Evangeline

Album: Girlfriend (1991)
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Songfacts®:

  • "Evangeline" is about a girl, but not a real one. The song is set in the realm of the comic book series Evangeline, which was published from 1987-1989. The comic is set in the 23rd century after humans have colonized space. The character Evangeline is a weapons-wielding nun out to avenge those who have been victims of religious persecution on behalf of the Vatican.

    Sweet sings from the perspective of a guy who is in love with Evangeline, but to listeners who weren't familiar with the comic (almost all of them), the song seemed to be about a guy who is smitten with a pious girl from another metaphorical planet.
  • Richard Lloyd, known for his work in the band Television, played guitar on this track. He and Sweet first played together in the '80s in a band called The Golden Palominos; Sweet enlisted Lloyd for several of his solo albums.

    Lloyd plays based on the musical feel of the song, not the lyrics - he lent a signature aggression to "Sick Of Myself." Speaking with Songfacts, Lloyd said: "Something like 'Evangeline' on the other hand, has a very pop sensibility, so I tried to formulate something that would work for that. So it's not always anger, it's whatever the song has put its finger out on a certain kind of character, and I follow that."

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