Synopsis

Sarah McLachlan moves through a surreal, shadowy world of narrow doorways, isolated rooms, and passing strangers while performing directly to the camera. Alongside her is a mysterious man, played by David Usher, who gathers points of light from the places he visits and uses them to construct an elaborate garment. As McLachlan follows his trail, the imagery turns the song's portrait of a carefully manufactured persona into a visual mystery, culminating in the revelation of what he has been creating.

Factoids & Trivia

• David Usher, the lead singer of Canadian rock band Moist, appears as the enigmatic man in the video.

• The video's central image of collecting light and stitching it into clothing echoes the song's theme of constructing an identity through carefully chosen appearances.

• "Building a Mystery" was released as the lead single from McLachlan's 1997 album, "Surfacing."

• McLachlan wrote the song with producer Pierre Marchand. Marchand developed the initial musical idea, while McLachlan helped shape the lyrics and finished the song with him.

• McLachlan has explained that the song concerns insecurity and the facades people create to hide it.

• The song won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and the Juno Award for Single of the Year in 1998.

• On October 23, 2001, Steve Jobs played a portion of "Building a Mystery" during the presentation that introduced the original Apple iPod, making it the first song publicly played on an iPod.