| Sufjan Stevens – The Only Thing Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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I think the key line is "I want to save you from your sorrow." This is the one line that stands out from the rest of the song, and which might stand in as 'The Only Thing [that keeps him from ending it all].' It is a purpose, a reason to go on. The strange thing is that it seems the one he wants to save from their sorrows is already dead ("How do I live with your ghost?"), beyond saving, which is why the line stands out. It is paradoxical, the paradox the song hinges on: how could you save someone who is already gone (perhaps even by suicide?) from their sorrow? Its as if now the sorrow is his, and if he cannot find a way to live, then the sorrow wins. To give up himself, means not only giving up on his own pursuit of way through sorrow, but affirms the essential truth of the other's sorrow, and this is what he cannot bear. I think the profound idea in this song is that even when our own suffering is overwhelming, the suffering of others remains a reason to seek the light. And somehow that the suffering of others is more important than our own suffering, and gives us a mutual reason to go on living together, and doing our best for each other. |
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