May It Be

"May It Be" is a song by Irish recording artist Enya. It was composed by Enya and Roma Ryan for Peter Jackson's 2001 film The Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Ring. The song entered the German Singles Chart at number one in 2002 and was performed by Enya at the 74th Academy Awards.

Composition

Director Peter Jackson approached Enya, asking if she would be interested in writing a song for The Lord of the Rings. Thrilled at the prospect, Enya headed to New Zealand to see the preliminary edits of the film.

Enya worked on the song with Nicky Ryan, her producer, and Roma Ryan, her lyricist. Nicky produced Enya's vocals and arranged the music while Roma wrote the lyrics. They recorded the song through Enya's contract with Warner Music in the Ryans' Dublin studio, Aigle Studio. The vocals were recorded in "Aigle Studios", Enya's Studio near Dublin and the orchestration was recorded in London, directed by Howard Shore and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Compositionally, the piece is simple, featuring a backdrop of choir and strings.