Cover art for Ebudæ by Enya

Ebudæ

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Nov. 4, 19911 viewer9.3K views

Ebudæ Lyrics

[English Lyrics]

[Verse 1]
Eww harday eyubee heeoowah
Oohah sharlay nartcoh cheeteeh woodenuh
Aran doi nig coh hoh maltenuh
Ooree ah ooh harlorh

[Verse 2]
Eww harday eyubee heeoowah
Oohah sharlay mwahnee kahah maltenuh
Ooh re heeoowah, ooh re heeoowah
Reh meh neeansai angrass de la ooh hoo lee ah ooh harlorh

[Bridge]
Amharc, mná ag obair lá 's mall san oích'
Ceolann siad ar laetha geal, a bhí
Bealach fada anonn 's anall a chóich'

[Verse 3]
Eww harday eyubee heeoowah
Oohah sharlay wooneenchi boi ditohyenuh
Ooh re heeoowah, ooh re heeoowah
Woohnah wui an jaeshah woodenuh ooh lee ah ooh harlorh

[Verse 4]
Eww harday eyubee heeoowah
Oohah sharlay nartcoh cheeteeh woodenuh
Ooh re heeoowah, ooh re heeoowah
Aran doi nig coh hoh maltenuh ooree ah ooh harlorh
[Outro]
Oohree harday eyubee heeoowah
Oohreean kahah montenah

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

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Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What's the gibberish written in the verse sections? It's not Gaelic.
Genius Answer

The verses of the song itself are not Gaelic, like the bridge. It follows the style of rhythmic vocalisations that Enya often incorporates into her music.

In this particular track, there are two “voices” weaving together to mimic the working chants of women, created from sounds that are half-remembered and half-invented.

The “gibberish” has been transcribed phonetically to provide a more cohesive lyric-reading experience.

What did Enya say about "Ebudæ"?
Genius Answer

According to Enya.sk, Enya said in an interview with NPR:

Ebudæ was used before, because Ebudæ was in ‘Orinoco Flow’. “Ebudæ unto Khartoum” was one of the lyrics Roma had. And Ebudæ is an old Latin name for the Hebrides. And, there’s a big connection from where I was brought up, County Donegal, and to Scotland. There’s a lot of families that have, um, that have emigrated to Scotland. Therefore, there’s this big connection with, uh, the fact where I come from Gaelic is the first language. And for some people, their Scotch Gaelic is their first language. And I always found, um, Scotch Gaelic has this… it’s more rhythmic to the Gaelic music.

Producer Nicky Ryan added:

The rhythm, in fact, is weaving. That’s what inspired the rhythmic side of it, is weaving cloth. And that’s exactly the rhythm they set up when they’re weaving.
So you actually have the two dialects. There’s, there’s the Scots Gaelic in one part. There’s the flowing Irish in the other part. But the rhythm’s maintained throughout. No words involved, it’s sounds. Mouth sounds. But with a lot of rhythm, which people would dance to. Because it simply wasn’t, it was against the law to play an instrument in Ireland at one stage. Totally against the law to even own one. So people invented their own music — through their mouth.

Lyricist Roma Ryan also declared in the album’s music book:

I had come across Ebudae in Ariosto’s classic tale of Orlando Furioso, the island thought to be intended as one of the Hebrides, referred to as the Dreadful Isle or the Isle Of Tears. I had fallen in love with the name, and when sometime later I was browsing through an old book of ancient maps, I was delighted to find Ebudae actually recorded and in this original form! The title of the song ‘Ebudae’ and the lyrics concern themselves with ancient sounds.
There are two ‘voices’ which work their way through the piece. The first voice concerns itself with the story – which is loosely based on the tradition of women weaving and chanting to the rhythm of their work. The second voice is a mixture of sounds and fragments of sounds half-invented, half-remembered from childhood. As is often the case, what one actually hears and what one thinks one hears can be two very different things. With this rhythmic section we try to capture those impressions.

Credits
Produced By
Written By
Instrumentation
Lyricist
Mixing Engineer
Arranger
Recording Engineer
Vocals
Percussion
Remastering Engineer
Recorded At
Aigle Studios, Artane, Dublin, Ireland; SARM West Studios, London, UK
Release Date
November 4, 1991
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