| Sufjan Stevens – Decatur, or Round of Applause for Your Stepmother! Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| There's a small (quite small!) airport in Decatur. That's all I can figure. | |
| Sufjan Stevens – Jacksonville Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I really enjoy how he referenced the fact that Jacksonville has a school for the deaf and blind: "Education, ask the nation You gave us our sight and the hearing is fine" He also references Helen Keller, which could also be a reference to that. They also have several small private colleges there, the main one being Illinois College. |
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| Sufjan Stevens – The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders (Part 1: The Great Frontier; Part 2: Come to Me Only with Playthings Now) Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| It's obvious that Sufjan is a spiritual person, but I don't think those ten references make the whole song about Revelations. Perhaps some have dual purpose, but there are at least three references you quote that are quite blatantly about Chi-town: the fire, the goat, and the trumpet & singers (see the line right after that, about Goodman & swingers). | |
| Sufjan Stevens – The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders (Part 1: The Great Frontier; Part 2: Come to Me Only with Playthings Now) Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Actually, Chicago is known as the city of big/broad shoulders. And Abe Lincoln is well known for being pretty tall- he was from Illinois. Hence, Tallest man, Broadest Shoulders. | |
| Over the Rhine – Don't Wait for Tom Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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There are definitely some Tom Waits references in it. This is what wikipedia said, though I didn't find any source outside of wiki? "The lyrics to "Don't Wait For Tom" contain several references to Tom Waits songs, including "Swordfish Trombones," "Ol' 55," and "Make It Rain."" |
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