Re: angels in the song. It is interesting that one of the poetic shifts in the 19-20 century has been from envying angels their heavenly role towards pitying them that they do not have earthly experience. The film Wings of Desire works on this theme: the importance of losing your wings, the positiveness of being a fallen angel, etc. This is part of the long trend towards turning one's back on "eternal heaven" and the positive reassessment of ordinary life that characterizes modernity. The song is in this territory: clay, losing wings, etc. It is not clear that losing wings a good thing or a bad.

yours, Peter T.