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May It Be

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"May It Be" is a song by the Irish recording artist Enya. She and Roma Ryan respectively composed and wrote lyrics to the song, for Peter Jackson's 2001 film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.[2] The song entered the German Singles Chart at number one in 2002, and Enya performed it at the 74th Academy Awards. "May It Be" was acclaimed by music critics and received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

"May It Be"
Single by Enya
from the album The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
B-side
  • "Isobella"
  • "The First of Autumn"
Released10 December 2001 (2001-12-10)
StudioAigle (Dublin, Ireland)
GenreNew-age[1]
Length4:19 (album version) 3:31 (single/radio edit)
LabelWEA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Nicky Ryan
Enya singles chronology
"Wild Child"
(2001) 		"May It Be"
(2001) 		"I Don't Wanna Know"
(2004)
Licensed audio
"May It Be" on YouTube

Composition

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Director Peter Jackson approached Enya (under the suggestion of Howard Shore), asking if she would be interested in writing a song for The Lord of the Rings.[3] Thrilled at the prospect, Enya headed to New Zealand to see the preliminary edits of the film.[3] Enya worked on the song with Nicky Ryan, her producer, and Roma Ryan, her lyricist. Nicky produced Enya's vocals and arranged the music while Roma wrote the lyrics. They recorded the song through Enya's contract with Warner Music[4] at Aigle Studio, the Ryans' and Enya's own recording studio.[5]

The vocals were recorded at Aigle Studio in Dublin, and the orchestration was recorded in London, directed by Howard Shore and performed by the London Voices and London Philharmonic Orchestra.[6] Compositionally, the piece is simple, featuring a backdrop of choir and strings. As Doug Adams commented, Enya's contributions "coexist so neatly," with Shore's score, that "neither Enya song is relegated to its own track."

“I wanted Enya’s voice,” says Shore. “She wrote and I orchestrated, so it’s a seamless sound. Her singing grows right out of the choral music and the orchestra.” – Doug Adams, The Fellowship of the Ring: The Complete Recordings

Lyrics

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The lyrics of this theme song include English words, as well as words in the fictional Elvish language, Quenya, created by J.R.R. Tolkien.[5] While Enya wrote music, Roma Ryan studied the languages and wrote the lyrics in English and Quenya.[7] There are two lines with phrases written in Quenya. The first, Mornië utúlië, translates to "Darkness has come."[5] Mornië alantië translates as "Darkness has fallen."[5] Each line repeats twice in the song, with the remaining song lyrics 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."[5]

Critical reception and awards

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"May It Be" was nominated for the 2002 Academy Award for Best Original Song, but lost to Randy Newman's "If I Didn't Have You" from Monsters, Inc., sung by John Goodman and Billy Crystal. It won the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Song and the 2002 Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song.[8][9] It was nominated for the 2002 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, but lost to "Until" from Kate & Leopold.[10] The song received a 2003 Grammy Award nomination for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

Enya performed her song at the Academy Awards on 24 March 2002. She was "absolutely" excited about the performance.[3] For her it was the "first time to be nominated, and to get to perform, it's just wonderful, absolutely wonderful."[3]

Release

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Enya's "May It Be" has been featured on various albums. On 20 November 2001, it was released on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack, along with composer Howard Shore's original score "The Road Goes Ever On (Part 2)".[11] It also came out as a single in Europe on 10 December 2001 and in the United Kingdom on 21 January 2002.[12][13] "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".[14] In 2005, it was released as part of the compilation The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: The Complete Recordings. This time, the version of the song was identical as featured in the movie's ending titles. Enya also included the song on her 2009 album, The Very Best of Enya.[15]

Music video

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The music video was directed by Peter Nydrle. It features clips from the film as well as Enya singing the song. The video runs for 3 minutes and 32 seconds.[16]

Track listings

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European CD single and UK cassette single[17][18]

  1. "May It Be" – 3:30
  2. "Isobella" – 4:27

European maxi-CD single and UK CD single[19][20]

  1. "May It Be" – 3:30
  2. "Isobella" – 4:27
  3. "The First of Autumn" – 3:08

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications and sales for "May It Be"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[43] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Release dates and formats for "May It Be"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Europe 10 December 2001 CD WEA [12]
United Kingdom 21 January 2002 [13]

References

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  1. ^ May It Be at AllMusic. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  2. ^ "Albums". Enya. Aigle Music. Archived from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d Enya Fan Studio. Enya Fan Studio, 2005. Web. 22 October 2010.
  4. ^ "Enya". Aigle Music. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e "May it Be". The Enya Discography. Enya.com. 1997–2006. Archived from the original on 11 October 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  6. ^ Booklet of the collection The Fellowship of the Ring: The Complete Recordings published in 2005
  7. ^ Adams, Doug (2005). The Fellowship of the Ring (PDF). The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films. The annotated Score. Vol. 1. p. 23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  8. ^ "The 7th Critics' Choice Awards Winners and Nominees". The BFCA Critics' Choice Awards. Broadcast Film Critics Association. 2010. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "The 59th annual Golden Globe Awards". Golden Globes. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. 2010. Archived from the original on 9 May 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  11. ^ The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Original Motion Picture Soundtrack at AllMusic. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  12. ^ a b c "Enya – May It Be" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  13. ^ a b "New Releases – For Week Starting January 21, 2002: Singles". Music Week. 19 January 2002. p. 29.
  14. ^ "Enya". Artistopia. iCubator Labs, LLC. 2010. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  15. ^ The very Best of Enya at AllMusic. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  16. ^ "May it Be, 2002. Directed by Peter Peter Nydrle". EnyaOne. Felipe Dario. 2007–2009. Archived from the original on 22 November 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  17. ^ May It Be (European CD single liner notes). Enya. WEA Records. 2002. 5439 16709 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ May It Be (UK cassette single sleeve). Enya. WEA Records. 2002. w578c, 5439167094.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ May It Be (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Enya. WEA Records. 2002. 936 2424292.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ May It Be (UK CD single liner notes). Enya. WEA Records. 2002. w578cd, 936 2424292.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ "Enya – May It Be" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  22. ^ "Enya – May It Be" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  23. ^ "Enya – May It Be" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  24. ^ "Top 100 Singles". Jam!. Archived from the original on 12 May 2002. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  25. ^ "Enya – May It Be". Tracklisten. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  26. ^ "Hitparada radia - 13/2002" (in Czech). IFPI CR. Archived from the original on 5 April 2002. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  27. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 6. 2 February 2002. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 July 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  28. ^ "Enya: May It Be" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  29. ^ "Enya – May It Be" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  30. ^ "Top 50 Singles" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 22 February 2002. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  31. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  32. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – May It Be". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  33. ^ "Enya – May It Be". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  34. ^ "Enya – May It Be" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  35. ^ "Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 19, saptamina 13.05–19.05, 2002" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  36. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  37. ^ "Enya – May It Be". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  38. ^ "Enya – May It Be". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  39. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  40. ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 2002". Austriancharts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 30 November 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  41. ^ "Year in Review – Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 2002" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 21, no. 2–3. 11 January 2003. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 July 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  42. ^ "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 2002". Offiziellecharts.de. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  43. ^ "British single certifications – Enya – May It Be". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
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