Jane Siberry – Calling All Angels lyrics

Who is the man placed upon the steps? One of the many international angels "chanted" in the first stanza? A baby is crying - a birth and church bells - celebration. But the weigh of human existence, the gravity, after weightlessness, takes some getting used to. But angels (from the Orthodox religion), cannot say 'no' to a human plea. They can live and fly forever, but they must serve when called by humans. Such weight in that service - will "he" service the new baby? Will he travel with the newborn for the rest of his life? Then the point of view seems to switch - Is the man on the steps now US? Have we been chosen to walk through a confusing world? Walking thru life carrying the weight which sometimes seems unbearable, and measured in TIME. Ambiguous: "And how many times ah - before it's too late?" Before what is too late? How many times does the angel descend to aid a human's walk through life? Or - how many times do we humans have to walk this difficult road that we don't quite understand. And maybe we are to be the guardians of another human - but we are not angels and are not sure how to do it. We are not sure how long, nor are we sure how, or how this trip through life goes. Confusion, "weight" of sorrow, confusion of not knowing the true path, But would we trade this life for anything else? Are we just on the edge of discovering life's meaning? If angels travel with us and help bear the burdens and show the way, we can walk through the world - not quite so lost as we think.