"Storms In Africa" is a song by the Irish singer-songwriter Enya recorded for her second studio album, Watermark (1988). A rearranged version with English lyrics called "Storms In Africa (Part II)" was included in some later pressings of Watermark, and released as a single in May 25, 1989 that reached number 41 on the UK Singles Chart.
The song was included on the soundtrack for the film Green Card (1990). For a time, the Australian airline Ansett Airlines used the song as its theme prior to its collapse in 2001.[1]
Background[]
Liner Notes[]
| “ | There are two versions of "Storms in Africa", one in Gaelic and one in English. The Gaelic version is our personal favourite, which we have included here. Both versions were released as a single in 1989. | ” |
Notes by Roma Ryan
Only Time - The Collection, 2002
Quotes About The Song[]
Enya: "The title actually came from Nicky for this one. It was an instrument, the Juno 60, and it’s got this arpeggiator, and he had set it, and he had said to me ‘I’d love you to write the melody with this sound and the arpeggiator’ and he left me for a few hours. And what happened was the chord sequence for ‘Storms in Africa.’ So I worked very closely with him on the theme, because, once he had heard the initial chord sequence with this sound, he came up with the title ‘Storms in Africa,’ and so we took it. He guided the direction, the arrangement to that song. And it was nice – it was a different approach yet again."
One To One, Itv, 1993
enyabookofdays.com
Lyrics[]
nanananana….nananana…. nananananana….nananana….
Cá fhad é ó…nananana…nananana…
Cá fhad é ó…nananana…
nanananana…Siúl tríd na stoirmeacha…nananana…
nananannana…Dul tríd na stoirmeacha….nananana…
Cá fhad é ó…nananana…
An tús don stoirm? …nananana…
Cá fhad é ó …nananana…
An tús go deireadh?
Tóg do chroí! nanananana…
Siúl tríd na stoirmeacha. nananana…
Tóg do chroísa! nanananana…
Dul tríd na stoirmeacha. nanananna…
Turas mór. …nanananana…
Tar tríd na stoirmeacha. …nananana…
Turas fada. …nanananana…
Amharc tríd na stoirmeacha. …nananana…
How far is it from…
How far is it from…
Walk through the storms.
Go through the storms.
How far is it from
the start of the storm?
How far is it from
the beginning to the end?
Take heart!
Walk through the storms.
Take heart
going through the storms!
A great journey.
Come through the storms.
A long Journey.
Look through the storms.
Though I walk through
Warm sands in Africa
Winds will grow soon
To storms in Africa.
How far to go
I cannot say.
How many more
Will journey this way?
Dark skies fall on
Black earth and ivory.
Far from your sun
Clouds now close over me
How far to go
I cannot say.
How many more
Will journey this way?
Storms have come!
Rains wash the earth away
Dark skies fall down
Into another day.
Rains have now come
From storms in Africa
Time will go on
Through Storms in Africa
Tracklist[]
- "Storms In Africa II" 3:02
- "StormsIn Africa I" 4:02
12" vinyl and CD B-sides[]
Music Video[]
The music video includes the English version of the song. It was directed by Michael Geoghegan.
Live Performances[]
| Venue | Date | Details |
|---|---|---|
| World Music Awards (Monaco) | 1989 | Lip-synced |
| Rockopop (Spain) | 1989 | Lip-synced |
| Terry Wogan’s Show (UK) | 1989 | Lip-synced |
Critical reception[]
Ned Raggett from AllMusic noted that "Storms in Africa" uses drums from Chris Hughes "to add to the understated, evocative fire of the song, which certainly lives up to its name."
Charts[]
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA) | 12 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 41 |
Trivia[]
‘Storms In Africa’ first appeared on ‘Watermark’ in its original Gaelic version. The following year, Enya re-recorded the song with English lyrics and released the new version entitled ‘Storms in Africa (Part II)’ as a single. The single came out in June 1989, four months after the original deadline that was pushed because of Enya’s busy promotion schedule. Some countries subsequently included ‘Storms in Africa (Part II)’ as the last track on ‘Watermark.’ Most returned back to the original format but the US and a few others still keep the extra track.[2]