Sarah’s Charity Work 1993
In Defense of Animals benefit compilation
Album released in 1993
It features Ode to groovy / Skinny Puppy — Shelter : live / Sarah McLachlan.
One of the most haunting tracks on the “In Defense of Animals Benefit Compilation” CD is “Shelter,” written and beautifully performed by Sarah McLachlan whose concern for animals runs deep and who sees the potential power of celebrity as a tool to make a difference. Cool Green World spoke with Sarah in British Columbia and found a caring, articulate and very talented individual…
Cool Green World: Why did you feel it was important to contribute to the “In Defense Of Animals Compilation?”
SARAH: Well—it’s something I believe really strongly in. I love animals and I hate to see the things that are done to them. When I’ve seen programs on vivisection, and things like that, it’s been horrifying and shocking to see some of the ways that animals are treated in the name of scientific and medical research. Anything to help try and put a stop to that, and to try to raise awareness of how bad that is, I’m glad to be a part of.
CGW Do you write mostly your own music and lyrics?
SARAH: For the most part I write my own songs. A lot of the times what I’m trying to convey is a sense of empathy. I write pretty much from an emotional point of view so what I’m talking about are generally personal issues, relationships—whether it’s with people, or the relationship between a person and the earth—a whole lot of things. It’s a type of therapy for myself, sorting out things and dealing with problems that I’ve had.
CGW The emotions and the mood that the song “Shelter” evokes are really strong. What were you saying with that song?
SARAH: Well, again with “Shelter”, I was dealing from a personal point of view, talking about something that really shocked me – and it was my first reaction to seeing a tape on vivisection. My first reaction was to burst into tears, and then to ask how can people be so cruel? How can they do this to animals? The animals are helpless.
My second reaction was to write that song and it was mainly of how I felt about it – my initial reaction to how awful it is the way some animals are treated in those situations… in a sense, it was about how helpless I felt when I was watching it. What can I do? What can I do to put a stop to this? But that’s why projects like this are so important, because they lend a collective voice to try and raise awareness and to tell people what’s going on. So maybe people will choose to speak out against things like animals research or choose not to buy the products from companies that support the use of animals in testing.
CGW: Have you always had this strong concern for animals?
SARAH: All my life, yes, I’ve really loved animals. I had a dog since I was 4 years old and she lived to be 16, and I had a cat since I was about 3 and she lived to be 17, so I’ve always been around animals. I get all really silly every time I’m around any kind of animal! I love them.
CGW: Are there any other issues that are of particular concern to you?
SARAH: The logging problem is something that is really close to my heart environmentally and emotionally. Where I live, in BC, there’s a huge debate going on about Clayoquot Sound. It’s one of the only rainforest places that are left here in British Columbia, and it’s being logged right now. It just seems like there’s no end to it and if people don’t raise a fuss about it all the trees eventually are going to be gone. The way people are logging them – they’re just going crazy with it. And it’s just so ugly.
I’ve gone to Tofino, which is on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and you drive through these beautiful forests of trees that you’d take ten people to put your arms around to make a circle. Then 10 miles from there, there’s these huge gutted holes where they’ve gone in and clear cut and there’s not even soil left for the trees to grow. It’s so much like rape. It looks like someone put a Band Aid on a scab and then tore it off with the skin still raw and it’s painful to see it. I can imagine that feeling and I wonder if the earth isn’t feeling the same thing, except on a much grander scale.
CGW: Do you feel lucky to be able to use your position to speak out to people about animal welfare and environmental issues?
SARAH: I feel really lucky to have the platform of being a musician and being able to make a difference in talking about issues and maybe having people listen. I am just another person and everybody’s voice is as important as anybody else’s, but, for some reason, people in the spotlight tend to have more power in that sense. They can use it for good things or bad things and I like to be able to use it whenever I can to a good means, like supporting issues like these. So, I think it’s really important, but it’s also something that can be abused really easily and that has to be watched.
CGW: Thanks for letting Cool Green World come by today.
SARAH: It was my pleasure. More power to you. Right on!
Official website : http://www.coolgreenworld.net/interviews/sarah.shtml
No Alternative AIDS awareness compilation
Album released in 1993 by Arista Records.
It features Hold On.
