guardian

Alanis Morissette married rapper Mario "MC Souleye" Treadway on May 22, 2010, in a private ceremony at their Los Angeles home. Seven months later the singer gave birth to their first child, Ever Imre. Her new status as a married mother appears to have informed this song's lyrics - "I'll be your keeper for life as your guardian. I'll be your warrior of care, your first warden," Morissette sings. "Guardian" was released as the lead single off the Canadian singer-songwriter's eighth studio album, Havoc and Bright Lights on May 15, 2012.

Morissette told Rolling Stone that she was preoccupied with motherhood whilst penning the Havoc and Bright Lights songs. She said: "To be honest, I wrote it post-partum the whole few months after my son was born, so I barely remember the process [laughs].It was in our home, and we built a makeshift studio in what is now the playroom because I'm an attachment parent, so I wanted to be able to breastfeed. So it was literally in and out of this room, writing with Guy Sigsworth, recording, being a mum, back and forth in my house."

The song reflects how Morissette has changed since giving birth to Ever. "I think it really shows how the parent/guardian-angel roles are linked," she told Spinner. "How, ultimately, a powerful inner parent calls upon spirit to guide her or his choices on the loved one's behalf, whether it is for a child, a friend, or an inner child. This love and this grace is available to everyone."