Angels' Descend on Pop Charts

During the Eighties we couldn't move for songs featuring the word "fantasy," and the hoary old "hand/understand" rhyme still crops up with chilling regularity. But as the millennium bears down upon us, there's one lyrical clichT that, after much saber rattling, has begun to saturate the music landscape. The most popular word in pop is "angel."

Despite it being a word with no obvious rhyme, it seems as if every major artist has to give in and cut an "angel" song sooner or later. The Eurythmics' "There Must Be An Angel," George Michael's "Cowboys and Angels" and U2's "Angel of Harlem" spring most readily to mind, but everyone from Madonna to J. Geils Band and from Mariah Carey to Great White have contributed to the heavenly host. And though it has always had its adherents, the outbreak of angelically-inspired ditties seems to have reached epidemic proportions.

In Britain, Robbie Williams' lighter-waving smash, "Angels," has only just dropped off the singles chart after more than six months of airplay, even though another "Angel," by Simply Red, had recently been a hit. But that's nothing. In the U.S. there are currently no fewer than five seraphic songs fluttering around the Hot 100: "I'm Your Angel" by R. Kelly and Celine Dion; "Angel of Mine" by Monica; "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan; "Fly (the Angel Song)" bythe Wilkinsons and "Angel in Disguise" by Brandy, each one a masterpiece of metaphorical originality.

Next up? Maybe a rush of songs about being abducted by aliens. Or perhaps a few about that other constant companion of our age: the cell phone. Heaven only knows.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“(We're Not) The Jet Set”

George Jones and Tammy Wynette | 1973

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter