As with her previous two albums, "The Memory of Trees" opens with a same-titled instrumental with wordless vocals. The track originated from Roma after she read about Irish mythology and the Celtic druids, who placed a great importance on trees and believed they were sacred and possessed wisdom. Enya maintained it does not mean an ecological statement, but more about what trees may think about humans. Roma suggested its title and Enya agreed, thinking the title was particularly strong and has a sense of ambiguity that allows the listener to conjure up their own images and ideas when they see and hear it. When the title was agreed upon, Enya proceeded to write the song around two weeks later, which was an unusual way of working as the melody had always come first, followed by its title and lyrics.