submissions
| Sufjan Stevens – John Wayne Gacy, Jr. Lyrics
| 20 years ago
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I agree with trisweb.....If you scratch the surface, the narrow interpretation of all sins being equal might be evident; however, if you delve deeper into what he is saying, it becomes more about all of our struggles with sin and how we rationalize committing them in the first place, while almost taking on a new persona (clown). In other words, there is definitely a higher level of complexity within the lyrics than the "all sins are equal" interpretation. Citing sufjan as saying "by nature...." only proves it. |
submissions
| Sufjan Stevens – To Be Alone with You Lyrics
| 20 years ago
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It seems like the first part of the song is from the viewpoint of jesus and the second, mary m. and they are speaking to each other. Keep in mind, that nearly all men back then were married, which means jesus probably was too. There are many who say that mary m. was his wife, and many who say he was single and without a family. For this interpretation, i am going with the former. It seems like mary m. is upset and questioning jesus' love for her but realizes he wasn't truly a man, but the son of god. |
submissions
| Sufjan Stevens – Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois Lyrics
| 20 years ago
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I think he is loosely referencing the bible. I am no biblical scholar, but there is one passage that describes an object coming from the sky with three stars surounded by the faces of lions, that some say, in modern times would have been a fitting description of an UFO.
So what I think he is trying to say, is that our perceptions are changed or evolve with history and our growing collective imagination. At one time, one group could interpret what they see as something biblical or caused by god and another group at a later time sees the same thing as something caused by aliens. |
submissions
| Sufjan Stevens – John Wayne Gacy, Jr. Lyrics
| 20 years ago
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Perhaps, when he says "I am really just like him" he is referring to the way Gacy lured his victims--taking on a different persona and dressing as a clown (hence the painting of the clown on the cd insert). So maybe we all mask our true selves at times, not to cover up or hid from the bad things we do, but in order to rationalize committing the acts in the first place. |
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