal.

I do promotion when it is necessary, but I always want to get back to the music.

Music is like a mirror in front of you. You're exposing everything, but surely that's better than suppressing.

Hope has a place in a lover's heart.

Look to love and you may dream, and if it should leave then give it wings. But if a love is meant to be, hope is home and the heart is free.

The moon upon the ocean is swept around in motion but without ever knowing the reason for its flowing in motion on the ocean the moon still keeps on moving the waves still keep on waving and I still keep on going

When there's a shadow, you follow the sun. When there is love, then you look for the one. And for the promises, there is the sky. And for the heavens are those who can fly.

One look at love and you may see it weaves a web over mystery, all ravelled threads can rend apart for hope has a place in the lover's heart. Hope has a place in a lover's heart.

We called the album 'Amarantine' to mean everlasting. Poets use the word to describe an everlasting flower and I loved the image of that.

Writing every song is a little journey. The first note has to lift you.

There's something about Celtic mythology which is deep in the soul, and I just think that somehow she has tapped right into it.

Place a name upon the night One to set your heart alight And to make the darkness bright Paint the sky with stars.

I don't need a man in my life.