Smaointe…

Album version

6:08

Gaelic

1988

Liner notes

(D’Aodh Agus Do Mháire Uí Dhúgain)

The story of the beach at Maragallen (The Plain of the Shelter) is that many years past, a great wave swept onto the land, crashing down upon the small church and graveyard, destroying the church. All who were in the church that day, perished.

It is in this same graveyard that Enya’s grandparents are buried. Enya often talked to me of how she could see the graveyard as she walked along the shores of the Maragallen, and of how she felt her grandparents were watching over her and guiding her still. Memories of her childhood and days spent with them come to Enya when she walks there, memories which she will treasure always. I wrote ‘Smaointe’ in response to these reflections. The word ‘smaointe’ literally translated means ‘thoughts’.

notes by Roma Ryan
Shepherd Moons music book, 1991

I remember
…the shore.
The plain of…
…the shelter
Maragallan
notes by Roma Ryan
A Box of Dreams, 1997

Quotes about the song

"You played that piece ‘Smaoitím’," Nicky says to Enya, "and the first words that came into my head were ‘The Loss of You’. And I said ‘Let’s call
it that’. And then it occurred to me that the song should be in memory of your grandparents. I cannot imagine the melody you wrote being about anything else."
"I came in after I’d written it and I spent the rest of the day pretending that nothing happened in the studio and I was really excited about it," Enya recalls.
"You know, ‘Smaoitím’ is like ‘I am remembering’… It’s very hard to do a direct translation."
Growing with the Flow, Hot Press, 1988

Enya: "It was done in a couple of days, because time was so short. I had written it in A, but the uillean piper can’t play in A, so I had to transpose it down
to G, so I had a guide down for him in G, and on the day he was arriving, I said to Nicky, “Oh dear, I don’t like G at all”, so we decided on the spot to transpose
it again to C. So I had a couple of hours to put down the guide, but in fact that became the lead vocal, because the feeling was so strong for me: the song’s in
Gaelic, and it’s about my grandparents and their influence on me. So I went to put down the guide, and when I stopped, that was it, it was the lead vocal,
because the feeling was there. It’s rough, but the feeling in it was so good. I was very happy with that."
Home Taping (is skill in music), Sonics, 1988
enyabookofdays.com

Enya: "When the ‘Orinoco Flow’ record was already in the shops and turned out to be also very successful the record company asked for extra songs for a CD single. The making of those
songs was the first big test, and it went well. We recorded two new songs: the Gaelic song about my grandparents is one of the best things I ever did I think.
If the record company was looking for ‘Orinoco Flow Part Two’ they certainly didn’t get it. No, I do my best to keep my work fresh. I’m very much aware of the
traps where other groups have stumbled into. Nicky Ryan made back then with Clannad all the mistakes thinkable and learned his lesson. Our force is our
peculiarity and we have to keep it at any cost."
Interview in Belgium, 1988
Enya unofficial homepage (no longer online)

Trivia

‘Smaointe…’ is dedicated to Enya’s grandparents.
The song was first released as an ‘Orinoco Flow’ b-side under the title ‘Smaoitím…’

Gaelic lyrics

Translation

lyrics by Roma Ryan
EMI Music Publishing Ltd, 1988