"Book of Days" is a hit song released in two versions, both composed and recorded by Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 musician Enya

Enya

Enya is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to...

. The original version, included on the 1991 album Shepherd Moons

Shepherd Moons

Shepherd Moons is an album by Irish musician Enya, released on November 4, 1991. It won the Grammy Award for "Best New Age Album" of 1993...

, was sung in Irish Gaelic

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

. The subsequent 1992 single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 version was bilingual, with new English lyrics; this version was recorded for Ron Howard

Ron Howard

Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...

's film Far and Away

Far and Away

Far and Away is a 1992 adventure-drama-romance film directed by Ron Howard from a script by Howard and Bob Dolman, and stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Cinematography by Mikael Salomon, with a music score by John Williams...

, and scenes from the film feature in the video. The bilingual English-Irish version (2:56) replaced the original pure Gaelic version (2:34) on subsequent pressings of Shepherd Moons from mid-1992 onwards, making the original recording relatively rare.

It was used as background music during the Medal Ceremonies at the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics

IAAF World Championships in Athletics

The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations . Originally, it was organised every four years, but this changed in 1991, and it has since been organised biennially.-History:...

 in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

.

Single track listing

German CD1

1. "Book of Days" - 2:56
2. "As Baile " - 4:03
3. "Morning Glory" - 2:30

German CD2

1. "Book Of Days" - 2:56
2. "On Your Shore" - 3:59
3. "As Baile " - 4:03

UK Limited Edition

1. "Book Of Days" - 2:56
2. "Watermark " - 2:24
3. "On Your Shore" - 3:59
4. "Exile" - 4:20

Japanese EP

1. "Book Of Days" - 2:56
2. "As Baile " - 4:03
3. "Angeles " - 3:47
4. "Oriel Window" - 2:22
5. "'S Fagaim Mo Bhaile" - 3:57
6. "Caribbean Blue [edit]" - 3:40

Charts

Chart (1992)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	10
Swedish Singles Chart	34