Though Sarah McLachlan, has never publicily claimed a religion, her songs have been infused with spirituality from the beginning, and her continual popularity speaks volumes to the spiritual seeking of my generation.
As years went on in McLachlan's song creation, the spirituality coming through sometimes became more religious, including a beautiful rendition of "The Prayer of St. Francis." Also, some more Christ-centered Christmas songs, such as "What Child is This," appeared on her Wintersong album last Christmas.
Some of the songs that have spoken most deeply to me and played a part in forming some of my own theologies are "Full of Grace" from Surfacing and "Fallen" from Afterglow.
Other songs have reinforced convictions and turned into their own posts right here on this very blog.
In fact, I would unabashedly say that the most uplifting spiritual songs that I have depended on have come from Sarah McLachlan.
So, it was strange to hear her "newest" single, which was re-released on the House soundtrack a couple of months ago. This single was originally released in 1996 on Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff.
In a cover of the XTC song, "Dear God," McLachlan's message is emphatically one of anger and hatred toward the Creator she'd often shown reverence for. And while her version is far superior to the original, it's a confusing choice of song.
I'd love to hear her spiritual story, wouldn't you?
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
it is interesting because it doesn't even sound like a typical Sarah choice, although I never considered her anything other than celtic/new age. I too have found much inspiration from her music and the surfacing album almost singlehandedly helped me survive my divorce...
ReplyDeleteMisty,
ReplyDeleteYou're right. I was quite surprised (but also quite impressed) by the passionate fury that came through toward the end of "Dear God." I think of McLachlan as a more gentle serenader, but this song shows a different skill set for her.
Surfacing also helped me during a hard relationship turmoil. And Afterglow was and encouraging step forward when I needed that also.
This is completely off of sarah topic, but I am so glad Oregon Trail will be coming to your home. I haven't played since before thanksgiving because then I get obsessed with my family dying of cholera and accidental gunshot wounds, and I pay attention to nothing else around here (like laundry, etc...)
ReplyDeleteHmmm...thought provoking. There are so many songwriters and musicans that I would love to hear their spiritual stories...
ReplyDeleteSarah McLachlan is definitely on the list! I hadn't ever properly listened to her music before, so thank you for drawing my attention to it! :)
Laura Ann,
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll get to enjoy her work as much as I have over the years. It can become quite addictive.