Perhaps some poor angel really has been following him all these years.
Angel grew from Michael Doyle’s reflection upon the adventures, mistakes, risks and close calls that had accompanied his life — and the slightly tongue-in-cheek suspicion that an unfortunate guardian angel might have been given the considerable task of keeping him intact.
Developed with Dennis Morgan during the Nashville sessions of 2006 and produced by Harry Hinde, the song transformed that personal idea into something broader: an uplifting reflection upon protection, perseverance, hope and the possibility that we are never entirely alone.
Song Information
| Status | Released |
| Written | 2006 |
| Featuring | Nashville (2006) |
| Studio | Nashville Gospel Choir |
| Producer | Harry Hinde |
| Writers | Michael Doyle and Dennis Morgan |
| Category | Original Song |
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About the Song
Angel began with a reflection on the adventures, mistakes, risks and occasional narrow escapes that had accompanied Michael Doyle through life. Looking back upon them, he began to wonder — with a mixture of faith and humour — whether some unfortunate guardian angel had been assigned the considerable task of keeping him intact.
The idea developed during the Nashville sessions of 2006, when Michael worked with acclaimed songwriter Dennis Morgan. One of the central images came from Michael’s own past: “When I was sixteen, I thought I knew everything.” From that youthful certainty, the song looks back upon a life in which experience gradually teaches rather more humility.
Producer Harry Hinde immediately heard possibilities in the song. A distinctive ticking, almost heartbeat-like pulse became part of the arrangement, while the production gradually expanded around Michael’s vocal. The addition of a Nashville gospel choir gave the recording another dimension, lifting the song from a personal reflection into something broader and more celebratory.
There was an interesting contrast between London and Nashville. The song had attracted relatively little enthusiasm during the earlier London work, yet in Nashville it seemed to find its natural home. The musicians and production team responded to it immediately, allowing the arrangement to grow into one of the more distinctive recordings from those sessions.
Beneath the humour lies a serious idea. Angel is about protection, perseverance and gratitude — the possibility that through the mistakes we make, the dangers we encounter and the years in which we are quite convinced that we know everything, we may nevertheless have been accompanied all along.
And if that is true, Michael’s guardian angel probably deserves a holiday.
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Book References
Angel appears throughout the Sane Inside Insanity trilogy. References to its composition, recording, meaning and influence can be found in the chapters listed below.
- Book I – Before Judgment (references coming soon)
- Book II – The Trial (references coming soon)
- Book III – Captivity and Return (references coming soon)