Sarah McLachlan’s song “Ice Cream” is a simple, sweet-sounding love song with a complex undercurrent. While the main verses celebrate a love that is “better than ice cream” or “better than chocolate,” the chorus introduces a darker, more ambiguous meaning.
The simple declaration of love. On its surface, the lyrics are a joyful tribute to a new relationship. McLachlan has said that the song was inspired by the early days of a new romance with her future husband.
The lines “Your love is better than ice cream / Better than anything else that I’ve tried” are a straightforward declaration of the simple, pure happiness of finding that love.
She has also stated that she used the simile of ice cream as a poetic substitute for “ice cubes,” referencing a scene from the movie 9½ Weeks. She wanted to make a comparison to something “incredibly fantastic,” and “ice cream” sounded better.
The darker undertones
The cheerful verses are juxtaposed with a melancholic chorus that suggests the happiness was preceded by a dark and difficult period. The contrast is found in these lyrics:
“Everyone here knows how to fight”
“Everyone here knows how to cry”
“It’s a long way down to the place where we started from”
These lyrics reveal that the narrator has come a long way from a much darker, painful past. The new, sweet love is a welcome relief from the “fighting” and “crying” that characterized her life before. The line “It’s a long way down” expresses the fear of falling back into that miserable place and the hope that her new love will prevent her from doing so.
Sarah Ann McLachlan OC OBC (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan’s best-selling album to date is Surfacing (1997), for which she won two Grammy Awards (out of four nominations) and four Juno Awards. In addition to her personal artistic efforts, she founded the Lilith Fair tour, which showcased female musicians.
Early and personal life
McLachlan was born on January 28, 1968, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.The daughter of Judy James, McLachlan was raised by her adoptive parents, Jack, an American-born marine biologist, and Dorice McLachlan. The family also included two older adopted brothers, Stewart and Ian. As a child, she was a member of Girl Guides of Canada, participating in Guiding programs.
McLachlan played music from a very young age, beginning with the ukulele when she was four. She studied classical guitar, classical piano, and voice at the Maritime Conservatory of Music through the curriculum of The Royal Conservatory of Music. At 17, while she was still a student at Queen Elizabeth High School, in Halifax, she fronted a short-lived rock band called the October Game, whose members also included drummer Creighton Doane. One of the band’s songs, “Grind”, credited as a group composition, can be found on the independent Flamingo Records release Out of the Fog and the CD Out of the Fog Too.