It’s easy, we all falter
Does it matter?

Adia is hard on herself. Sarah Mclachlan says we are born innocent and we are still innocent. This language leads me to believe that Adia has feelings of religious guilt. Adia feels that she is a bad person and seems to have withdrawn from the people who love her. Perhaps it is because she is self-loathing, perhaps it is to protect them from herself. We don’t know.

Sarah is trying to reach out to Adia and tell her that we are good people. We make mistakes and it doesn’t matter; you can still make mistakes and be a good person. Forgive yourself.

Mclachlan’s voice is great as usual. She sounds empathetic in her attempt to reach out to Adia. This song is notable in that it is less piano-driven than a lot of Mclachlan’s other work. There is still a piano, but in her other work, she will often just perform with her and a piano. Here, we have electric guitars, a slide guitar, drums, bass, etc.

Adia and Do What You Have To Do both appear on her excellent album Surfacing (along with Angel, another gem). Like Jewel, she seemed to have all of her hits packed into one album. At the time of the release it seemed like she would be the next superstar. She never had another hit. However, with two top 500 songs she is a great candidate for Rock n Roll HOF eligibility when her time comes.

Adia Lyrics

Adia, I do believe I failed you
Adia, I know I’ve let you down
Don’t you know I tried so hard
To love you in my way
It’s easy, let it go

Adia, I’m empty since you left me
Trying to find a way to carry on
I search myself and everyone
To see where we went wrong

There’s no one left to finger
There’s no one here to blame
There’s no one left to talk to, honey
And there ain’t no one to buy our innocence

‘Cause we are born innocent
Believe me, Adia, we are still innocent
It’s easy, we all falter
Does it matter?

Adia, I thought that we could make it
I know I can’t change the way you feel
I leave you with your misery
A friend who won’t betray
I pull you from your tower
I take away your pain
And show you all the beauty you possess
If you’d only let yourself believe

That we are born innocent
Believe me, Adia, we are still innocent
It’s easy, we all falter
Does it matter?

‘Cause we are born innocent
Believe me, Adia, we are still innocent
It’s easy, we all falter
Does it matter?
Believe me, Adia, we are still innocent
‘Cause we are born innocent
Believe me, Adia, we are still innocent
It’s easy, we all falter
Does it matter?

Songwriters: Pierre Marchand / Sarah McLachlan

So how can you tell me you’re lonely/
And say for you that the sun don’t shine.

In “Streets of London”, Ralph McTell doesn’t want to hear about your depression and how you struggle finding a date on Tinder. He has seen real problems—like with the working poor that struggle in the streets of London. When the song was written, the streets of London appear very different than the vast, rich, financial capital of the world that it is now. That is an interesting fact about how things can change, but it doesn’t make the song any less powerful.

Mctell’s “Street’s of London” is in the folk tradition. Just a singer-songwriter and his/her guitar telling a story about people and their problems. In the early sixties, folk music was in a great place. It was leading the protest for civil rights and anti-war efforts. Folk music went a long way to change the perception of the people of those times. Folk is not as popular these days, but you can see how powerful a simple song and message can be. It can teach you about the world, be inspiring and even lead you to action. And it only requires a guitar.

Streets of London Lyrics

Have you seen the old man in the closed down market
Picking up the papers with his worn out shoes
In his eyes you see no pride and hanging loosely at his side
Yesterdays paper, telling yesterdays news
So how can you tell me you’re lonely
And say for you that the sun don’t shine
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London
I’ll show you something to make you change your mind

Have you seen the old dear who walks the streets of London
Dirt in her hair and her clothes in rags
She’s no time for talking, she just keeps right on walking
Carrying her home, in two carrier bags
So how can you tell me you’re lonely
And say for you that the sun don’t shine
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London
I’ll show you something to make you change your mind

And in the all night cafe at a quarter past eleven
Same old man sitting there on his own
Looking at the world over the rim of his teacup
And each tea lasts an hour and he wanders home alone
So how can you tell me that you’re lonely
And say for you that the sun don’t shine
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London
I’ll show you something to make you change your mind

Have you seen the old man outside the seaman’s mission
Memory fading with the medal ribbons that he wears
And in the winter city, the rain cries a little pity
For one more forgotten hero, and a World that doesn’t care
So how can you tell me that you’re lonely
And say for you that the sun don’t shine
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London
I’ll show you something to make you change your mind

Songwriters: Ralph Mc Tell