Robbie Robertson made the decision to move on from The Band after The Last Waltz in 1976. When he finally decided on making a solo album 11 years later, one of the most potent songs memorialized one of the members of The Band.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Fallen Angel” paid a touching tribute to Richard Manuel, who died a year before the song was released. Robertson didn’t intend it, but his emotions about his former friend simply forced their way into the lyrics.
To Richard from Robbie
The remaining members of The Band reformed as a touring unit without Robbie Robertson in the 80s. Richard Manuel, dogged by personal problems, took his own life following a show in Florida in 1986.
As that was happening, Robertson was in the middle of making his first solo album. It was a long, expensive process that took him to multiple studios around the world and featured some big-name special guests. Among them was Peter Gabriel, who would add layered, anguished backing vocals to “Fallen Angel”.
When Robertson began the song, he was trying to write something about the mythology of angels. He enlisted Martin Page as a co-writer, but the song stalled for a while as the pair tried to make it come together. That’s when Robertson had a revelation of sorts.
He realized all at once that his musings on angels were his way of sorting out his feelings for Richard Manuel. Robertson and Page then leaned into that topic. When singing the song, Robertson even soared to the limits of his upper register. It seemed like a vocal nod to Manuel, known for his ability to snatch notes from the ether.
Exploring the Lyrics of “Fallen Angel”
Before he gets into one of the verses of “Fallen Angel”, Robertson uncorks some wails to the skies. “Are you out there?” he calls. “Can you hear me?/Can you see me in the dark?” Once he gets into the verses, he references Manuel’s sensitive personality. “Sometimes I thought you felt too much,” he sings. “And you crossed into the shadowland.”
Robertson sings of overflowing rivers and red skies and then shifts into colloquial jargon on a dime: “You gotta play the hand that’s dealt ya/That’s what the old man always said.” And then he returns once again to the mystical: “If my eyes could see/The spirit of the chosen one.”
It’s as if he’s trying to balance between looking for answers in philosophy and theology and using his street smarts to make sense of it all. Ultimately, it brings him some comfort to know a reunion is possible. “Come down Garbiel blow your horn,” Robertson beckons. “‘Cause some day we will meet again.”
In the final moments, Robertson goes back to questioning. In so doing, he reveals his deep feelings for his friend. “If you’re out there can you touch me,” he sings. “Can you see me I don’t know/If you’re out there can you reach me/And lay a flower in the snow.”
Robertson made “Fallen Angel” the first song on his self-titled debut album. It was as if he had to address the past before looking forward. And he managed to pay wonderful homage to Richard Manuel, a man who had sung so many of Robertson’s previous lyrics to the hilt.
Photo by Bob Berg/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.