"Echoes in Rain" is a single by Irish musician, composer, songwriter and singer Enya, the song is the lead single and final recording on her eighth studio album Dark Sky Island (2015), the song was released on 9 October 2015 through the record label Warner Bros. Records.
| "Echoes in Rain" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Enya | ||||
| from the album Dark Sky Island | ||||
| Released | 9 October 2015[1] | |||
| Recorded | 2012–2015 | |||
| Studio | Aigle Studio, Treesdale, Ireland | |||
| Length | 3:35 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Nicky Ryan | |||
| Enya singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Echoes In Rain" on YouTube | ||||
Composition and lyrics
edit"Echoes in Rain" has a 'buoyant optimism' due to the 'marching' rhythmic ostinatos and pizzicato strings. The a cappella multi-vocal ending was compared to Enya's breakthrough single "Orinoco Flow". "Echoes in Rain" is played in a minor scale (explicitly F-sharp minor). Enya's vocals span 2 octaves from the low note of B2 to the high note of E5. The song includes a piano-based bridge, similar to Enya's piano solo work, and it is the first of her lead singles to do so.
The lyrics describe the feelings of a long journey home, travelling through night and through day, with the verses detailing how the surroundings and emotions change throughout the journey.[2]
The lyric 'everything flows' is repeated throughout, perhaps referring to "Orinoco Flow". Enya has a few other songs with similar references to the hit song. In The Memory of Trees the song "On My Way Home" repeats the 'turn it up, adieu' lyric; "Lazy Days" has the lyric 'and how it sails away' in A Day Without Rain, and in And Winter Came... "Miraculum" has Latin lyrics, in which the refrain translates to 'to sail away, a wonderful thing'.
'Here comes another new day' precedes the chorus in "Echoes In Rain", which uses the phrase 'alleluia' to express the joyous feeling that each 'new day' brings and the happiness of returning back home.
Live performances
editOn 13 December 2015, Enya gave a surprise performance of the song at the Universal Studios Japan Christmas Show. In March 2016, she performed the song on Live! with Kelly and Michael and on April 7, 2016 at the 2016 ECHO Award.
Music video
editThe music video for "Echoes in Rain" was released on 20 November 2015, the same day as the accompanying album Dark Sky Island. It showed Enya performing the song with the female string ensemble - Wired Strings, and a female choir, in Harrow School in London. The set featured an antique rotating globe, turning as the 'long journey home' the lyrics describe progressed and changed from night to day and back; to emphasise, intense lighting lit the church to represent the day (white, bright lights), and the night (blue, dim lights) of the journey.[3][4]
Track listing
editSingle
- "Echoes in Rain" – 3:35
Promo
- "Echoes in Rain" (Radio Edit) – 2:58
Charts
edit| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[5] | 6 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[6] | 48 |
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | October 9, 2015 | Digital download |
|
[7] |
| Italy | November 13, 2015 | Contemporary hit radio | [8] |
References
edit- ^ Brandle, Lars. "Enya Returns with 'Dark Sky Island,' Shares New Single 'Echoes in Rain'". Billboard. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ^ Ryan, Roma. "Enya - Roma Ryan about 'Echoes In Rain'". youtube.com. enyatv. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
It's more like you're coming home, it's that love you feel, you know, um, when you're approaching home, after being away for a long time, it's a long journey, you're travelling through night, through day. It's that beauty of finding your place again, your space again.
- ^ "Enya: Echoes In Rain (Official Video) - YouTube". youtube.com. NOWNESS. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ "Enya - Echoes In Rain (Official Video)". youtube.com. enyatv. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
- ^ "Enya – Echoes in Rain" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
- ^ "Enya – Echoes in Rain" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
- ^ Brandle, Lars. "Enya Returns with 'Dark Sky Island,' Shares New Single 'Echoes in Rain'". Billboard. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ^ "Enya - Echoes in Rain". radioairplay,fm. Retrieved 14 November 2015.