Full of Grace

A song I’ve been listening to, when I’m feeling less than exultant, is “Full of Grace” by Sarah McLachlan, from her album Surfacing. I seem to be listening to Sarah’s music quite a lot these days – I now have three of her albums. Perhaps Sarah will be the musician to get me through my 40’s – just as Jeff Buckley got me through my 30’s, REM got me through my 20’s and Pink Floyd/Alice Cooper (I was a very morbid teenager) got me through my teens. Actually, Pink Floyd has been a constant through each decade but they made a huge impression on my psyche when I was 12 or 13 (when I discovered them).

“Full of Grace” is at its most powerful when heard with the music and Sarah’s voice, here are some of the lyrics:

the winter here’s cold, and bitter
it’s chilled us to the bone
we haven’t seen the sun for weeks
too long, too far from home
I feel just like I’m sinking
and I claw for solid ground
I’m pulled down by the undertow
I never thought I could feel so low
oh darkness I feel like letting go
if all of the strength and all of the courage
come and lift me from this place
I know I could love you much better than this
full of grace


And when I was a teenager, and feeling less than exultant, here is what Alice Cooper would sing to me:

I wake up in the basement
I'm so hungry
I'm dry
I must be here sleepwalking
mustn't I?
Getting up from my easy chair looking for my wife
following a trail of crimson spots
that lead into the night
suddenly I realize
I see it all through real eyes
these crimson spots are dripping from my hand
and ooh it makes me feel like a man
(“The Awakening” from Welcome to my Nightmare)

Oh Alice…you big cuddly teddy bear.