Angel

Listen while you read:  Sarah McLachlan

Spend all your time waiting
For that second chance
For a break that would make it okay

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 my veins

And maybe empty
Oh, and weightless, and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight

In the arms of the 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 here

So tired of the straight line
And everywhere you turn
There's vultures and thieves at your back

The storm keeps on twisting
Keep on building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack

It don't make no difference
Escape one last time
It's easier to believe in this sweet madness
Oh, this glorious sadness
That brings me to my knees

In the arms of the angel
Fly away from here
From this cold, dark 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 here

You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here

~ Sarah McLachlan

I am finding it hard to believe that this one goes all the way back to Surfacing, released in 1997. Is it possible that this song is already twenty years old? Sarah McLachlan wrote this (or it wrote itself, as she claims) about a drug addict, and if you listen to it that way, yes, it makes sense. The "angel" is the drug. But you might know it for its reincarnation as part of an ASPCA commercial on late night TV, the one that forces you to look at sorry pets in a shelter, breaking your heart right before you want to drift off into beautiful sleep. I don't even have cable TV, but that commercial has been running since 2007 when I still had cable, and I cannot remove it from my memory. The good news is that it generated $30 million in donations.

And that's kind of why I chose this song today. In my helplessness regarding Hurricane Harvey, which is flooding Houston, I needed to find a way to offer some help. Did you see the Facebook newsfeed photo of the dog carrying a bag of dog food through the flooded street? Or the rescuers carrying dogs to higher ground? Or the photo I posted yesterday of the dog trapped in the flooded, fenced-in yard?

My donation went to the SPCA of Texas. While there were a couple of animal charities I was considering, I like to rely on a website called "Charity Navigator" to let me know if the charities are legitimate. The others I was considering had not yet been rated, so I went with the one that was. Do I feel better about what's happening in Texas? Yeah, a little bit. There will be time and opportunity to do much more, I'm sure.

I've loved listening to Sarah McLachlan ever since she emerged from Lilith Fair in the late 90s. And I saw her in concert a couple of times. Oh, to be blessed with a voice like that! And piano and lyric-writing talents as well! In my next life . . .

Do what you can. Okay?