Sarah McLachlan: Angel Meaning
Song Released: 1998
Angel Lyrics
For the break that will make it ok
There's always some reason to feel not good enough
And it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction oh beautiful release
Memories seep from...
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anonymous May 16th, 05:56 report
Whenever this song comes on the radio, or I hear it in some other way, for me it makes me relax. No matter what I am doing or how I am feeling, it reminds me of what is really important in life. I am in the arms of the angel every time my wife/children/grandchildren hug me!
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anonymous Apr 25th, 19:20 report
This song is actually about drug addiction. Dedicated to the Smashing Pumpkins keyboard player it represents the "peace" one experiences in his addiction.
"May you find some comfort here" actually is a wish for the person to find some respite even if this means finding it in drugs -
Ewizobeth Jan 30th, 15:03 report
Continuing from first post.
Re Alzheimers---I almost forgot the worst part---my dad is completely aware of what's happening to him.
Some days he is frightened; other days he is filled with dread. Sometimes he is resigned and defeated.
We lived on a lake, so that imagery is strong for me. It's like dad is in a boat, drifting farther and farther from shore. Now he is at least half way across, and it is getting harder to see him.
He also believes he is in a hotel room, and nearly every day he asks when he can go home. He wants to go back to his childhood home. His trusty Goldendoodle sounds the alarm by barking and waking up mom every time dad tries to leave the house. It is the dead of winter now and he wouldn't last long.
The "Angel" lyrics dovetail in so many other ways with what dad is going through. It is a very sad song, but it is also the doorway to my own sadness, which I have kept locked away all this time. -
Ewizobeth Jan 30th, 13:42 report
My dad is dying of Alzheimers. I am his best friend and favorite daughter. I talk to him every day. He was a brilliant, educated man. Now every day he disappears further into confusion and waking dreams. It is becoming brutal to witness the ravages of this disease. In less than three years he has gone from articulate to incoherent.
When I bought this song from iTunes a few days ago, I had a different response from ever before. I had been trying so hard to comfort my dad that I had never acknowledged my own feelings. When I heard "Angels" I cried, really cried.
If Sarah sees this song as appropriate for an animal humane society campaign, I think she has indicated that her song can have more than one meaning, even if the lyrics don't match perfectly.
Sadly, the lyrics do match much of what happens to the Alzheimers patient. To be "pulled from the wreckage of his silent reverie" is exactly what I want for him. He may spend years in an almost vegetative state before he is finally released.
This song is so touching. I appreciate in a new way now. -
ArmaniCultura Aug 3rd 2012, 12:20 report
There are a lot of things in life, that are considered addictions. Money, sex etc. Drugs are not the only one. It's like for example with drugs it's like an endless cycle that you can't break out of, and it seems that the more you take drugs the less satisfied you become. The angel for me portrays the end of an addiction, happy or not, and the beginning of a new life based on happiness not pleasure.
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anonymous Jul 25th 2012, 15:43 report
On The ASPCA Commercials:
Hi, My Name Is Sarah McLachlan, And I've Just Ruined Your Entire Day. -
anonymous Jul 7th 2012, 12:10 report
This song has its own special meaning to each and every person who listens to it. We each listen to it with our own ears and hearts, and that's what makes it so beautiful. We identify the song to our lives and feel as if it was written just for you. Obviously Sarah McLachlin had her own meanings to the lyrics, we may never really know what they mean exactly, but it doesn't matter as it has it's own meaning for you.
I think it's the most special song ever made and it means the world to me -
anonymous May 10th 2012, 14:41 report
it's a song about pain,suicide,depression,alcoholic, drug addicts... i feel to this song and it relates to me alot.. although i'm still alive.. but i feel every line she sings is how i am feeling everyday..
and i feel so weird that i relate to this song when i'm alive when someone is singing for a person who isnt here anymore.. -
anonymous Mar 24th 2012, 20:08 report
anyone that has ever has the thought of killing themself KNOWS exactly what this song means..it can be seen as for addicdtion or any life's battle we all go thru but it is clearly about one taking one life.. EMR
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anonymous Mar 19th 2012, 10:11 report
I agree that the song is a work of art. It is written in such a way that everyone who listens to it will have their own interpretation. I agree that the song is about faith and being in a better place. I,recently, experienced becoming extremely angry extremely fast to the point of tears. Personally, I would use this song as a means to calm down and chill out. It is a beautiful song and each person can interpret it their own way or for their own purposes. I know I would rather seek comfort in the arms of Angels than inflect pain on myself. In the arms of Angels, you can find peace, hope,and comfort.If anything, one can agree that the song represents simply the beauty of music. I watched several times how Sarah pours herself into her craft giving herself over to the lyrics and each time delivering a flawless, stelour performance time and again. It stands as a timeless anthem about life and overcoming life's challenges.
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anonymous Mar 14th 2012, 03:18 report
This song may refer to escaping from some kind of suffering and death finally gives the dying person freedom in a better world. But on the contrary, a person who dies in a suicide, the bible clearly states that only God has the right to give life or take it away!
As knowledge increases and technology advances, man strives to take decisions of life and death into his own hands. This manifests itself, for example, in the prevention of conception, the termination of pregnancy, some kinds of gene manipulation, efforts to clone humans, and euthanasia.
People have forgotten that God is the Creator and upholder of all, Lord over life and death. He alone has the power to create life and take it away (1 Sam. 2:6; Job 10:12; Ps. 139:13-16). He has not authorized man to control life.
The duty of medicine is to protect life, alleviate suffering, and promote and maintain health while respecting humanity. -(LLC Position Statement, Section 2,Item 5)
Never Commit Suicide, It leads people to Hell!Even for Christians. -
anonymous Feb 23rd 2012, 10:50 report
It's an extremely sad song. I apply it to a little girl in my community who passed away recently. She battled with cancer from the time she was 2. Her family decided to not do any more chemo after it returned when she was 5.
This song is about a release of pain, being released from a place that isn't totally home (hotel room) and heading off in the arms of an angel and finally being able to have comfort in your eternal home.
It's all about the state of mind you're in when you listen to the song. That's what it means to me. -
anonymous Nov 18th 2011, 03:12 report
Yes, I have always thought that the Angel was Angel Dust. "I need some distraction, Oh beautiful release"...."You're in the arms of the angel, May you find some comfort here." Notice how she says "the angel" instead of "an angel". The angel is angel dust and she has created a song from the perspective of a drug addict.
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anonymous Oct 1st 2011, 22:36 report
I'm surprised noone has made the connection of Angel, the drug PCP is colloquially known as Angel Dust.
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anonymous Aug 30th 2011, 03:48 report
Depression. Drug addiction. Death. They all have an endless that pours through the soul. Having fought with depression for what feels like an eternity, which has been nearly 5 years, I can relate to this song. The darkness that seeps at your memories and tears at what little comfort you have can be felt with every melodic tone. Having countlessly sought out a distraction but always felt hollow this song strikes me, like a match meeting a surface with friction. Having seen my sister fight with her drug addiction and countless times not find her way back. And now we have lost her. With all of the friends and family I have lost I can see how this relates to death. Overall this beautiful song will strike notes with you based on personal experience and memories. For me this song reminds me very much of fighting with depression, and how close I came to being in the arms of angels.
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anonymous Aug 20th 2011, 23:40 report
You spent you're life waiting for redemption, for things to work out. Disappointments always arise. There is dissatisfaction at the end of it all. I need something to make me forget, something to ease the pain. The past leaves my life. All becomes meaningless and rest is within sight.
There is that place that allows you to escape this cruel four wall prison and the thought of how long it will be this way. You escape the turmoil of your delusion. You're in that place. I hope you're better here.
You are worn out from trying to do what is right and no one to be trusted can be found. Things get worse, but you keep pretending that you're all right and moving on. It really matters no more, I'm going to that place where I can accept madness as sweet, sadness as something to enjoy, even if I know I'm completely broken.
In this place away from reality and this never ending road, you feel safe from your nightmare. In this place you find what you seek.
You're in your resting place. Rest in peace. -
Merle Jun 28th 2011, 11:31 report
This song "Angel" is a work of art. It will mean something different to each person. It's like Van Gogh's painting "Starry, Starry Night". It's a work of art that will relate to each person based on that person's personal experience in life. This work of art should not be reduced to only a commentary on drug use. It's not necessary that a work of art make a certain kind of impression because of the artist's motivation. Van Gogh's "Starry, Starry Night" and Rembrandt's "Mona Lisa" are examples of creative processes that now stand without the artists' descriptions. The song "Angel" can stand on it's own with each person's impression of the song. That is what makes it a work of art.
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anonymous Jun 9th 2011, 22:36 report
This song i s a beautiful song, but actually has a sad meaning behind it. Sarah mclauchlans best frend suffered from adrug addiction, she then went to rehab became well and started living again. soon after her best friend thought 'oh, just one more time' and booked herself into a hotel room one night. she injected herself again, and failed to wake in the morning. thats the meaning of angel, sarah mclauchlan.
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anonymous Jun 7th 2011, 12:08 report
The only one who knows the true meaning of the song is SM. Everyone who listens to the words in the song will have their own interpretation of what the meaning is regardless of the original intent of the song. That is the beauty of music. One person may feel it's about suicide while another feels it's about the challenges of drug addiction. I feel that it's about any difficult challenge that a person feels in their life, which is so overpowering they can't deal with it and an angel comes and helps them deal with the pain. The angel is the only thing that helps make things better.
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More Sarah McLachlan song meanings »
Angel lyrics
Angel is considered:
Songs about Death
Songs about Suicide
Emotions: Sad Songs
Slow Songs
Songs about Angels
Songs about Loss
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