Sarah McLachlan generates friction, sings like an angel
The lyrics paint a picture of loneliness and desire, in a context of romance and passion.
The lyrics can be vague. The music generates atmosphere and emotion. And a closer look hints at a dark side, an eerie and obsessive side, a sharp side.
“Into this night I wander/It's morning that I dread,” sings Sarah McLachlan in her song, “Possession.” “Another day of knowing of/The path I fear to tread/Oh, into the sea of waking dreams/I follow without pride/Nothing stands between us here/And I won't be denied.”
McLachlan has learned of many couples that have used “Possession” as their wedding song. But, she told the Journal during a recent telephone interview, “it’s about a stalker.”
McLachlan could very likely perform “Possession” when she arrives in Kingston Sunday, for a performance with her band at the Broadway Theater at Ulster Performing Arts Center.
Regional fans of this Canadian singer-songwriter — McLachlan grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and now lives in Vancouver, British Columbia — could also hear her other hits: “I Will Remember You,” and “Sweet Surrender” among them.
Kiriaki Bozas, 33, a singer-songwriter from the City of Poughkeepsie, has drawn inspiration from McLachlan’s compositions. And Bozas is unlikely to ever forget seeing her perform live some years ago; McLachlan’s vocals left a very big impression.
“I remember thinking, that’s what angels must sound like on the other side,” Bozas said.
McLachlan’s concert at UPAC — which is owned by the Bardavon 1869 Opera House in Poughkeepsie — is one more stop in a career that has generated the sale of more than 40 million albums and garnered multiple Grammy Awards.
Making music has also brought McLachlan — who sings and plays guitar and piano — a lot of satisfaction.
“It’s the best drug in the world,” she said. “I love it.”
But as she did while writing “Possession,” McLachlan doesn’t shy away from the darker side of emotions and the manner in which they can be channeled into creative expression. The conflicting perspectives that shape McLachlan’s songs establish her identity by generating friction.
Her song, “Into the Fire,” for example, is a hard-charging, cautionary tale with a sense of urgency. “Ice Cream” is a bouncy, upbeat tune that places a culinary twist on falling in love.
“I’m fascinated with the dualities of beauty and violence — the fact that nature is glorious but it’s incredibly violent as well,” she said. “There is something so engaging and fascinating about that.
“In the same way that human beings have a capacity for greatness and for wonderful qualities, they can do such good in the world, but they can be so awful — and that can be within five minutes. I find that fascinating.
The conflicts that can arise with emotions, McLachlan continued, “is a theme that I’m always looking at. And I feel like I’m a positive person. I’m looking for the silver lining in things. I see beauty everywhere. I see suffering everywhere. They’re both necessary and they’re both a huge part of our lives.”
McLachlan’s pursuit of the silver lining began in Nova Scotia, where she was born and grew up with a father who was a marine biologist. Her mother gave up her university studies so she could put her father through school, and he eventually earned his Ph.D.
McLachlan’s mother — who later in life received two master’s degrees — raised her family in a Halifax-area community where, McLachlan said, “the highway was below us” and there was “nothing but woods and lakes all around us.”
McLachlan’s fascination with conflicting emotions and how they find their ways into songs also seems to have begun when she was young.
At age 12, the first record she ever owned was “Glass Houses” by Billy Joel. The 1980 release includes some of Joel’s hardest rocking music — including “You May Be Right” — and some of his most thoughtful and tender music — including “Don’t Ask Me Why.”
“I don’t remember why that record ended up being my first one,” McLachlan said.
John W. Barry: jobarry@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4822, Twitter: @JohnBarryPoJo
If You Go
When: Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Broadway Theater at Ulster Performing Arts Center, 601 Broadway, Kingston
Admission: $55-$120
Information: Tickets can be purchased in person at the Bardavon 1869 Opera House box office, 35 Market St., Poughkeepsie, which can be reached at 845-473-2072; and in person at the UPAC box office, 601 Broadway, Kingston, which can be reached at 845-339-6088; and through Ticketmaster, which can be reached at www.ticketmaster.com and 1-800-745-3000. Visit www.bardavon.org for information.
Bardavon member benefits are not available through Ticketmaster.