She is known for the emotional sound of her ballads. Some of her most popular songs include "Angel", "Building a Mystery", "Adia", "Possession", "Fallen", "I Will Remember You", and "World on Fire". Her best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four Juno Awards.
Her first album Touch was released in September 28, 1988, recorded in 1987-1988, Vancouver, Canada. The album received both critical and commercial success and included the hit song Vox. During this period she co-operated with Tom Ferris and Dean Russel of Moev, who discovered her as a singer. She contributed backing vocals their 1990 album Head Down and embarked on her first national concert tour as an opening act for The Grapes Of Wrath, another Tom Ferris's band.
Her second album Solace (1991) was a real breakthrough in Canada, spawning the hit singles The Path of Thorns (Terms) and Into the Fire and being certified double platinum for sales of 200,000 copies in Canada.
In 1994 her third album Fumbling Towards Ecstasy quietly became Sarah's international breakthrough, scaling the charts in a number of countries. In the United States, the album was a steady seller that stayed in the middle ranges of the pop charts for almost two years.
Sarah's fourth album Surfacing, released in 1997, brought her international success, selling over 11 million copies worldwide. Still in the spotlight from the album, Sarah launched the highly popular Lilith Fair tour, which helped launch the careers of several well-known female artists.
Her next record Afterglow came out in 2003; it contained the singles Fallen, Stupid, and World On Fire. It was her first album of new material in six years. Sarah took a few years furlough to start a family with her husband and drummer, Ashwin Sood.
Her Holiday album Wintersong came out in October 2006. The album consists of eleven new recordings of well known Christmas songs as well as seasonal favorites interpreted by Sarah. The title track Wintersong is an original work of Sarah.
McLachlan's first studio album of original material in seven years, Laws of Illusion, was released on June 15, 2010. It features 10 new songs in addition to the previously released tracks "U Want Me 2" and "Don't Give Up on Us. The first single Loving You Is Easy was released on April 23, 2010. It was followed by Forgiveness, released on June 30, 2010.
Black and White
Sarah McLachlan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A distant cord
On the outside is forgotten
A constant need
To get along
And the animal awakens
And all I feel is black and white
The memory slides
To the whole of my undoing
Put aside
I put away
I push it back to get through each day
And all I feel is black and white
And I'm wound up small and tight
And I don't know who I am
Everybody loves you when you're easy
Everybody hates when you're a bore
Everyone is waiting for your entrance so
Don't disappoint them
Unravel me
Untie this cord
The very center of our union
Is caving in
I can't endure
I am the archive of our failure
And all I feel is black and white
And I'm wound up small and tight
And I don't know who I am
Everybody loves you when you're easy
Everybody hates when you're a bore
Everyone is waiting for your entrance so
Don't disappoint them
Da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, ba, ba
Da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, ba, ba, ba
Da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba
Da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, ba, ba, ba
Everybody loves you when you're easy so
Don't disappoint them
Don't disappoint them
Don't disappoint them
Don't disappoint them
The song Black & White by Sarah McLachlan is a reflection on the complexities of human emotion and relationships. The singer opens the song by asking someone to "unravel" her, to help her untangle a distant cord that has long been forgotten. She has a "constant need to get along," implying that she struggles with finding her place in the world and fitting in with others. As she continues to sing, she describes feeling like an animal that awakens within her, causing her to see everything in "black and white." She feels wound up "small and tight", unable to understand her identity.
As the song progresses, McLachlan expresses her frustration with the expectations people have for her. She describes the pressure to entertain others and the fear of disappointing them. She implores the other person to continue "unraveling" her, as the very center of their "union" is "caving in" and she can't endure it anymore. She confesses that she feels like an "archive of our failure" and she doesn't know who she is.
In essence, the song is a plea for understanding and acceptance, a reflection on the difficulties of human relationships and the pressure to be constantly performing and entertaining for others.
Line by Line Meaning
Unravel me
I want to be understood and known for who I truly am.
A distant cord
Something in my past is holding me back and I need to address it.
On the outside is forgotten
People only see my exterior, and not the struggles I am facing internally.
A constant need
I always feel the pressure to conform and be accepted by others.
To get along
I feel like I have to blend in and compromise myself to fit in with others.
And the animal awakens
My true nature and emotions are breaking free from my facade.
And all I feel is black and white
My emotions are intense and polarized, leaving me feeling overwhelmed and confused.
The road is long
My journey towards self-discovery and acceptance will be difficult and never-ending.
The memory slides
I try to forget my past, but it keeps resurfacing in my mind.
To the whole of my undoing
My past actions and decisions have led to negative consequences in my life.
Put aside
I try to ignore my problems and push them away.
I put away
I am avoiding dealing with my issues and just burying them out of sight.
I push it back to get through each day
I am using distractions to cope with my problems and numb myself from the pain.
And I'm wound up small and tight
My constant efforts to suppress my emotions have made me feel anxious and tense.
And I don't know who I am
I am struggling with my identity and feel lost and disconnected from myself.
Everybody loves you when you're easy
People only like me when I am agreeable and conform to their expectations.
Everybody hates when you're a bore
People dislike or ignore me when I am not entertaining or attracting their attention.
Everyone is waiting for your entrance so
Others are expecting me to perform or act a certain way in social situations.
Don't disappoint them
I feel pressured to please others and meet their expectations, even if it means compromising my true self.
The very center of our union
The foundation of our relationship is falling apart.
Is caving in
Our relationship is crumbling and it is causing me great distress.
I can't endure
I cannot handle the pain and stress of this situation.
I am the archive of our failure
I blame myself for the downfall of our relationship and have regrets about past decisions.
Da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, ba, ba
A musical interlude with no specific meaning.
Everybody loves you when you're easy so
Repeating the earlier line to emphasize the pressure to conform to please others.
Don't disappoint them
Repeating the earlier line to emphasize the pressure to conform to please others.
Don't disappoint them
Repeating the earlier line to emphasize the pressure to conform to please others.
Don't disappoint them
Repeating the earlier line to emphasize the pressure to conform to please others.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Sarah McLachlan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jaded Hart
on In The Arms Of The Angels
This will surely make you cry! Everyone can identify with this song! Hear it you won't regret it. And maybe you'll remember!