This song is about the power of love to inspire beings to do almost anything; in this case, an angel eschews immortality for love.
The movie “City of Angels,” a remake of the far superior “Wings Above Desire,” is about an angel who meets a mortal woman, falls in love with her, and decides to give up living forever to experience being in love. Tragically, it all ends for him when she dies, but the power of the song that underlies his transformation from angel to person is mesmerizing. Indeed, the song was No. 1 for an astonishing 19 weeks, a record it held for 20 years. Nicholas Cage portrayed Seth, the angel, to mostly good reviews, and his performance showed that the point of being human was to experience both the joy and the sorrow because neither has meaning without the other.
Art Imitating Life
John Rzeznik was experiencing the same terrible lows and great highs as Seth in the film. He described it in an interview with American Songwriter as feeling “schizophrenic” after the disintegration of his marriage and the meeting of someone new. Part of the reason his marriage failed was that he fell deeply into imposter syndrome after the success of “Name.” He felt that his creativity was poor and that it was simply luck that “Name” had had any success at all. That self-fulfilling prophecy of negative feelings permeated everything around him, including his relationship. Then, he got asked to write a song for “City of Angels,” and that changed his outlook on life, especially after the unqualified success of “Iris.” Rzeznik also said that the song closed a lot of doors. He had moved on from great numbers of people and parts of his life. But, he sounded hopeful when he said that the song opened so many more doors for him and his bandmates, providing more and better opportunities.
The Legacy
Appearances in films and television programs abound other than “City of Angels.” Like many No. 1 hits, it has shown up in reality programs like “American Idol” and “Dancing With the Stars.” Its other television appearances are in slice-of-life shows like “Being Erica” and “Workaholics.” Rzeznik himself says that the legacy of the song is that he can’t go anywhere without folks telling him just how much it meant to them. He said that they approach him in the airport, on the street, and even when he’s shopping for DIY stuff in Home Depot. He wryly remarked that he was the “God of Home Depot.”
Lyrics
And I’d give up forever to touch you
‘Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You’re the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be
And I don’t want to go home right now
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
And sooner or later, it’s over
I just don’t wanna miss you tonight
And I don’t want the world to see me
‘Cause I don’t think that they’d understand
When everything’s made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
And you can’t fight the tears that ain’t coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
Yeah, you bleed just to know, you’re alive
And I don’t want the world to see me
‘Cause I don’t think that they’d understand
When everything’s made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
And I don’t want the world to see me
‘Cause I don’t think that they’d understand
When everything’s made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
And I don’t want the world to see me
‘Cause I don’t think that they’d understand
When everything’s made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: John Rzeznik
Listeners of music from the 1990’s, might also appreciate the song I want it that way by Black Street Boys
