McLachlan,
Sarah. "Possession." Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. By Sarah McLachlan.
Prod. Pierre Marchand. Montreal, 1993. Compact Disc.
When Sarah McLachlan began to receive copious
quantities of letters from an obsessed fan, rather than become fearful,
overreacting, or otherwise lashing out, she used her art to cope with the
unsolicited attention and wrote a song from what she imagined was the
perspective of the person in question. Uwe Vandrei did not fit the dramatic
bill of the obsessive compulsive; there were no dead animals sent in the mail
or any other types of outwardly destructive behavior. The tale was nonetheless
an odd one, with the subject bringing a lawsuit against the objectified, suing
for songwriting credit on “Possession” and finally committing suicide before
the case was brought to trial.
The connection here is quite simple,
especially within the context of the back-story. The fixated fan creates the relationship
within his own mind, without the acquiescence of the object of his affection in
such a resolute way that such permission truly matters not. Certain parts of
the song bring thoughts of hardly caring but truly possessing of a piece of
property, a thing, an object. Herein lies the flaw of this line of reasoning, the
common connection becomes even more lucid between all the above pieces.
Listen
as the wind blows from across the great divide
Voices
trapped in yearning, memories trapped in time
The
night is my companion and solitude my guide
Would
I spend forever here and not be satisfied?
And
I would be the one to hold you down
Kiss
you so hard, I'll take your breath away
And
after I'd wipe away the tears
Just
close your eyes, dear
Through
this world I've stumbled so many times betrayed
Trying
to find an honest word, to find the truth enslaved
Oh,
you speak to me in riddles and you speak to me in rhymes
My
body aches to breathe your breath, your words keep me alive
And
I would be the one to hold you down
Kiss
you so hard, I'll take your breath away
And
after I'd wipe away the tears
Just
close your eyes, dear
Into
this night I wander, it's morning that I dread
Another
day of knowing of the path I fear to tread
Oh,
into the sea of waking dreams, I follow without pride
'Cause
nothing stands between us here and I won't be denied
And
I would be the one to hold you down
Kiss
you so hard, I'll take your breath away
And
after I'd wipe away the tears
Just
close your eyes, dear
I'll
hold you down
Kiss
you so hard, I'll take your breath away
And
after I'd wipe away the tears
Just
close your eyes