Sufjan Stevens
American singer and musician (born 1975)
Sufjan Stevens (born 1 July 1975) is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.
Quotes
edit- Art is... a reflection of a greater divine creation. There really is no separation.
- Bowman, Kate (2005-07-11). Secular, Sacred, or Both?. Retrieved on 2006-08-25.
Lyrics
editMichigan (2003)
edit- Once when we moved away,
She came to Romulus for a day.
Her Chevrolet broke down.
We prayed it'd never be fixed or be found.- "Romulus"
- Rest in my arms
Sleep in my bed
There's a design
To what I did and said- "Vito's Ordination Song"
Seven Swans (2004)
edit- You gave your body to the lonely,
They took your clothes.
You gave up a wife and a family
You gave your ghost.
To be alone with me.
To be alone with me
You went up on a tree.
I've never met a man who loved me.- "To Be Alone with You"
Illinois (2005)
edit- Oh, great intentions,
Covenant with the imitation
Have you no conscience?
I think about it now
Oh, God of Progress,
Have you degraded or forgot us?
Where have your laws gone?- "Come On! Feel The Illinoise!"
- He dressed up like a clown for them
With his face paint white and red.
And on his best behavior
In a dark room on the bed,
He kissed them all. - But in my best behavior, I am really just like him
Look beneath the floorboards, for the secrets I have hid.- "John Wayne Gacy, Jr."
- Tuesday morning at the Bible study
We lift our hands and pray over your body
But nothing ever happens- "Casimir Pulaski Day"
- 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.- "Casimir Pulaski Day"
- All 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.- "Casimir Pulaski Day"
- Oh, I am not quite sleeping.
Oh, I am fast in bed. - Thinking Outrageously,
I Write in Cursive- "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!"
The Age of Adz (2010)
edit- "It's been a long long time since I've memorized your face.
- "Futile Devices"
- Words are futile devices.
- "Futile Devices"
- When I die, when I die,
I'll rot.
But when I live, but when I live,
I'll give it all I've got.- "Age of Adz"
- At least I deserve the respect of a kiss goodbye.
- "I Walked"
- Somewhere I lost whatever else I had.
- "Now That I'm Older"
- I know I've caused you trouble,
I know I've caused you pain.
But I must do the right thing;
I must do myself a favour
And get real, get right with the Lord.- "Get Real Get Right"
- I want it all,
I want it all for myself.- "All for Myself"
- I'm not fucking around.
- "I Want to Be Well"
- Ah, ah,
Beautiful is the mother.
Ah, ah,
Beautiful is her son.- "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabelle"
Carrie and Lowell (2015)
edit- Somewhere in the desert, there's a forest
And an acre before us
But I don't know where to begin
- "Death with Dignity"
- I forgive you mother; I can hear you
And I long to be near you
But every road leads to an end- "Death With Dignity"
- When I was three
Three, maybe four
She left us at that video store- "Should Have Known Better"
- Found myself on Spencer's Butte
Traced your shadow with my shoe
Empty outline changed my view
Now all of me thinks less of you- "All of Me Wants All of You"
- Some part of me was lost in your sleeve
Where you hid your cigarettes- "Eugene"
- What's left is only bittersweet
For the rest of my life,
admitting the best is behind me
Now I'm drunk and afraid
Wishing the world would go away
What's the point of singing songs
If they'll never even hear you?- "Eugene"
- Well you do enough talk
My little hawk, why do you cry?
Tell me what did you learn
From the Tillamook burn
Or the Fourth of July?
We're all gonna die- "Fourth of July"
- Should I tear my eyes out now?
Everything I see returns to you somehow
Should I tear my heart out now?
Everything I feel returns to you somehow- "The Only Thing"
- I am a man with a heart that offends
with its lonely and greedy demands.- "John My Beloved"
- I love you more than the world can contain
in its lonely and ramshackle head.- "John My Beloved"
- There's only a shadow of me
In a manner of speaking, I'm dead- "John My Beloved"
- Fuck me, I'm falling apart
- "No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross"
Others
edit- Planes will crash, He'll never let you down.
So maybe there's a crash coming for the ground,
Seek His face, He'll never let you down.
Worship grace, He'll never let you down.- "God'll Ne'er Let You Down" (2001)
- Did I make you cry
On Christmas day?
Did I let you down
Like every other day?
Did I make you cry
On Christmas day?
Did I let you down
On Christmas day?
. . .
I stay awake at night
After we have a fight
I'm writing poems about you
And they aren't very nice.- "Did I Make You Cry On Christmas Day? (Well, You Deserved It!)" (2005)
- If I miss my chance, I didn't even try
I'm not one to regret Christmas in July.- "Christmas in July" (2006)
- Since it's Christmas, let's be glad
Even if your life's been bad,
There are presents to be had.- "It's Christmas! Let's Be Glad" (2006)