Angel

Who Hurt Her?

Angel by Sarah McLachlan

Recommended by Lissell

"This was my 'divorce song.' I like the part that says in the arms of the angel may you find comfort here. It helped me a lot knowing that I wasn't alone and that there's always help from above."

You have a beautiful connection with the song. Thank you for sharing.

My main association is that ASPCA commercial. You know the one. With the really sad animals, injured in cages. All the guilt.

But there's a reason they chose it for that commercial - it's an incredibly evocative song. The lyrics, the vocals, the instrumental line...all of it comes together to build a melancholic and haunting piece.

Sarah's voice is so, so beautiful. She sounds ethereal and fragile and soothing, which is perfect for this song. Weightless, perhaps, but not empty. Her voice is filled to the delicate brim with emotion. She could probably sing nothing but "ahh" and I would still cry.

But she doesn't sing "ahh." She sings these lovely and eerie lyrics that simultaneously bring you down and lift you up. Deeply melancholic, but comforting. Sympathetic, even. When you're in pain, it helps to know that others have suffered through the same thing.

It achieves much of this depth through beautiful imagery. Sarah McLachlan wrote this song about the keyboardist for Smashing Pumpkins who died of a heroin overdose, and I think you can gather this from some of the pictures it paints:

I need some distraction; oh, beautiful release. Memories seep from my veins.
Let me be empty.

Fly away from here,

from this dark, cold hotel room.

When she says, You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie. You're in the arms of then angel; may you find some comfort here, I can imagine someone being taken by the angels to finally, finally find peace in Heaven.

But that's kind of a downer, and I'm partial to Lissell's interpretation that the angel is here holding us on Earth, even as we live.

And finally, there's the piano accompaniment under all of that. Melodic, consonant chords softly supporting the other elements of the piece. If Sarah's voice and the lyrics portray the suffering, then the piano represents the angel, crying for you - with you - but also raising you up.

Overview:

Genre:
Pop (this feels wrong, but idk)

Favorite Lyrics:
There's always some reason to feel not good enough.

In the arms of the angel, fly away from here.

Verdict:
Misery loves company.

Okay, wow. I had a phase with this song in 10th grade, but I haven't really listened to it since then. I forgot how sad it was. Look at this, I'm crying.