May It Be
Encyclopedia
"May It Be" is a song composed by Irish musician Enya
and featured in Peter Jackson
's 2001 film The Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Ring. The song entered the German Singles Chart at number one in 2002 and was performed by Enya on the 74th Academy Awards
.
approached Enya, asking if she would be interested in writing a song for The Lord of the Rings. Thrilled at the prospect, Enya headed to New Zealand to see the preliminary edits of the film.
Enya worked on the song with Nicky Ryan
, her producer, and Roma Ryan
, her lyricist. Nicky produced, arranged, and managed while Roma wrote the lyrics. They recorded the song through Enya's contract with Warner Music in the Ryans' Dublin studio, Aigle Studio. Compositionally, the piece is simple, featuring a backdrop of choir and strings. Like most of Enya's music, "May It Be" is classified as New Age.
. The writer of The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
, created Quenya for his classic novels. Tolkien began writing this High-Elven language in 1915 at the age of 23. Quenya went through many revisions before it finally appeared in the books. Tolkien's son Christopher
said that for his father Quenya was "language as he wanted it, the language of his heart." Tolkien himself said of Quenya: "Actually it might be said to be composed on a Latin basis with two other ingredients that happen to give me 'phonaesthetic' pleasure: Finnish and Greek. It is however less consonantal than any of the three. This language is High-elven or in its own terms Quenya."
Enya also performed the song "Aníron
" for The Lord of the Rings, which is sung in Tolkien's Elvish language, Sindarin
. While Enya wrote music, Roma Ryan studied the languages and wrote the lyrics in English and Quenya.
Two lines in "May It Be" contain phrases written in Quenya. The first, "Mornië utúlië," translates to "Darkness has come." "Mornië alantië" means "Darkness has fallen." Each line repeats twice in the song. The remaining song lyrics are written in English. They are intermingled with the Quenya lyrics, as in the second stanza; "Mornië utúlië, believe and you will find your way; Mornië alantië, a promise lives within you now."
's "If I Didn't Have You
" from Monsters, Inc.
, Diane Warren
's "There You'll Be
" from Pearl Harbor
, Sting's "Until
" featured in Kate and Leopold, and Paul McCartney
's "Vanilla Sky". "If I Didn't Have You" won the 2001 Oscar.
"May It Be" was also nominated for the 2002 Best Original Song Golden Globe Award. Its competitors once again included "There You'll Be", "Until", and "Vanilla Sky", along with David Baerwald
's "Come What May
" from Moulin Rouge!
"Until" took home the Golden Globe.
The trio received a 2003 Grammy Nomination for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media. "If I Didn't Have You", "Vanilla Sky", Chad Kroeger
's "Hero
" from Spider-Man
and "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)
" from Brown Sugar opposed them. "If I Didn't Have You" earned the 2003 Grammy. "May It Be" won the 2002 Critics' Choice Award and Sierra Award, both for Best Song. It earned the 2002 PFCS Award for Best Original Song.
's original score.
"May It Be" came out as a single in 2002 along with two other of Enya's songs; "Isobella" and "The First of Autumn". "May It Be" entered the German Singles Chart
at number one. It was Enya's second consecutive single to do so, following her song "Only Time
". Enya also included "May It Be" on her 2009 album, The Very Best of Enya
.
, which consists of songs from all three movies. Celtic Woman
performed "May It Be" on their 2005 self titled album. Lisa Kelly
of Celtic Woman included it on her 2006 album, Lisa. Hayley Westenra
recorded it in 2005 on her second international album, Odyssey. It was also covered in 2006 by Lex van Someren for Christmas Every Day and Angelis
for their self titled album. It was sung on Cecelia
’s 2007 album, Amazing Grace. Sofia Källgren
featured it on her 2008 album, Cinema Paradiso. Other artists who have covered it include Uruk-hai, and Kiri Te Kanawa
.
Enya
Enya is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to...
and featured in Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's 2001 film The Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Ring. The song entered the German Singles Chart at number one in 2002 and was performed by Enya on the 74th Academy Awards
74th Academy Awards
The 74th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2001 and took place March 24, 2002, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. It was the first ceremony to take place...
.
Composition
Director Peter JacksonPeter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
approached Enya, asking if she would be interested in writing a song for The Lord of the Rings. Thrilled at the prospect, Enya headed to New Zealand to see the preliminary edits of the film.
Enya worked on the song with Nicky Ryan
Nicky Ryan
Nicholas Dominick Ryan is an Irish music producer, recording engineer and manager for the musician Enya. He previously managed the Irish group Clannad, the band with which Enya first performed. In 1982, when Nicky Ryan left Clannad, Enya followed him...
, her producer, and Roma Ryan
Roma Ryan
Roma Shane Ryan is an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist, currently living in Artane, Ireland, with her husband Nicky....
, her lyricist. Nicky produced, arranged, and managed while Roma wrote the lyrics. They recorded the song through Enya's contract with Warner Music in the Ryans' Dublin studio, Aigle Studio. Compositionally, the piece is simple, featuring a backdrop of choir and strings. Like most of Enya's music, "May It Be" is classified as New Age.
Lyrics
The lyrics of this theme song include English words, and words in the fictional Elvish language, QuenyaQuenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
. The writer of The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, created Quenya for his classic novels. Tolkien began writing this High-Elven language in 1915 at the age of 23. Quenya went through many revisions before it finally appeared in the books. Tolkien's son Christopher
Christopher Tolkien
Christopher Reuel Tolkien is the third and youngest son of the author J. R. R. Tolkien , and is best known as the editor of much of his father's posthumously published work. He drew the original maps for his father's The Lord of the Rings, which he signed C. J. R. T. The J...
said that for his father Quenya was "language as he wanted it, the language of his heart." Tolkien himself said of Quenya: "Actually it might be said to be composed on a Latin basis with two other ingredients that happen to give me 'phonaesthetic' pleasure: Finnish and Greek. It is however less consonantal than any of the three. This language is High-elven or in its own terms Quenya."
Enya also performed the song "Aníron
Aníron
"Aníron" is a song in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy soundtrack. It is the theme for Aragorn and Arwen Evenstar. Aníron means 'I desire' in the constructed Elvish language of Sindarin. It is featured as part of the track "The Council of Elrond" on the soundtrack album The Lord of the Rings:...
" for The Lord of the Rings, which is sung in Tolkien's Elvish language, Sindarin
Sindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
. While Enya wrote music, Roma Ryan studied the languages and wrote the lyrics in English and Quenya.
Two lines in "May It Be" contain phrases written in Quenya. The first, "Mornië utúlië," translates to "Darkness has come." "Mornië alantië" means "Darkness has fallen." Each line repeats twice in the song. The remaining song lyrics are written in English. They are intermingled with the Quenya lyrics, as in the second stanza; "Mornië utúlië, believe and you will find your way; Mornië alantië, a promise lives within you now."
Awards
Enya, Nicky, and Roma received much acclaim for "May It Be". It was nominated for a 2001 Academy Award for Best Original Song. The competition comprised Randy NewmanRandy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
's "If I Didn't Have You
If I Didn't Have You
Hannah Montana co-stars Emily Osment and Mitchel Musso recorded a cover version of the song for the Disneymania 6 album. The song was produced by Bryan Todd...
" from Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett...
, Diane Warren
Diane Warren
Diane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001...
's "There You'll Be
There You'll Be
"There You'll Be" is a song by Faith Hill, which became a hit single in 2001. Written by Diane Warren and Alan Menken, known for his Disney film scores such as "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin", "Pocahontas" and "Tangled", it was featured on the Pearl Harbor soundtrack...
" from Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor (film)
Pearl Harbor is a 2001 American action drama war film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay...
, Sting's "Until
Until...
"Until..." is a song from the 2001 Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning film Kate & Leopold, written and sung by Sting. The song won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and was nominated for the Academy Award in the same category....
" featured in Kate and Leopold, and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
's "Vanilla Sky". "If I Didn't Have You" won the 2001 Oscar.
"May It Be" was also nominated for the 2002 Best Original Song Golden Globe Award. Its competitors once again included "There You'll Be", "Until", and "Vanilla Sky", along with David Baerwald
David Baerwald
David Baerwald is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and musician.He has one son, Beker Baerwald, who is a nationally ranked basketball player. He is the son of Hans Baerwald, a political scientist, and Diane Moore, a psychologist...
's "Come What May
Come What May (2001 song)
"Come What May" phrase originates from Shakespeare's Macbeth and is along the meaning of let whatever events crop up come to pass. It is the love theme from Baz Luhrmann's 2001 film...
" from Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
"Until" took home the Golden Globe.
The trio received a 2003 Grammy Nomination for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media. "If I Didn't Have You", "Vanilla Sky", Chad Kroeger
Chad Kroeger
Chad Robert Kroeger is aCanadian songwriter, singer, and guitarist best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Canadian rock band Nickelback...
's "Hero
Hero (Chad Kroeger song)
"Hero" is a single by Chad Kroeger, the lead singer of Nickelback, recorded in 2002 for the soundtrack to the film Spider-Man. The recording features Kroeger; Josey Scott, the lead singer of Saliva; Tyler Connolly, guitarist and lead singer of Theory of a Deadman; Mike Kroeger, bassist of...
" from Spider-Man
Spider-Man (film)
Spider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film, the first in the Spider-Man film series based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp...
and "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)
Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)
"Love of My Life " is the title of a 2002 single by singer Erykah Badu and rapper Common. It spent four weeks at number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, and reached number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song also won a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best Solo R&B/Soul...
" from Brown Sugar opposed them. "If I Didn't Have You" earned the 2003 Grammy. "May It Be" won the 2002 Critics' Choice Award and Sierra Award, both for Best Song. It earned the 2002 PFCS Award for Best Original Song.
Performance
Enya performed her song at the Academy Awards on March 24, 2002. She was "absolutely" excited about the performance. For her it was the "first time to be nominated, and to get to perform, it's just wonderful, absolutely wonderful."Albums and singles
Enya's "May It Be" has been featured on various albums. On November 20, 2001 it was released on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack, along with composer Howard ShoreHoward Shore
Howard Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he won three Academy Awards. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg,...
's original score.
"May It Be" came out as a single in 2002 along with two other of Enya's songs; "Isobella" and "The First of Autumn". "May It Be" entered the German Singles Chart
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
at number one. It was Enya's second consecutive single to do so, following her song "Only Time
Only Time
"Only Time" is a song that was recorded, and whose music was composed, by Irish singer Enya, first released in November 2000. The release of this single coincided with the release of the album A Day Without Rain. In 2001 "Only Time" was released again as a remix. The track was remixed by S.A.F. ...
". Enya also included "May It Be" on her 2009 album, The Very Best of Enya
The Very Best of Enya
-Deluxe edition:The deluxe edition, which includes a bonus DVD, is packaged in a hardcover book-style Digipak.CD#"Trains and Winter Rains" #"My! My! Time Flies!"...
.
Music video
Directed by Peter Nydrle, Enya's 2002 music video for "May It Be" features clips from the film as well as Enya singing the song. The music video runs for 3 minutes and 32 seconds.Covers
Many other artists have covered the song since Enya's original recording. Tara Scammell did so on 2004 album Music from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy by the Prague Symphony OrchestraPrague Symphony Orchestra
The Prague Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1934 by Rudolf Pekárek. In the 1930s the orchestra performed the scores for many Czech films, and also appeared regularly on Czech radio. An early promoter of the orchestra was Dr...
, which consists of songs from all three movies. Celtic Woman
Celtic Woman
Celtic Woman is an all-female musical ensemble conceived and assembled by Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show Riverdance...
performed "May It Be" on their 2005 self titled album. Lisa Kelly
Lisa Kelly
Lisa Ann Kelly is a singer of both classical and celtic music. She has taken part in many musical theatre productions and concerts, and is a member of the musical group Celtic Woman.-Early life:...
of Celtic Woman included it on her 2006 album, Lisa. Hayley Westenra
Hayley Westenra
Hayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand soprano, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached No. 1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide...
recorded it in 2005 on her second international album, Odyssey. It was also covered in 2006 by Lex van Someren for Christmas Every Day and Angelis
Angelis
Angelis was a British classical singing group created by Simon Cowell. It was initially formed in early 2006 and was made up of six children, who were then aged between 11 and 14...
for their self titled album. It was sung on Cecelia
Cecilia (Norwegian singer)
Cecilia is a Classical crossover singer, originally from Norway, who is known for her rendering of "Amazing Grace". She has released 7 albums, 2 via Universal Music, and performed worldwide, selling several hundred thousand albums with virtually no mainstream publicity.- Early life :Cecilia grew up...
’s 2007 album, Amazing Grace. Sofia Källgren
Sofia Källgren
Anna Sofia Helena Källgren, known as Sofia Källgren , is a Swedish singer. She sings in two other languages, English and Mandarin Chinese, in addition to in Swedish....
featured it on her 2008 album, Cinema Paradiso. Other artists who have covered it include Uruk-hai, and Kiri Te Kanawa
Kiri Te Kanawa
Dame Kiri Jeanette Te Kanawa, ONZ, DBE, AC is a New Zealand / Māori soprano who has had a highly successful international opera career since 1968. Acclaimed as one of the most beloved sopranos in both the United States and Britain she possesses a warm full lyric soprano voice, singing a wide array...
.
Chart history
| Chart (2001) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria | 12 |
| Belgium | 47 |
| Denmark | 19 |
| France | 43 |
| Finland | 7 |
| Germany | 1 |
| Italy | 12 |
| Netherlands | 60 |
| Sweden | 16 |
| Switzerland | 24 |
External links
- [ May It Be] at Allmusic