Possession (Sarah McLachlan song)

"Possession"
Canadian variant of the standard artwork
Single by Sarah McLachlan
from the album Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
B-side
  • "Fear"
  • "Mary"
Released10 September 1993
Recorded1993
GenrePop
Length4:37
LabelNettwerk (Canada)
Arista (US)
Songwriter(s)Sarah McLachlan
Producer(s)Pierre Marchand
Sarah McLachlan singles chronology
"Wear Your Love Like Heaven"
(1992)
"Possession"
(1993)
"Hold On"
(1994)

“Possession” is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, 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. The song appears twice on the album, as the first track and as a hidden track 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.[1]

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.

  1. ^ Mundy, Chris (30 April 1998). "Interview: Sarah McLachlan". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 18 November 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.