Synopsis

Melissa Etheridge performs in a dark, abandoned saloon-like bar, its furniture smashed and scattered as if a violent confrontation has just ended. Ghostly figures in white descend from above, embodying the song's fallen angels and emotional turmoil. As they drift through the ruined room, they find connection and form both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. The mood gradually shifts from devastation to release, culminating in the bar's doors opening and the figures walking toward the light.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Angels Would Fall" was released in 1999 as the first single from Etheridge's sixth album, "Breakdown."

• The song was co-written by Etheridge and John Shanks. Etheridge later described it as one of her darkest songs, inspired by a desperate attraction to another woman's girlfriend during the breakdown of her relationship with Julie Cypher.

• The fallen figures and the wrecked bar turn the song's emotional imagery into a visual metaphor: desire and heartbreak leave destruction behind, but love ultimately offers a way out.

• The video was included in the 1999 episode of "Behind the Music" devoted to Melissa Etheridge.

• The single received two Grammy nominations in 2000: Best Rock Song and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.