Songfacts®:

• In December 1988, Annie Lennox' first pregnancy with her second husband, the filmmaker Uri Fruchtman, resulted in a son Daniel, who was tragically stillborn. This song was inspired by Daniel, and also Lennox' great-aunt, who died at age 57. In Q magazine, she explained:
  
  "'Angel' is sometimes hard for me to sing. It started off as a poem about a great-aunt who had died:
  
  Underneath this canopy of snow
  57 winters took their toll
  
  I was fascinated by death. I thought of this concept of a burial place where seasons take their toll - snow covers the grave spot, leaves fall and buds come up - and this woman from my childhood.
  
  The song turned into something else after the death of my first child. But it's about death generally - I will die; we will all die. Where do we find meaning in our lives?"
  
  Lennox and Fruchtman went on to have two girls, Lola and Tali.
• In 1997 Annie Lennox re-recorded this for the Diana, Princess of Wales tribute album.
• The music video, directed by Sophie Muller, was not shown by MTV because of several scenes depicting the occult. In the video, spirits from beyond the grave are seen speaking through Annie Lennox.