Enya quotes & quips

[disneyteletubby]

Share any random, interesting things that Enya said herself
Can be taken from any of her interviews, transcriptions, or spoken clips, but not from the song lyrics.
Anything insightful or with a potential double entendre (edit: or change the quote ever so slightly )

I'll start with this:
(Regarding the rain pouring down on her in the Only Time video, haha) 🌧

~Enya, 2000​

The unlisted video this is from:

Enya - A Day Without Rain 20th anniversary watch party video (2020)

 

[disneyteletubby]

"𝒜𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒸𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓋𝑒, 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓋𝒾𝓉𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒" ~𝐸𝓃𝓎𝒶 (c. 2015)

<--(This photo features Enya in 1992 )

 

[Mugatu]

I loved Enya's answer to being asked to classify the genre of her music, simply responding ENYA.

She was so wise to avoid the association with the various patchouli scented, sandal wearing lunatics that constitute the New Age scene. Go and have a shower!

 

[Kratz]

‘I tend to listen to the classical composers: Rachmaninov, Satie, Jesy Nelson.’

 

[ButterTart]

“I’m just a normal girl at heart. After a hard day’s work I like to kick back, turn into a ball of plasma, and fly around the Earth at tachyon speed.”

 

[jivafox]

 

[disneyteletubby]

I loved Enya's answer to being asked to classify the genre of her music, simply responding ENYA.

She was so wise to avoid the association with the New Age scene.

Enya seemed against the New Age scene; this 1988 interview has plenty of savage Enya quotations to choose from

 

[Mugatu]

Enya seemed against the New Age scene; this 1989 interview has plenty of savage Enya quotations to choose from

She puts it perfectly (and apologies to all sandal wearing lunatics for my harsh words).

I've always seen Enya's music as having much more substance than the chanty, woo woo type of thing you hear in your average crystal shop, I can see why she was annoyed about being put in that bracket.

 

[disneyteletubby]

Enya quotations that I mention on the speculation thread:

[BGCOLOR=rgb(245, 245, 245)]"Music is my life, and because you can't eat scores I play momentarily the part of the marketing person that shouts that she sells good wares. Not my favourite occupation, but it seems to be necessary." ~Enya, 1988[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(245, 245, 245)]"I think my biggest ambition is just to write wonderful melodies, and that they would be very lasting melodies and that they would stay for a long long time... when Enya's gone." ~Enya, 1992[/BGCOLOR]

"I wish people wouldn't think that such things were going to shock me. 'Wow! Does Enya really watch TV?'"
~Enya, 2005

(Editing when there are more )

"Right after we arrived in London to do the mixing, I had slipped on a sort of dicey step and put two deep cuts in my knee. So there I was, taking these heavy pain-killers, sitting at the desk, in the studio with one foot propped up on cushions..." ~Enya, 1991

(June 2025 edit: I've probably mentioned more; this comment could be huge )

Falling madly in love and getting married would be the most horrific thing that could happen. ~Enya, 1991

 

[Inner Smile]

disney turtle or whatever you're called, what is your game

 

[COB]

She's a fan of Enya!

 

[disneyteletubby]

From this 1991 article, also a funny and insightful read:

"It doesn't have a love song that cries out 'Love me, baby, love me'. What it has is a melody which I think will go into your own emotion and stir up something from within. The main purpose that Nicky, Roma and I have is that the music sounds beautiful."

It's hard to imagine her say/sing that first sentence It's very true, Enya's songs can be interpreted or emotionally understood in many weird and wonderful ways.

 

[disneyteletubby]

From this, haha

~Enya, 1995-96

 

[Shoat]

"Different" lol

We all know and love Enya for routinely failing to record ANYTHING differently to before

 

[disneyteletubby]

I like this (radio) interview with Graham Norton in a similar way to the one she did with Alan Titchmarsh. Probably because they were familiar TV figures before I knew about Enya, and despite the interruptions, they have a decent, humorous discussion.

Relevant bit:

"My voice is always gonna sound the same, and I use my voice as an instrument"

There are more funny things that Graham says, of course, but Enya's responses are still funny

"Seven!"

Reminds me of the late Len Goodman, haha. This time it probably will be 8 (maybe 9 years) between Dark Sky Island and the new album*

"Ireland can be a little bit cold [...] as you know"

Early interviews she didn't care about bad weather, but now it's different

"A chateaux?"

(About her home in Southern France)

"Yes, er, shopping for me is fun, yes it is."

*"Don't wait seven years again" (Graham says) - Enya thinking I'll wait longer, then.

I was just re-listening today (28th Oct '25) and this is probably amongst the best and funniest Enya interviews.

 

[disneyteletubby]

Someone's phone rings in Taiwan
Enya: "That is not on the album!"
Clip (at 0:52) here

 

[Castle_Qwean]

She's a fan of Enya!

With a lot of time on her hands, it would appear

 

[disneyteletubby]

With a lot of time on her hands, it would appear

That may seem so these Enya things have become somewhat of a hobby, but I am doing all this between typing up university assignments/essays in science.

 

[COB]

You don't have to justify yourself to anyone, DT

 

[disneyteletubby]

Happy birthday to Eithne here's a longer but lovely quote from her, c. 2000


Edit: I should have shared this one, from this awesome diary-entry type Enya article from 1988-89 - Around the World in 300 Days

 

[disneyteletubby]

From this article:

"This is one of the rooms I just like to sit in. It's quiet, so you can sit and think. Or just do nothing. It's lovely - although it can be embarrassing if someone walks in and finds you sitting in silence and staring" ~Enya, 1988

 

[Castle_Qwean]

Wall art for Eithne... https://www.etsy.com/listing/868979931/sometimes-i-sits-and-thinks-and?gpla=1&gao=1&

 

[disneyteletubby]

"Our lives are intertwined with the earth...We should remember how fragile we are, how we are all together in the struggle for life" ~ Enya, 2000

From A Day Without Rain: A Track-By-Track Listing

 

[Castle_Qwean]

"I have worked for months with the same two people between the same four walls," she has said. "Ultimately it makes you become a social zombie. Your friends don't call you anymore, you don't know what happens in the outside world or what people think of your music."

So why does she keep it up?

"Our force is our peculiarity," she has concluded.

"And we have to keep it at any cost."

Source: The Sunday Times (UK), 7 June 1998. Transcript here: https://web.archive.org/web/20050213141710/http:/enya.org/p_trans3/t116.htm

 

[Zu]

Where has the ORIGINAL AND BEST Echoes In Rain thread gone? I’ll have you know that I put a lot of sincere love and effort into those LUDICROUS DRUNKEN RATES!

 

[ZenGiraffe]

Where has the ORIGINAL AND BEST Echoes In Rain thread gone? I’ll have you know that I put a lot of sincere love and effort into those LUDICROUS DRUNKEN RATES!

Well if one will keep making new accounts and losing access to the archive!

 

[Zu]

Well if one will keep making new accounts and losing access to the archive!

Oh does it work like the Community Forum? And WHY is it archived anyway? So shockingly rude!

 

[Zu]

@ZenGiraffe You could always merge Zu 2 and Zu (the latter of which I prefer, even though it seems a bit bare) if you’re at a loose end and taking a well-earned break from thrusting pins into that @COB doll

 

[Zu]

Goodness that happened in two shakes of a lamb’s tail! Ta luv!

 

[ZenGiraffe]

@ZenGiraffe You could always merge Zu 2 and Zu (the latter of which I prefer, even though it seems a bit bare) if you’re at a loose end and taking a well-earned break from thrusting pins into that @COB doll

Oh I don't bother any more, wouldn't want to take away from the incumbent Mr COB's time on the voodoo doll.

Your accounts are now merged btw.

 

[COB]

Oh I don't bother any more, wouldn't want to take away from the incumbent Mr COB's time on the voodoo doll.

Don't tell me this is why I've had a sore neck all weekend Needless to say I'll be having WORDS later

 

[COB]

"

Don't tell me this is why I've had a sore neck all weekend Needless to say I'll be having WORDS later

" ~ Enya, possibly

 

[Tisch]

I prefer Zu2.

POLL PLEASE?

 

[Zu]

I prefer Zu2.

POLL PLEASE?

ABSOLUTELY NOT

 

[disneyteletubby]

How do you get access to the archived ones - am I too new?

---

Enya's "social zombie" quote is a notable one, but it is originally from 1988 instead, this great interview again - another fairly significant quote (about Ireland, but could apply to almost any country to some degree 35 years later):

"Generations-old potentates and politicians have reduced the whole nation to beggary." ~ Enya, 1988

 

[Castle_Qwean]

How do you get access to the archived ones - am I too new?

No, you could spend ages scouring the archives for them (as I did). Or, you could just go to Enya.fyi and download the Documents collection!

---

Enya's "social zombie" quote is a notable one, but it is originally from 1988 instead, this great interview again - another fairly significant quote (about Ireland, but could apply to almost any country to some degree 35 years later):

Ah, my Enya Document Index only lists the 1998 quote of the quote. I suppose I'll add the Humo article. But, when it comes to that article, I've always thought some things may have been lost in translation. For example, this quote is also in there:

HUMO I was recently in Dublin and that poverty has touched me deep: Ireland lives in rags.

Enya Oh yes, it's frightful. But everything is so terribly expensive, and the goods than you can afford are of such a low quality...

P.S. I distinctly recall having this same conversation about the Humo article before...

 

[disneyteletubby]

No, you could spend ages scouring the archives for them (as I did). Or, you could just go to Enya.fyi and download the Documents collection!

By 'archived ones' I meant the archived Moopy threads (for Enya there was one called 'Enya - Echoes In Rain' which I also posted in before, but now I don't have permission to access it)
I do look through those (and did download the Documents ) but probably not scouring through those to the same extent as yourself, haha

Ah, my Enya Document Index only lists the 1998 quote of the quote. I suppose I'll add the Humo article. But, when it comes to that article, I've always thought some things may have been lost in translation. For example, this quote is also in there:

P.S. I distinctly recall having this same conversation about the Humo article before...

Oh yeah, some things would probably have been lost in translation (and I remember discussing this article before too, just forgot about that point )
Unless she was actually speaking fluent Dutch/German/French, isn't there an original version of what Enya really said?

Also, do you have a full translation of this Irene Zaino article about Enya? https://issuu.com/inireland/docs/in_ireland/14
I found it the same day as my backpack/handbag post (it has that picture of her in the studio too) so after the car accident stories, she still came back to the trio somehow

 

[Castle_Qwean]

By 'archived ones' I meant the archived Moopy threads (for Enya there was one called 'Enya - Echoes In Rain' which I also posted in before, but now I don't have permission to access it)

OIC. Maybe you have to give money to their Patreon? I haven't tried to figure it out (and don't have time this evening). I only joined Moopy early this year.

Oh yeah, some things would probably have been lost in translation (and I remember discussing this article before too, just forgot about that point )
Unless she was actually speaking fluent Dutch/German/French, isn't there an original version of what Enya really said?

I'd have to look around to see if the original is available anywhere (also won't happen this evening!)

Also, do you have a full translation of this Irene Zaino article about Enya? https://issuu.com/inireland/docs/in_ireland/14

Actually, I can't recall seeing that before! So thanks for the link! I recently posted that pic of her in the studio, and I see the caption states it was 2007 so I guess that's the source. I'll have to make a screenshot and translate it with Google Lens.

 

[Castle_Qwean]

I was interested in reading Irene's article so I already translated it! Here it is: Click for article

Hmm, so the pic was taken in 2007, but the article says she was at the studio when the album was being finished. So was her visit in 2007, but then the release was delayed until late 2008? Or did she visit again in 2008 but didn't get a new pic?

 

[disneyteletubby]

Actually, I can't recall seeing that before! So thanks for the link!

That's a surprise - you're welcome I thought you'd seen it since you had the photo

I was interested in reading Irene's article so I already translated it! Here it is: Click for article

Thanks for translating it! Irene seems quite a poetic writer, but realistic enough at the same time, which is nice

Hmm, so the pic was taken in 2007, but the article says she was at the studio when the album was being finished. So was her visit in 2007, but then the release was delayed until late 2008? Or did she visit again in 2008 but didn't get a new pic?

I suppose it was that she visited the studio again in 2008, and the photo was 2007.

OIC. Maybe you have to give money to their Patreon? I haven't tried to figure it out (and don't have time this evening). I only joined Moopy early this year.

Oh, maybe. Same, I joined/discovered Moopy later than you, even though I'm in the UK like most here seem to be, haha.

---

~Enya, 2008