Rock music
is seldom listened to for their lyrical charisma. It’s almost always about the
music: the riffs and the solos! There are very few rock songs whose words touch
your soul; you feel a strange connection with them. 'Angel' by Judas Priest
is one of the songs that just got into me. I listened to this masterpiece in
loop for two straight freaking days without ever getting tired of it! But when
I asked others, some didn't share my enthusiasm. And I thought, ‘Maybe they didn't get it’. Therefore, I decided to write down the meaning of the song as I
understand it.
"Angel- out sad wings around me now
Protect me from this world of sin
So that we can rise again."
The song is
the lamenting of a virtuous man who is ill fated. This song depicts an honorable
man whose honor has been rewarded with backstabbing and betrayal. Losing
everything, he has nothing but hope. And with this hope he is calling out his ‘Angel’,
the symbol of a Guardian, to embrace him, to comfort him in his time of
helplessness. ‘Angel’ can mean a range of things- from God to a lover-
but here, he just means his Guardian, someone who will take care of him. He is standing
alone in a world filled with defilement and pollution, and he is powerless.
That’s why he is asking help from his angel to protect him.
"Oh Angel, we can find our way somehow
Escaping from the world we’re in
To a place where we began
And I know we’ll find
A better place and peace of mind
Just tell me that it’s all you want-
for you and me
Angel won’t you set me free?"
Despite all
the afflictions that life threw at him, he still retains his core values. He
still has the belief that better days will come, though he doesn't know how. He
has no clue of what to do, or where to go. But yet he won’t give up dreaming.
He will keep on dreaming about the peaceful place. He will escape this
deceitful world and return to a place where there is no room for corruption or
fraud, analogous to the world of a new born baby (‘to a place where we began’).
To a new born baby, the world is full of miracles and excitement, and he wants
to go back there. But on the other hand, his life has caused enough damage that
he is not sure of anything! He is asking his angel-‘Just tell me that it’s
all you want- for you and me. Angel won’t you set me free?’- because, he is
also full of fear of failing, of being unable to escape from his horrendous
life. He wants to be sure that his angel will not forsake him again, as He did
before.
"Angel, remember how we chased the sun
Then reaching for the stars at night
As our lives had just begun."
"When I close my eyes, I hear your
velvet wings and cry
I’m waiting here with open arm, oh
can’t you see?
Angel shine your light on me!"
These words
melt my heart. They show how successful he was before. He was enjoying his
life, doing something meaningful. He was working hard, day and night, and he
was full of raw energy. But then his Angel abandoned him, and this broke him. His
thoughts were marred by his memories. Every day he hoped his angel will return
to his arms, but it didn't. It left him crying in the darkness, without any
light, despite his desperate pleas.
This song is truly heart touching. Every time I listen to this, it sends a dark chill throughout my body. This life is cruel and unfair. We all need our angels.
u gotta admit Rob Halford's voice is a killer.
ReplyDeleteYes! His voice gave the song a deeper meaning than the words ever could!
ReplyDeletedude also try interpreting their "victim of changes" and "beyond the realms of death"
ReplyDeleteI will :D Thank you for the suggestion!
ReplyDelete