Songfacts®:

• This song is an elegy to Richard Manuel, who along with Robbie Robertson, was one of the original members of The Band. Manuel, who was the Band's pianist and sometimes vocalist, was found hanging in the bathroom of a motel room in Winter Park, Florida on March 4, 1986. The group had re-formed (without Robertson) and played in Winter Park, Florida the preceding night. Manuel had serious problems with addiction for most of his life, but got sober when The Band started touring again in the '80s. He began abusing drugs and alcohol again in 1985, which likely contributed to his death.
  
  Eric Clapton's "Holy Mother" on his 1986 album August is also a tribute to Richard Manuel as is "Too Soon Gone," The Band's tribute to Richard from their 1993 album Jericho.
• "Fallen Angel" was the first single Robertson released as a solo artist. He wrote the song with Martin Page, who had co-written the hits "These Dreams" and "We Built This City." In our interview with Page, he explained: "Robbie was playing with lyrical ideas for a huge period of time and every time I would go back to the Village (the recording studio in Los Angeles) to work with him, it was quite frustrating, because I thought we were doing very well and he'd say, 'I've changed the words.' He would sing it and ask me, 'What do you think?' And I'd say, 'Well, I think it's all good, Rob. Really good.' Everything he did I thought was fine.
  
  But then one special day he called me and he said, 'I really have what this song's about.' At first it was going to be called 'War of Angels,' and it was going to be the idea of fallen angels actually falling out of heaven and touching hell. He was really getting into this kind of biblical place. But all of a sudden, very emotionally he said to me, 'It's about Richard.' And I could see in his face that he'd nailed it. It was his special song to Richard Manuel. I think it was a great testament to his undying friendship for his friend who left a little too early."
• This song features Peter Gabriel on keyboards. Gabriel also provides vocals on the chorus accompanying Robbie Robertson.
• The Robbie Robertson album won the Juno Award for Album of the Year in 1989.