who was in the arms of an angel written for
Angel (Sarah McLachlan song) "Angel" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan about the heroin overdose death of Jonathan Melvoin (1961-1996), the Smashing Pumpkins touring keyboard player.[1] as McLachlan explained on VH1 Storytellers. The song first appeared on Surfacing, the Canadian singer's 1997 album. It is sometimes mistitled as "In the Arms of an Angel"[2] or "Arms of the Angel".
Seven Spanish Angels The song is about an outlaw and his lover who are trying to outrun a posse sent to return them to Texas. When they are cornered, they decide to fight the approaching lawmen. Before the final gunfight, the two embrace, speaking of their belief that God will spare them. The gunfight then commences, with the outlaw firing upon the posse. He is immediately shot and killed, prompting his distraught lover to pick up his rifle. She tearfully prays, "Father, please forgive me; I can't make it without my man." She deliberately points the empty weapon it at the lawmen and is then shot dead. After each death, the titular angels gather to pray for the lovers. This is followed by "thunder from the throne" and the angels "tak[ing] another angel home". [3] Seals stated that "We tried to make [the story] ethereal but also believable". As written the song included the lines: "Now the people in the valley swear/ That when the moon's just right/ They see the Texan and his woman/ Ride across the clouds at night", which Sherrill preferred not to record feeling the track would run too long.[2]