Curious Incidents of a Flailing Mermaid

Angel [Barrel of Monkeys]

Our next stop on our Sarah McLachlan tour is Angel, which was on the Surfacing album (1997) and Mirrorball (1999)



Oooph, okay. Angel is probably Sarah's most well-known song. Here in the UK, it is very rare for a Sarah song to be played on the radio, but I've heard this one. I think this was the first one I ever heard outside the four walls of my bedroom (or my friend's).

I would also say it is possibly her saddest song. In a general sense.

It was inspired by articles that she read in Rolling Stone about musicians turning to heroin to cope with the pressures of the music industry and subsequently overdosing, most notably Jonathan Melvoin, a keyboardist for the Smashing Pumpkins, who died of an overdose in 1996.

Later, it became the unofficial song of the 9/11 disaster, something I always remember, to this day, when I hear this song. There is no such thing as a "perfect song" for such a tragedy. No one writes a song for that. But parts of this song did fit perfectly.

Other parts of the song are clearly written about someone having a really crappy time with life.

What has really struck me about Angel is how we interpret music differently, even at different points in life.

For most, though, this will forever be an incredibly sad and moving song (i.e., don’t listen to it if you want to feel happy).

So tired of the straight line
And everywhere you turn
There’s vultures and thieves at your back
And the storm keeps on twisting
You keep on building the lie
That you make up for all that you lack
It don’t make no difference
Escaping one last time
It’s easier to believe in this sweet madness oh
This glorious sadness that brings me to my knees