Album version 3:59 English 1995
Edit 3:07 English 1995

Liner notes

The land of the summer stars… the winter garden…that way…the land of paradoxes…the city of angels…aigle… anywhere is…roma…the island of ebony….

persia…the island of the four precious walls…the willows on the water… the land of three winters…ole inigo…thoraigh… wood of dreams…the plain of the winds…

anywhere is…gaothdobhair…this way… a whispering world…orinoco… lothlorien….the palace of solitude…. the garden of the singing-ringing tree…

the land of illusion…cuyahoga… the painted ball…the crystal sea… lake disappointment….aldebaran…life… my way home…anywhere is…

notes by Roma Ryan
The Memory of Trees promotional box, 1995

Well, it is, isn’t it?
notes by Roma Ryan
Only Time: The Collection, 2002

Quotes about the song

Enya: It was a very enjoyable song to work on. It was just wonderful and Roma wrote just lovely lyrics. “Anywhere Is. It’s either this or that way,” it’s kind of a lighter look towards life.
Radio Interview, 104 KRBE, 1996
enyabookofdays.com

As with much of Enya’s music, the melody for ‘Anywhere Is’, the addictive first single from The Memory of Trees, was the impetus for Roma Ryan’s stanzas about the search for the temporal heaven all cultures call "home." "That’s a subject I understand the best," says Enya, "because I can’t compose unless I’m home… in the Gaeltacht area of Donegal."
Enya: Memory, Myth & Melody, Billboard, 1995
enyabookofdays.com

Enya: There is this stage when things get up tempo in the studio, lyrically and melodically. After ‘Anywhere Is,’ things were coming to an end.

Enya: It had started as a staccato, march feel in the initial melody. When we work in the studio, we don’t have any idea which track is more commercial than the others. It’s still very different to anything you hear on the radio. ‘Orinoco Flow’ is still different. We’re unaware of potential singles, so after a year and a half we involved (Warner Bros. UK chairman) Rob Dickins. We felt we were coming to the end of the album and wanted to hear his opinion. We had to set a date because of worldwide release commitments. Rob immediately saw potential for Anywhere Is’ as a single. I worked on the melody and we finished it.
Enya & The Memory of Trees, Gavin, 1996
enyabookofdays.com

Rob Dickins: I first heard the new album in August and it was virtually complete, apart from this song, which was absolutely to die for, but was only a backing track. They admit they can’t spot singles so I encouraged them to work on the lyrics and complete it.
Conjuring up More Studio Magic, Music Week, 1995
enyabookofdays.com

Single

sinlge cover

01 Anywhere Is [edit] +
02 Boadicea
03 Oriel Window

+ new version


Music Video

Performances

Venue Date Details
Hey Hey It’s Saturday (Australia) 1996 Lip-synced
Concerto di Natale in Vaticano (Italy) Dec 1995 Lip-synced
Esto Es Espectáculo (Spain) Dec 15, 1995 Lip-synced
Top of the Pops (UK) Nov 16, 1995 Lip-synced
Top of the Pops (UK) Nov 30, 1995 Lip-synced


 

Lyrics

I walk the maze of moments
but everywhere I turn to
begins a new beginning
but never finds a finish
I walk to the horizon
and there I find another
it all seems so surprising
and then I find that I know

You go there you’re gone forever
I go there I’ll lose my way
if we stay here we’re not together
Anywhere is

The moon upon the ocean
is swept around in motion
but without ever knowing
the reason for its flowing
in motion on the ocean
the moon still keeps on moving
the waves still keep on waving
and I still keep on going

You go there you’re gone forever
I go there I’ll lose my way
if we stay here we’re not together
Anywhere is

I wonder if the stars sign
the life that is to be mine
and would they let their light shine
enough for me to follow
I look up to the heavens
but night has clouded over
no spark of constellation
no Vela no Orion

The shells upon the warm sands
have taken from their own lands
the echo of their story
but all I hear are low sounds
as pillow words are weaving
and willow waves are leaving
but should I be believing
that I am only dreaming

You go there you’re gone forever
I go there I’ll lose my way
if we stay here we’re not together
Anywhere is

To leave the thread of all time
and let it make a dark line
in hopes that I can still find
the way back to the moment
I took the turn and turned to
begin a new beginning
still looking for the answer
I cannot find the finish
it’s either this or that way
it’s one way or the other
it should be one direction
it could be on reflection
the turn I have just taken
the turn that I was making
I might be just beginning
I might be near the end

lyrics by Roma Ryan
EMI Music Publishing Ltd, 1995