Sarah McLachlan

Earlier today I heard a song by Sarah McLachlan. There's so many memories tied to Sarah's music I cannot pick just one to write about, so I will write about several as I recall them now. When I was a junior in high school I had a close friend who was a freshman. He and I both loved Sarah's music and its largely him going on and on about her that made me become interested in her albums. So I spied the video for "Possession" on either VH1 or MTV one evening. I was won over. Sarah's intensity of staring into the camera as it filmed her singing the song, pretty much a head shot the entire time, her hair cascading around her. And when I commented on this to James, my freshman friend, he just sighed wistfully remembering the video. Watching the video again now, if it is the one I remembering seeing in 1993, there's not as many shots focused on her looking into the camera as I recall. Memory is interesting like that, extending the parts we liked most and abbreviating the parts we liked least. I also constantly played Sarah's album in my car, when I had a working cassette player in it. I recall driving on one of my favorite roads between the mall and the Barnett Reservoir, a curvy road that wasn't monitored too strictly by policemen but also didn't have any stops. Not a long road, just one good enough for a little while to get away from the busier traffic. I doubt I would enjoy it now as the area is getting swamped with chain stores and office parks. "Adia" was another song by Sarah McLachlan which wrapped me up into all the lyrics and the way she sang the following:

’Cause we are born innocent. Believe me Adia, we are still innocent. It's easy, we all falter. Does it matter?

I would sing this to myself all the time. Constantly. I cannot sing as high as Sarah, that's for sure, but I imagined I could just enough. At least I didn't torture anyone with my singing. I remember watching a VH1 special in which Sarah's being interviewed and she was asked what the song was about. She mentions her grandmother and their relationship. Another memory deals with "Angel." I am attending the University of Mississippi after transferring from community college. The dorm I am staying in is a co-ed dorm, or as close to one you might find in Mississippi. The dormitory had two wings, one wing was male, the other female, and both having three floors. This dorm was mostly occupied by graduate, non-traditional, and exchange students. I was working and living there as a resident adviser (RA). After a while I started dating someone, and the opportunity arose the following summer for us to go with a friend to Nashville to Lilith Fair. I was excited because Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Merchant, Liz Phair, Bonnie Raitt, and others were going to be there performing. I bought us tickets to go. It was a great show, even if we were sitting on the hillside and not in the stadium seats close to the stage. I could see a tiny Sarah standing center stage, flowy feminine and in blues and purples. The audience was mostly women, some varying kinds of couples here and there. We stood there together, watching and listening, embraced in a hug, my back to his chest. Later, there were some darker moments during that concert when I was not too pleased with him: his derogatory comments about a car full of women at the gas station, the under-his-breath comment about the lesbian couple I asked to take our picture for us. This was one of the many times I realized our personalities clashed extremely, and it only intensified as the summer months pushed forward till I finally broke it off with a little mental and emotional strength support from a university counselor at the wellness center.

In the arms of an angel Fly away from here From this dark cold hotel room And the endlessness that you fear You are pulled from the wreckage Of your silent reverie You’re in the arms of the angel May you find some comfort there

A few memories are associated with "I Will Remember You," but I will only write this one. After Adam and I broke up I listened to the song often because I had learned a lot from that brief relationship. We were in different stages of our lives looking for different things in a relationship. It ended abruptly, but some time after that we became friends again, catching up with each other sporadically. I listened the this song and a lot of Matchbox Twenty after we broke up to deal with the emotions and frustrations I sunk myself into for a time.

I will remember you Will you remember me? Don’t let your life pass you by Weep not for the memories