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| thelovablevagabond | Jul 3 2009, 03:05 PM |
Exceptionally Pretentious and Opinionated
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I find myself being more and more drawn to Christian Artists; not "artists", actual musicians. Just thought I would share a bit of Sufjan with you all, because his songs are not really what you would expect. Enjoy. PS: If you don't cry during this, you aren't human. Lyrics below + explanation. Golden rod and the 4-H stone The things I brought you When I found out you had cancer of the bone Your father cried on the telephone And he drove his car to the Navy yard Just to prove that he was sorry In the morning through the window shade When the light pressed up against your shoulder blade I could see what you were reading Oh the glory that the lord has made And the complications you could do without When I kissed you on the mouth Tuesday night at the bible study We lift our hands and pray over your body But nothing ever happens[1] I remember at Michael's house In the living room when you kissed my neck And I almost touched your blouse In the morning at the top of the stairs When your father found out what we did that night And you told me you were scared Oh the glory when you ran outside With your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied And you told me not to follow you[2] Sunday night when I cleaned the house I find the card where you wrote it out With the pictures of your mother On the floor at the great divide With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied I am crying in the bathroom[3] In the morning when you finally go And the nurse runs in with her head hung low And the cardinal hits the window In the morning in the winter shade On the first of March on the holiday I thought I saw you breathing Oh the glory that the lord has made And the complications when I see his face In the morning in the window[4] Oh the glory when he took our place But he took my shoulders and he shook my face And he takes and he takes and he takes[5] [1] You would never, ever find something like this in an Amy Grant song. Sufjan delicately breaks our hearts. [2] With your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied; this is an absolutely heartbreaking metaphor (that he repeats). Having a tucked in shirt is a sign of stability, a superficial expression of social acceptance. The untied shoes, however, are less noticeable and show the internal anguish of the protagonist. The best way to describe this, in a sentence, would be "keeping a stiff upper lip". This is reaffirmed by [3] [4] This is a really confusing stanza, anyone want to take a crack at it? [5] Sufjan points out that Jesus' redemption is glorious, but ultimately it does not stop people from dying; and he takes, and he takes, and he takes... The whole song is a poignant juxtaposition of the joyful sounding backing against the quiet mourning of the lyrics; I cried like a baby the first time I heard it, and so has every other Sufjan fan I know :). The man is Sufjan Stevens, the Album is "Sufjan Stevens invites you to Come On! Feel the Illinoise!" (the underlined bit is probably the best way to find it) Sayf - Embed the Vid for me  Edited by thelovablevagabond, Jul 3 2009, 03:10 PM.
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| Faith and Music · Religion | |
12:33 PM Nov 28
