Week Thirty-Nine: Sarah McLachlan - "Possession" - Fumbling Towards Ecstasy

I think this song is so incredibly beautiful, which is why I saved it for last, but I also think it was very bold on the part of Sarah McLachlan to compose such a song. If you are uncertain as to what I am referring exactly, the lyrics to this song supposedly contain excerpts from letters that a stalker was sending to Sarah.

In fact, I consulted the ever-trusty wikipedia for a more in-depth version of exactly what occurred:

In 1994, McLachlan was sued by Uwe Vandrei, an obsessed fan from Ottawa, Ontario, who alleged that his love letters to her had been the basis of "Possession". This lawsuit never came to trial as the plaintiff committed suicide. 

The lawsuit was also challenging for the Canadian legal system; the suit was essentially a frivolous complaint by Vandrei, a self-admitted stalker, in an attempt to get close to McLachlan, and the trial was delayed significantly by discussions of how to ensure McLachlan's physical safety during the proceedings.

In an interview in Rolling Stone three years later, McLachlan added, "And this one person wasn't the only guy ... there were a lot of letters from other people saying the same kind of thing ... Writing the song 'Possession' was very therapeutic."

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

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

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

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

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

Wipe away the tears

Just close your eyes