Roma Ryan
Roma Ryan | |
---|---|
Birth name | Roma Shane |
Born | (1950-01-20) 20 January 1950 (age 74) Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Genres | new-age, Celtic, world |
Occupation(s) | lyricist, poet, writer |
Years active | since 1982 |
Labels | WEA, Warner Music UK, Warner Bros. Records UK, Reprise, Geffen |
Spouse(s) | Nicky Ryan |
Website | romaryan |
Roma Shane Ryan (born 20 January 1950) is an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist, who lives in Killiney, Ireland, with her husband Nicky Ryan. She is the primary lyricist for the singer Enya, who has stated that the importance of the Ryans' contributions is such that without them, Enya would not exist.[1]
Biography and work with Enya
Roma Ryan (née Shane) and Nicky Ryan met Enya in 1978; Nicky Ryan was managing Enya's family's band Clannad. Enya had just finished secondary school when Nicky Ryan rang her, asking if she would become a member of the group. The Ryans and Enya left Clannad several years later to focus on their own musical careers. Enya originally wrote instrumental melodies. Ryan found these melodies "very visual" and suited to film work, and began to write lyrics to them.[2]
Her lyrics can be heard in films such as The Frog Prince (1984), Green Card (1990), L.A. Story (1991), Toys (1992), Cry, the Beloved Country (1995), and Calmi Cuori Appassionati (2001), all of which feature Enya's music. Ryan's lyrics for Enya have won Grammy Awards; the song "May It Be" for The Lord of the Rings film The Fellowship of the Ring was nominated for an Oscar.
Loxian language
In 2005, Ryan revealed her creation of a new language, known as Loxian, in Enya's album Amarantine. It was inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's Elvish language. This language can be heard on three tracks from "Amarantine": "Less Than a Pearl", "The River Sings" and "Water Shows the Hidden Heart". Enya has mentioned in interviews that Ryan developed Loxian while writing lyrics for the track "Water Shows the Hidden Heart"; she and Enya had attempted to write lyrics for the track in Latin, Gaelic and English, but in the end found that they didn't really work for the song.[3] The first Loxian phrase created by Ryan—"Syoombraaya"—is the title of that track ("Water Shows the Hidden Heart").
Loxian language was used again in Enya's eighth studio album, Dark Sky Island, released on 20 November 2015, on the songs 'The Forge Of Angels' and 'The Loxian Gates'. These songs focus on the otherworldly and futuristic tales Ryan uses Loxian for, along with the non-Loxian Astra et Luna.[4]
Solo work
Ryan has undertaken several projects apart from Enya, including a book describing the Loxian language called Water Shows the Hidden Heart. The book also contains poetry and stories written by Ryan. "Water Shows the Hidden Heart" was released in two editions: the first edition as a standalone item, shortly after the release of Amarantine in 2005.[5] The first edition features a short introduction by Enya. The second edition was included on the Deluxe Collector's Edition of Amarantine boxed set in early 2006.[6] It omitted Enya's introduction and added colour images, as well as containing a different selection of Ryan's poetry. Neither version is in print.
On 1 September 2017 Ryan published two books of poetry, Islands No 2&3: Dark Sky Islands and Little Histories and The Messenger's Origin. The first book focuses on the poetry Ryan wrote for the Enya album, Dark Sky Island. The other book is part of The Loxian Games. As of 21 August 2017, several winners of the Loxian Games had received their books and posted photos of the autographed copies on Unity - Enya's official forum. Enya, Ryan, and her husband all autographed the books presented to the winners. The books were published by Valley-dwellers Publishing.
The Loxian Games and the Unity forum
Ryan has been the coordinator of two on-line competitions at Enya's official website, enya.com—the First and Second Loxian Games, which have both been completed. Ryan announced the games on the official website in August 2008; the first games began on 1 September 2008 and the second games in September of the following year. Ryan stated: "The Games are a series of treasure hunts and you can tell by the name that they're based on the Loxian language you heard on Amarantine. They are games of riddles and clues and of you, looking for answers. As with most treasure hunts – there are prizes to be won. As with most treasure hunts you do not know what prize you may have won!"[7] The winners for both games had been announced on the official forum, unity.enya.com. Enya announced the last winners of the games in a video message from 2017. Prior to the closing of the sites, Roma had provided the majority of Aigle's contact with fans on the official website and also communicated periodically on the Unity forum.
Personal life
Ryan and her husband Nicky have two daughters, Ebony and Persia, who contributed artwork and layout to Amarantine.
Discography
- 1985 — The Frog Prince: The Original Soundtrack Recording — Enya and other artists
- 1987 — Enya — Enya
- 1988 — Watermark — Enya
- 1991 — Shepherd Moons — Enya
- 1995 — The Memory of Trees — Enya
- 1997 — Paint the Sky with Stars — Enya
- 2000 — A Day Without Rain — Enya
- 2001 — The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
- 2005 — Amarantine — Enya
- 2006 — Sounds of the Season: The Enya Holiday Collection — Enya
- 2008 — And Winter Came... — Enya
- 2009 — The Very Best of Enya — Enya
- 2015 — Dark Sky Island — Enya
References
- ^ "Roma Ryan biography". The Oscar Site. Archived from the original on 21 October 2004. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
- ^ "Enya, the Invisible Star". Enya Book of Days. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- ^ "Enya Expands Lyrical Language". Enya Book of Days. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- ^ "Enya Official Biography" (pdf). wbr.com. press.wbr.com. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ "Official Discography". Discography.enya.com. Archived from the original on 3 November 2007. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
- ^ "Amarantine release information". Be Independent. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- ^ "New Loxian Site and Competitions". Northern Skyline. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
External links
- Roma Ryan – The Official Website
- Valley-dwellers Publishing
- Enya Lyrics site
- Roma Ryan discography at MusicBrainz
- v
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- "When You Believe" – Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (1998)
- "Music of My Heart" – Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren (1999)
- "My Funny Friend and Me" – Music by David Hartley and Sting; Lyrics by Sting (2000)
- "May It Be" – Music and Lyrics by Enya, Nicky Ryan and Roma Ryan / "Vanilla Sky" – Music and Lyrics by Paul McCartney (2001)
- "Lose Yourself" – Music and Lyrics by Jeff Bass, Eminem and Luis Resto (2002)
- "A Mighty Wind" – Music and Lyrics by Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy and Michael McKean (2003)
- "Old Habits Die Hard" – Music and Lyrics by Mick Jagger and David Stewart (2004)
- "Hustle & Flow" – Music and Lyrics by Terrence Howard (2005)
- "Listen" – Music and Lyrics by Scott Cutler, Henry Krieger and Anne Preven (2006)
- "Falling Slowly" – Music and Lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová (2007)
- "The Wrestler" – Music and Lyrics by Bruce Springsteen (2008)
- "The Weary Kind" – Music and Lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett (2009)
- "If I Rise" – Music and Lyrics by Rollo Armstrong, Dido and A. R. Rahman (2010)
- "Life's a Happy Song" – Music and Lyrics by Bret McKenzie (2011)
- "Skyfall" – Music and Lyrics by Adele and Paul Epworth (2012)
- "Let It Go" – Music and Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (2013)
- "Glory" – Music and Lyrics by Common and John Legend (2014)
- "See You Again" – Music and Lyrics by Andrew Cedar, DJ Frank E, Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth (2015)
- "City of Stars" – Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (2016)
- "Remember Me" – Music and Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (2017)
- "Shallow" – Music and Lyrics by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt (2018)
- "Glasgow (No Place Like Home)" – Music and Lyrics by Mary Steenburgen / "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" – Music by Elton John; Lyrics by Bernie Taupin (2019)
- "Speak Now" – Music and Lyrics by Leslie Odom Jr. and Sam Ashworth (2020)
- "No Time to Die" – Music and Lyrics by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell (2021)
- "Naatu Naatu" – Music by M. M. Keeravani; Lyrics by Chandrabose (2022)
- "I'm Just Ken" – Music and Lyrics by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt (2023)