Director Peter Jackson approached Enya (under the suggestion of Howard Shore), asking if she would be interested in writing a song for The Lord of the Rings.[3] Thrilled at the prospect, Enya headed to New Zealand to see the preliminary edits of the film.[3] 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[4] in the Ryans' Dublin studio, Aigle Studio.[5]
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 Voices and London Philharmonic Orchestra.[6] Compositionally, the piece is simple, featuring a backdrop of choir and strings. As Doug Adams commented, Enya's contributions "coexist so neatly," with Shore's score, that "neither Enya song is relegated to its own track."
The lyrics of this theme song include English words, as well as words in the fictional Elvish language, Quenya, created by J.R.R. Tolkien.[5] While Enya wrote music, Roma Ryan studied the languages and wrote the lyrics in English and Quenya.[7] There are two lines with phrases written in Quenya. The first, Mornië utúlië, translates to "Darkness has come."[5]Mornië alantië translates as "Darkness has fallen."[5] Each line repeats twice in the song, with the remaining song lyrics written in English. They are intermingled with the Quenya lyrics, as in the second stanza; "Mornië utúlië, believe and you will find your way; Mornië alantië, a promise lives within you now."[5]
Enya performed her song at the Academy Awards on 24 March 2002. She was "absolutely" excited about the performance.[3] For her it was the "first time to be nominated, and to get to perform, it's just wonderful, absolutely wonderful."[3]
Enya's "May It Be" has been featured on various albums. On 20 November 2001, it was released on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack, along with composer Howard Shore's original score "The Road Goes Ever On (Part 2)".[11] It also came out as a single in Europe on 10 December 2001 and in the United Kingdom on 21 January 2002.[12][13] "May It Be" entered the German Singles Chart at number one. It was Enya's second consecutive single to do so, following her song "Only Time".[14] In 2005, it was released as part of the compilation The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: The Complete Recordings. This time, the version of the song was identical as featured in the movie's ending titles. Enya also included the song on her 2009 album, The Very Best of Enya.[15]
The music video was directed by Peter Nydrle. It features clips from the film as well as Enya singing the song. The video runs for 3 minutes and 32 seconds.[16]
^Adams, Doug (2005). The Fellowship of the Ring(PDF). The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films. The annotated Score. Vol. 1. p. 23. Archived from the original(PDF) on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
^May It Be (European CD single liner notes). Enya. WEA Records. 2002. 5439 16709 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^May It Be (UK cassette single sleeve). Enya. WEA Records. 2002. w578c, 5439167094.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^May It Be (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Enya. WEA Records. 2002. 936 2424292.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^May It Be (UK CD single liner notes). Enya. WEA Records. 2002. w578cd, 936 2424292.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
