Sarah McLachlan: Possession

Rebecca Schaeffer murdered at age 21
by an obsessed stalker

      Being stalked can be an extremely frightening experience for the person being hunted.  It is a crime of dangerous obsession which happens to the poorest of the poor, as well as the wealthy and powerful. The phenomenon became so prevalent that many States wrote specific laws granting police more power to thwart the hunters before they could harm their intended target.  The line between stalking being seen as an annoyance and it coming to the forefront as a serious law enforcement issue was probably crossed with the killing of actress Rebecca Schaeffer.
   At the time of her death, Ms. Schaeffer was considered one of Hollywoods' most promising young stars.  At the age of 21 she was murdered by a gun wielding stalker named Robert John Bardo.   

John Lennon 

     John Lennon lost his life to stalker Mark David Chapman.  John Hinckley Jr. shot and very nearly assassinated President Reagan in a misguided attempt to gain the attention and approval of actress Jodie Foster.  One hundred and seventy three years ago, Victoria the Queen of England, knew of the danger presented by a stalker.  Edward "The Boy" Jones repeatedly sneaked into Buckingham Palace and stole her underwear.  His arrest and deportation to Australia prevented his behavior toward the Queen from escalating.
     Two time Grammy award winner Sarah Mclachlan, who founded the Lilith Fair concert series beginning in 1997, had a serious issue with an obsessed fan named Uwe Vandrei.  After receiving a series of threatening letters, Mclachlan bravely fought back.  Using some of the statements from Vandrei's letters she created the song Possession.  The stalker, recognizing a few words from his letters, brought suit against her to claim writing credit. Before the matter came to trial, Vandrei committed suicide which ended  both the suit and his threat to Mclachlan.

John Hinckley Jr. tried to assasinate
Ronald Reagan to impress Jodie Foster

     The song is both disturbing and superb. It was released on her 1993 album entitled Fumbling Towards Ecstasy and is one of Sarah Macs' best. The record contains two very different interpretations of the song.  The first is the well known version that received heavy radio airplay in 1994 and is the featured song linked below.  The second is a haunting reading with only Mclachlans voice accompanied by piano.  This composition of Possession paints the image of a strangely possessed man, alone in his apartment, consumed by his warped fantasies.  Mclachlan not only questions whether this twisted man can control himself but whether he even wants to.  The piano is played with a creepy thoughtfulness  and Mclachlans reading perfectly describes a dangerously infatuated man. 
    The radio version, like a stalker, fades in and gradually gains strength until it has your attention.  Speaking from her stalkers viewpoint, Sarah voices his fear that his love will forever remain unrequited.  He protects his dark obsession by day, pretending normalcy, while increasingly losing his ability to control it.  Eventually he threatens to hold her down and force her to accept his kisses which is his euphemism for rape.  He promises to wipe away her tears just before he takes her breathe away. I'm sure Mclachlan found this every bit as frightening as it sounds to us.  
     Vandrei seemingly believed her songs were written specifically for him and it drove his fanatical belief that his affections were returned in kind.  He became distressed that he couldn't gain her attention, while illogically fantasizing that his love was being secretly returned by personal messages within her lyrics. 

    With Possession, Sarah Mclachlan bravely dares her stalker to reveal himself.  If he mistakenly believed there were secret messages for him earlier, she left no doubt that she was speaking directly to him with this song. He went public by suing her for writing credit, essentially accusing her of plagiarism. By doing this he also unwittingly admitted to writing the criminally threatening letters.  When it became likely that his case would be lost, he took his own life.    
     The song is easily one of  Mclachlan's best.  It builds in power and emotion reaching a goose bump raising crescendo with the words "I won't be denied".  The bass is deep and driving and the organ helps to broaden the evocative darkness.  Strong guitar work effectively accents her singing, as does her high harmonies. The drums and percussion add an anxious quality just under the anger and fear found in the orchestration and vocals. As the music begins to fade, the organ and guitar hint at approaching sirens.

       Taken at face value, Possession is one of the strongest alternative rock songs from that period.  It matches the despair found in the song Zombie by the Cranberries, the uniquely female anger of You Oughta Know by Alanis Morrisette, and the overwhelming loneliness of Kiss The Rain by Billie Myers. All of these talented women joined Mclachlan for some dates during the Lilith Fair tour, helping her to raise money for women's charities including rape crisis centers, and homeless shelters.  Everything else aside, Possession just plain rocks...

  Possession by Sarah Mclachlan