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.
Love Beside Me
Sarah McLachlan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I could but what good would that do
It wouldn't change a thing
So I grew accustomed to the shame
The sharp sting of your poison
Trying so hard to erase
All the good in me
I'm working on forgiveness
Laying the past down behind me
Letting go the ways that I've been hurt
Let the rivers rise and rage
I'll try and stand with grace
If everything is love
In the end the war had left us broken
Mourning all the things I'd lost
The debts I couldn't pay
But I didn't want to disappear
I was caught in TV static
Sinking into grey
No more to give away
If this is love beside me
I'm working on forgiveness
Laying the past down behind me
Letting go the ways that I've been hurt
Let the rivers rise and rage
I'll try to stand with grace
If everything is love
If this is love beside me
I'm working on forgiveness
Laying the past down behind me
Letting go the ways that I've been hurt
Let the rivers rise and rage
I'll try to stand with grace
If this is love beside me, oh
If this is love beside me, oh
If this is love beside me
The lyrics of Sarah McLachlan’s ‘Love Beside Me’ speaks about a determination to move beyond hurt and embrace forgiveness. The singer acknowledges that there’s no one to blame, yet the pain is real and the sting of ‘poison’ is sharp. She reflects that attempting to erase all the good in her is challenging, this includes the feelings of shame she has grown accustomed to. Despite this, she commits herself to working on forgiveness, acknowledging that it isn’t easy to let go of past hurts. She chooses to face life with grace if everything is love.
The second verse of the song continues on this theme of loss and pain. Society's pressures consume the singer, leaving her no more to give away. However, despite the sorrow and the struggles, she makes a conscious decision not to disappear (give up), but to acknowledge the pain and continue to push forward. Once again, she chooses to work on forgiveness, letting go of the past and embracing love beside her. The repetition of the chorus reinforces the singer’s commitment to forgiveness in the face of pain.
Line by Line Meaning
I know now there’s no one here to blame
I have come to realize that there is no one to blame for the situation I am in now
I could but what good would that do
Even if I could blame someone, it wouldn't do any good
It wouldn’t change a thing
Blaming someone would not change anything
So I grew accustomed to the shame
I have gotten used to feeling ashamed
The sharp sting of your poison
You have hurt me deeply and it still hurts to this day
Trying so hard to erase
I have been trying very hard to forget and move on
All the good in me
You made me doubt my own worth and destroyed my self-confidence
If this is love beside me
If this is what love is supposed to be like
I’m working on forgiveness
I am trying to forgive you for what you have done to me
Laying the past down behind me
I am leaving the past behind and moving on
Letting go the ways that I’ve been hurt
I am trying to let go of the pain and hurt you caused me
Let the rivers rise and rage
Even if things get tough and emotions run high, I will not give up
I’ll try and stand with grace
I will try to face the challenges with dignity and poise
If everything is love
If everything in life is motivated by love
In the end the war had left us broken
The conflict between us has left both of us shattered
Mourning all the things I’d lost
I am grieving for all the things that I have lost because of what happened between us
The debts I couldn’t pay
I have been left with debts that I cannot repay
But I didn’t want to disappear
Despite everything, I did not want to give up and disappear
I was caught in TV static
I was stuck in a state of confusion and uncertainty, like a TV screen with static
Sinking into grey
I was slowly losing hope and falling into a state of bleakness
No more to give away
I had nothing else to give, emotionally and mentally
This is love beside me
Despite all the pain and suffering, this is what love feels like
Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Sarah Mclachlan, Tom Douglas, Matt Morris
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dont.wilson2121
One of Sarah’s best, hands down!
@garybeltrand5802
Been listening to this album a lot while driving lately. Good soul-calming anti-roadrage music. The whole album is great but this is the song I replay the most. It has a hint of that old school Fumbling Towards Ecstasy vibe imo.
@robsonjunioraltered1
The best song of this Album
@hassankheiralla5100
Very good song 🎵
@guitarzan6989
Awesome songwriter, musician, and vocalist. Oh, and her band never sucks. Great music as always. Always with love Sarah!
@trentonjones3968
"... the sharp sting of your poison, trying so hard to erase all the good in me."
Wish we'd get a new album soon; it's been way too long!!!
@cloud8108
Great song!!! I Love it!!!😀😀😀
@jorgemclachlan
My favorite song of the álbum.
@jorgemclachlan
is an amazing song im agree with you.
@robsonjunioraltered1
Me too.