Possession (Sarah McLachlan Song)
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“Possession” is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter
Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is ''Surfacing (album), Surfacing'' (1997), for which she won two G ...
, and was the first single from her album '' Fumbling Towards Ecstasy.'' It was written and composed by McLachlan herself and was produced by Pierre Marchand. It was released in Canada on 10 September 1993 by
Nettwerk Records Nettwerk Music Group is an independent record label founded in 1984. The Vancouver-based company was created by principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record label to distribute recordings by the band Moev, but the label expanded in Ca ...
. The song appears twice on the album, as the first track and as a
hidden track In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...
at the end, which is a solo piano version. “Possession” is written from the viewpoint of a man obsessed with a woman, and was inspired by consistent fan letters to McLachlan some time before the writing of the song. The most famous ones are from a computer programmer from Ottawa, Ontario named Uwe Vandrei, who sued McLachlan for using his words without crediting him. However, Vandrei died by suicide before the case could ever be taken to court. The main recording of "Possession" also appeared on the 2008 compilation album '' Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan,'' and McLachlan has also released live, alternate and remixed versions of the song.


Inspiration

The song was inspired by McLachlan's reaction to two deranged fans, both of whom had concocted a fantasy in which they were already in a relationship with her. Of the two, the more famous is Uwe Vandrei, an
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
native who sued McLachlan in 1994, alleging that his love letters to her had been the basis of "Possession". Vandrei had written and sent McLachlan love poems, although there is no direct connection between those poems and the lyrics of "Possession." Vandrei's lawsuit never came to trial as he died by suicide in the autumn of 1994. In an interview with ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' three years later, McLachlan said, "And this one person wasn't the only guy ... there were a lot of letters from other people saying the same kind of thing ... Writing the song 'Possession' was very therapeutic." She also stated that, since the release of "Possession," she had stopped getting stalker-type fan letters, for which she was grateful.


Music videos


Canadian version

The original version of the video features a remixed background track and depicts Sarah McLachlan wrapped in white cloth, as
Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...
, Potiphar's wife, and other such
biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...
references, depicting vanity, deceit, corruption, intimacy and other
taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
s of conservative society. As McLachlan explained: This video was directed by McLachlan herself, and features her friends and band members.


United States version

The video for the US market released in 1994 features the original album version of the song being played by McLachlan and her band in a cathedral-style hall. It was directed by Julie Hermelin.


Track listing

;Nettwerk / W2-6319 (Canada) # "Possession" (Version I) # "Possession" (Version II) # "Fear" (Jane's Mix) * Version II remixed by
John Fryer John Fryer may refer to: *John Fryer (physician, died 1563), English physician, humanist and early reformer *John Fryer (physician, died 1672), English physician *John Fryer (travel writer) (1650–1733), British travel-writer and doctor *Sir John ...
; remix also featured on the " I Will Remember You" single. ;Arista / 07822-12662-2 (US) # "Possession" # "Fear" (Jane's Mix) # "Mary" (Early Version) # "Black" (Live at Harbourfront, Toronto), taken from '' Live EP''


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Other versions

In addition to the two different versions of "Possession" appearing on the ''Fumbling Towards Ecstasy'' album, a live recording of the song is available on McLachlan's 1999 live concert album '' Mirrorball.'' A fourth version, the Rabbit in the Moon remix, is available on two different McLachlan remix albums: ''
Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff ''Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff'' is an album by Sarah McLachlan released in Canada on 25 June 1996. It is a compilation of tracks that McLachlan recorded for film soundtracks, remixes of her own songs, covers of songs by other artists, live ...
'' and '' Remixed.'' McLachlan recorded another version of the song for the 2005
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
-only digital album '' iTunes Originals – Sarah McLachlan.''


Cover versions

*The Canadian alternative rock band
Evans Blue Evans blue may refer to: * Evans blue (dye) * Evans Blue, Canadian rock band {{disambiguation ...
covered "Possession" on their first album '' The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume''. *
Smile Empty Soul Smile Empty Soul is an American Rock music, rock band, originally from Santa Clarita, California, Santa Clarita, California, United States. It was started in 1998 by Sean Danielsen (vocals and guitar), Ryan Martin (bass), and Derek Gledhill (dru ...
included a cover of "Possession" on their 2007 EP ''
B-Sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
''. * The German
gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal music, heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different ...
rock band ASP covered "Possession" on their EP ''Werben''. * British trance act Transfer released a dance version of "Possession" in 2001. * Canadian hard rock/metal band Hellrazor covered "Possession" on their 2020 ''Hero No More'' album. * The American alternative rock band Metropolis America released a version of “Possession” in 2011.


References


External links

* * {{Sarah McLachlan 1993 singles Music videos directed by Sophie Muller Sarah McLachlan songs Arista Records singles Nettwerk Records singles Songs written by Sarah McLachlan Songs about stalking 1993 songs Songs involved in plagiarism controversies