Angels Would Fall

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"Angels Would Fall"
File:Angels would fall.jpg
Single by Melissa Etheridge
from the album Breakdown
ReleasedAugust 31, 1999 (1999-08-31)[1]
StudioSunset Sound (Hollywood, California)
Length4:39
LabelIsland
SongwritersMelissa Etheridge, John Shanks
ProducersMelissa Etheridge, John Shanks
Melissa Etheridge singles chronology
"Nowhere to Go"
(1996) 		"Angels Would Fall"
(1999) 		"Scarecrow"
(1999)

"Angels Would Fall" is a song by American musician Melissa Etheridge, released as the first single from her sixth album, Breakdown (1999), on August 31, 1999.

Song information

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The song was written by Melissa Etheridge with the main guitar loop contributed by John Shanks. It is one of her darkest songs as the singer says herself on the bonus DVD of her album Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled:[2]

Breakdown was such a dark period in my life that all the songs were turning out so dark that I even had to go to John Shanks who was producing this album, which was one of his first producing projects [...] but it was a very artistic time and the songs were very moody, very dark, and I finally said: "Look, do you have any pieces of music maybe I can write to? Because I am scraping on the bottom of my soul."

"Angels Would Fall" is about a desperate crush Etheridge had on someone else's girlfriend during her shattered relationship with Julie Cypher.[3] In the verses, she describes the pain she feels because she can tell nobody about her feelings ("The rope that's wrapped around me is cutting through my skin..."), while in the chorus she is singing the desired person's praises ("Angels never came down [...] but if they knew, if they knew you at all, angels would fall...").

Accolades

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Year Award Category Result Ref.
2000 Grammy Award Best Rock Song Nominated [4]
Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Nominated

Music video

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The music video was shot in 1999 and shows Etheridge playing her song in a dark, empty, saloon-styled bar where the furniture is destroyed like after a fight. In retrospective scenes, nebulous images of people in white dresses come down from the ceiling symbolising the fallen angels. While they fall down, they cause the damage described above. These angels find love in each other, both homosexual and heterosexual couples are formed. Towards the end, the door of the bar opens and the angels go into the light.[5]

Track listings

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All song were written by Melissa Etheridge except "Angels Would Fall", written by Etheridge and John Shanks.

US and Australian CD single[6][7]

  1. "Angels Would Fall"
  2. "Into the Dark"
  3. "Beloved"

US 7-inch single and European CD single[8][9]

  1. "Angels Would Fall" – 4:17
  2. "Into the Dark" – 4:58

Personnel

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  • Melissa Etheridge – acoustic guitar, vocals
  • Kenny Aronoff – drums, marimba, shaker
  • Jon Brion – guitar
  • Mark Browne – bass
  • Matt Chamberlain – drums
  • Steve Ferrone – percussion, drums
  • Rami Jaffee – keyboard
  • Jim Keltner – drums
  • Greg Leisz – guitar, mandolin, lap steel guitar, pedals
  • Brian MacLeod – percussion, drum loop
  • Pino Palladino – bass
  • John Shanks – dulcimer, guitar, harp, marimba, background vocals
  • Patrick Warren – keyboard
  • Gota Yashiki – drum loop

Charts

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References

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  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled at 00:48:40
  3. ^ Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled at 00:50:10
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ The music video on YouTube, published by Universal Music Group
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  12. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7338." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  13. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 7285." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  14. ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 8435." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  15. ^ "Melissa Etheridge – Angels Would Fall" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  16. ^ "Melissa Etheridge – Angels Would Fall" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  17. ^ "Melissa Etheridge – Angels Would Fall". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  18. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  19. ^ "Melissa Etheridge Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  20. ^ "Melissa Etheridge Chart History (Adult Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  21. ^ "Melissa Etheridge Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  22. ^ "Melissa Etheridge Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  23. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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Sources

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  • Melissa Etheridge and Laura Morton: The truth is..., Random House 2002
  • Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled bonus DVD
  • Lyrics

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