Only Time
2000 single by Enya
"Only Time" is a song by Irish musician Enya. It was released on 6 November 2000 as the lead single from her fifth studio album, A Day Without Rain (2000). The song reached number one in Canada, Germany, Poland and Switzerland, number two in Austria, and became Enya's only top-10 single as a solo artist in the United States, peaking at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. It became an anthem for the victims of the September 11th attacks, with Enya donating to a fund for the victims' families.
01Release
In 2001, "Only Time" was released again as a radio remix. The track was remixed and mastered by the Swiss American Federation (S.A.F. aka Christian B. and Marc Dold) with a final mix by Enya's producer, Nicky Ryan. Enya donated the earnings from the sale of that single to the Widows' and Children's Fund of the Uniformed Firefighters Association to help the families of firefighters in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. Following the attacks, sales of the album and its lead single, "Only Time", skyrocketed after it was used by several radio and television networks in their coverage and aftermath of the attacks. As a result, "Only Time", (the S.A.F. radio remix) climbed to number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number one on the adult contemporary chart. In 2002, the song received an ECHO Award for Best Single.
02Music video
The song's music video, which shows Enya performing the song in a spring, summer, fall and winter theme, was directed by Graham Fink. It was released in 2000. In March 2020, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the recording, the video was remastered in 4K.
03Live performances
Enya performed "Only Time" several times, performances included Larry King Live, Children in Need, This Morning, The View, Happy Xmas Show, Entertainment Tonight, Live! with Regis and Kelly, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and 2001 World Music Awards.
04Track listings
|
UK CD and cassette single (2000)
German CD single (2000)
Remix CD single (2001)
|
European CD single (2001)
US CD single (2001)
US 7-inch single (2001)
|
05Credits and personnel
Credits are lifted from the A Day Without Rain album booklet.
Studio
- Recorded at Aigle Studio (Dún Laoghaire, Ireland)
- Mastered at 360 Mastering (London, England)
Personnel
- Enya, composition, all instruments and voices, arrangement, mixing
- Roma Ryan, lyrics
- Wired Strings, additional strings
- Nicky Ryan, production, arrangement, mixing, engineering
- Dick Beetham, mastering
06Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
07Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Austria (IFPI Austria) | Gold | 25,000* |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark) | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| Germany (BVMI) | 3× Gold | 750,000^ |
| Italy (FIMI) sales since 2009 |
Gold | 25,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| Spain (Promusicae) | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) | Gold | 25,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Gold | 400,000‡ |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
08Release history
| Region | Version | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Original | 6 November 2000 | Smooth jazz radio | Reprise | |
| United Kingdom | 13 November 2000 |
|
WEA | ||
| Canada | 14 November 2000 | CD | |||
| Japan | 15 November 2000 | ||||
| United States | 20 November 2000 | Reprise | |||
| 19 June 2001 | Contemporary hit radio | ||||
| Canada | Remix | 4 December 2001 | CD | WEA | |
| Australia | Original | 10 December 2001 | |||
| Japan | Remix | 19 December 2001 |
09In popular culture
This song was featured in the 2001 film Sweet November.
In the 2002 Friends episode "The One Where Chandler Takes a Bath", Chandler plays the song while taking a bath.
In the 2006 Less than Perfect episode "Why Are You Hurting Claude", Claudia "Claude" Casey sings the song to Kipp Stedman, who was depressed after losing his trust fund, to provide moral support, and then he sings along to Claude.
On 13 November 2013, The Epic Split advertisement was launched for the Volvo Trucks Volvo FM range and featured the song and Jean-Claude Van Damme. The success of the ad caused "Only Time" to re-enter the Billboard Hot 100 at number 43, and the UK Singles Chart at number 95. Kraft Foods later used the song in advertisements showing parents relaxing while their kids eat Kraft Macaroni & Cheese.
The song was featured in the 2018 Marvel film Deadpool 2, as well as the 2022 Marvel film Thor: Love and Thunder. The song is also played in goal reviews of all Dallas Stars home games at the American Airlines Center.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Only Time”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Enya - Only Time cover.jpg by Unknown author, Fair use
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