Written by: Beck Hansen
Versions:
- Terrible Angels (3:47)
Available on Terrible Angels and 1 other release.
CreditsBeck Hansen: Bass Synthesizer, Guitar, Producer, Synthesizer
Cassidy Turbin: Engineer
Cole Marsden Grief-Neill: Engineer
Dean Nelson: Engineer
Darrell Thorp: Mix
Charlotte Gainsbourg: Vocals
Lyrics:
Terrible Angels [Version (a)]:
My head is pounding, my mouth is dry
My eyes are burning, I want to see it ??
Headless idol, blank mirage
Holy holy, tension turned me inside out
Inside out, inside out
Fear, oh fear, please don't pull me down
It's just a drowning man reaching for me now
Fear, oh fear, please don't pull me down
It's just a drowning man reaching for me now
(Please don't pull me down)
I want release from absolution
I want release from
I want release
I want release
Terrible angels, infant sorrows
Tired horses, they will walk with me again
I can hear them, oh I can hear them
My ancestor, my protector, my tormentor
Am I not alone, am I not alone?
Am I not alone?
Fear, oh fear, please don't pull me down
It's just a drowning man reaching for me now
Fear, oh fear, please don't pull me down
It's just a drowning man reaching for me now
I want release from absolution
Benediction, good intentions
Blue black flowers, poisoned wine
Planets smashing, annihilate the sense of things
I am born into these waking hours
Change change change
My head is pounding, my mouth is dry
My eyes are burning, I want to see it ??
Headless idol, blank mirage
Holy holy, tension turned me inside out
Inside out, inside out
Fear, oh fear, please don't pull me down
It's just a drowning man reaching for me now
Fear, oh fear, please don't pull me down
It's just a drowning man reaching for me now
(Please don't pull me down)
I want release from absolution
I want release from
I want release
I want release
Terrible angels, infant sorrows
Tired horses, they will walk with me again
I can hear them, oh I can hear them
My ancestor, my protector, my tormentor
Am I not alone, am I not alone?
Am I not alone?
Fear, oh fear, please don't pull me down
It's just a drowning man reaching for me now
Fear, oh fear, please don't pull me down
It's just a drowning man reaching for me now
I want release from absolution
Benediction, good intentions
Blue black flowers, poisoned wine
Planets smashing, annihilate the sense of things
I am born into these waking hours
Change change change
The Song:
"Terrible Angels" is one of the songs Beck did with Charlotte Gainsbourg that were included on her album Stage Whisper. It is also the only one of the 4 songs that were not begun during the IRM sessions, it was totally new. Charlotte noted in one interview its "new energy." She explained how she had told Beck it was fun to have upbeat songs to sing onstage, and asked him for a song to "take me a little further more... a bit stronger." "Terrible Angels" was the result.
Charlotte also adjusted the song herself, asking if she could sing it "in a different way, try and be a little louder, a bit bolder," and that's how it ended up. "I wanted to see if I could sing a more confident song, to sing in a louder voice," she explained.
This is one of the more hectic songs Beck did with her. The vocals are piled all over each other, and there's lots of interesting things going on. It's a pretty impressive recording.
The lyrics paint an intriguing sketch of a person struggling with tension and fear, calling out for release/to be saved. But what if that savior is a "terrible angel," or drowning too? If your protector is your tormentor? If your wine is poison? The song does not go into much more than that, though it seems to lead to a dramatic rebirth in the final lines of the song.
"Terrible Angels" is one of the songs Beck did with Charlotte Gainsbourg that were included on her album Stage Whisper. It is also the only one of the 4 songs that were not begun during the IRM sessions, it was totally new. Charlotte noted in one interview its "new energy." She explained how she had told Beck it was fun to have upbeat songs to sing onstage, and asked him for a song to "take me a little further more... a bit stronger." "Terrible Angels" was the result.
Charlotte also adjusted the song herself, asking if she could sing it "in a different way, try and be a little louder, a bit bolder," and that's how it ended up. "I wanted to see if I could sing a more confident song, to sing in a louder voice," she explained.
This is one of the more hectic songs Beck did with her. The vocals are piled all over each other, and there's lots of interesting things going on. It's a pretty impressive recording.
The lyrics paint an intriguing sketch of a person struggling with tension and fear, calling out for release/to be saved. But what if that savior is a "terrible angel," or drowning too? If your protector is your tormentor? If your wine is poison? The song does not go into much more than that, though it seems to lead to a dramatic rebirth in the final lines of the song.