Cover art for Book of Days by Enya

Book of Days

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Book of Days Lyrics

[English Lyrics]

[Verse 1]
One day, one night, one moment
My dreams could be tomorrow
One step, one fall, one falter
East or west, over earth or by ocean
One way to be my journey
This way could be my book of days

[Bridge]
Ó lá go lá, mo thuras
An bealach fada romham
Ó oíche go hoíche, mo thuras
Na scéalta nach mbeidh a choích

[Verse 2]
No day, no night, no moment
Can hold me back from trying
I'll flag, I'll fall, I'll falter
I'll find my day maybe
Far and away
Far and away

[Interlude]
[Verse 3]
One day, one light, one moment
With a dream to believe in
One step, one fall, one falter
And a new world across a wide ocean
This way became my journey
This day ends together
Far and away


[Outro]
This day ends together
Far and away
Far and away

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About

Genius Annotation

5th track off her 1991 album Shepherd Moons.

Q&A

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

What did Enya say about "Book of Days"?
Genius Answer

According to Enya.sk, Enya said in a 1993 interview for ITV:

Well there is a strong theme of ‘book of days’, because I have a book of days, a diary. And I’ve always kept one. And it was Roma)’s suggestion again. Ah, she likes to be able to associate with me, because I’m the one who’s going to sing. There is some Gaelic in it.. in the instrumental version.. and it talks about the beginning of the day and the excitement, the expectations, one has. And it’s the eagerness of what is to become of this day. And when Ron Howard approached us, for the film Far and Away, it was similar in a way because there were these two people, and we watch their ‘book of days’, their diary, of how they met up and how they went across to America. And so it was quite easy to interpret the lyrics with the song, because it was still associated with the theme that was originally there.

Lyricist Roma Ryan has written in the album’s music book:

I am collecting diaries more and more and I continue to be intrigued by thepossibilities of each blank page – what will it hold? I experience a mixture of sadness and exuberance when I think of lives laid out on a page or in a book. Personal histories of great loves, of journeys exotic and wonderful, of loss, fear and tragedy, of dreams and simple wishes.

On Enya’s YouTube channel, in the comments of the video for the Shepherd Moons 30th birthday, she wrote:

The original version of Book of days is the Gaelic one, which you will also hear in this Anniversary watching party. Ron Howard, who had chosen the track for his film Far and Away which as you can see by the footage, stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, had asked us to adapt the piece to his particular vision of the scene. We found him to be a very sincere man who knew exactly what he wanted for his film, and, in this way, this version of the song was born.

Credits
Produced By
Written By
Video Director
Instrumentation
Assistant Engineer
Lyricist
Mixing Engineer
Arranger
Recording Engineer
Vocals
Percussion
Remastering Engineer
Recorded At
Aigle Studios, Artane, Dublin, Ireland; SARM West Studios, London, UK
Release Date
July 1992
Book of Days Is A Remix Of
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