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.
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Sarah McLachlan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Their old familiar carols play
And wild and sweet, the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men
I thought how as the day had come
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
In despair, I bowed my head
There is no peace on earth, I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men
Then pealed the bells, more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor doth he sleep
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men
The lyrics of Sarah McLachlan's song I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day explore the tension between the message of peace on earth that is central to the Christmas narrative and the reality of war and hatred that is all too present in our world. The first verse paints a picture of the bells ringing out and the familiar carols being sung, with their message of peace and goodwill. However, in the second verse the singer reflects on the fact that while the bells may be ringing out around the world, there is no peace to be found. In fact, the singer despairs that hate is too strong and that the message of peace has been made a mockery of.
Line by Line Meaning
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
I listened to the Christmas bells ringing
Their old familiar carols play
The bells played the familiar Christmas songs
And wild and sweet, the words repeat
And the words of the songs were passionate and sweet
Of peace on earth, good will to men
Expressing the hope of peace on earth and goodwill to everyone
I thought how as the day had come
I reflected on how the day had arrived
The belfries of all Christendom
The bell towers of all Christian churches
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Were singing without interruption the same song
Of peace on earth, good will to men
Of peace and goodwill for all people
In despair, I bowed my head
Feeling hopeless, I lowered my head
There is no peace on earth, I said
I declared that there was no peace on earth
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Because hatred is powerful and ridicules the idea of peace
Of peace on earth, good will to men
Which is the message of peace and goodwill for all people
Then pealed the bells, more loud and deep
But suddenly the bells rang louder and deeper than before
God is not dead, nor doth he sleep
Declares that God is not dead, nor does he sleep
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
It is predicted that wrong will fail while right will triumph
With peace on earth, good will to men
Resulting in a world where there is peace and goodwill for everyone
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Integrity Music, ST. NICHOLAS MUSIC INC., Songtrust Ave
Written by: Sarah McLachlan, Pierre Marchand, Traditional
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!