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 SOAPBOX: SARAH MCLACHLAN GETS THE LAST WORD
For 20 years, Sarah McLachlan has been crafting songs with such emotional, powerful lyrics that we get all “Dear Diary” from just the opening bars. The singer/songwriter with the heavenly voice chats with us about equality, her new greatest hits album, Closer, and her unending love for her furry friends
Have any of my songs been about a same-sex relationship? I’m not going to give away all my secrets! I think that’s the wonderful thing about the ambiguity of music—the point of view. I write from an emotional point of view and certainly spend a lot of energy on relationships. I think perhaps one of the reasons everybody can relate to the songs is because they are not gender-specific, typically. For example, “Good Enough”: the song could be about two women or just a friendship. The two new songs that I wrote inspired the greatest hits collection. I had these songs and didn’t want to have to sit on them for the two years that I figured it would take me to complete an entire album’s worth of new material. So I talked to my manager and he said, “If you’re ever going to do it, now’s the time.”
It’s been 20 years, which makes me gasp! I haven’t really thought about it being 20 years since I started in the music business. We put it all together and it was relatively simple, though it was hard to choose and weed out the songs. We put together the regular version of the album, but I was nowhere near done, so the deluxe edition was formed. There was no way I could put all my favorite songs on one CD. There would have been three or four CDs if I could have had my way. I think it’s a nice thing for fans. It’s something extra special.
Now that I have two small children, the songwriting process is even more challenging than before. I’m not the most focused person in the first place—I have to sequester myself away in the woods for some time to focus enough to write. I’ve had to get some better time-management skills now with having children and trying to find a balance. If I get five minutes alone with my piano, I am lucky!
I just did another series of commercials for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). A friend of mine is on the board of the Vancouver SPCA, and she brought forth this idea of having me in some of the commercials because they had never used a recognizable face before. I thought, That would be an easy thing to do. I love animals and I support the SPCA anyway.
Apparently the commercial helped raise $20 million! That’s incredible. I guess using a famous person works! The commercial is very sweet. I can hardly watch it without bawling.
I don’t really think about my fans along the lines of being gay or not. I’m a humanist. I’m a huge supporter of equality for everybody. If there’s ever an opportunity to be an advocate, then I will. I live in a bit of a bubble. Everybody I know is out, and proudly so and totally accepted. It’s a non-issue.
My husband’s sister got married at the end of August to her longtime partner. My two daughters were flower girls and it was beautiful. They got married because they love each other, and there’s not even a question of, “But they are two women?” They are so happy. They are on cloud nine.
A lot of people have told me that I helped spearhead this new movement for women in music, but I don’t know if I buy that because good music is going to rise above no matter what. I just feel that I have been handed the most amazing opportunities in the world and that I have been so lucky that I’ve been able to have the career that I have had. I don’t set out with great expectations other than pleasing myself and being able to look in the mirror at the end of the day and be pleased with what I’ve done and feel that I’ve done it for the right reasons.
I still sort of feel like a fraud in a way, waiting for someone to say, “Ha ha, just kidding!” It all just amazes me!
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The Best Of Sarah McLachlan is now available. For news, visit sarahmclachlan.com. To support the ASPCA, visit aspca.org.
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