Once in the backyard,
she was once like me,
she was once like me.
Twice when I killed them,
they were once at peace,
they were once like me.

Hold to your gun, man,
and put off all your peace,
put off all the beast.
Paid a full of these, I wait for it,
but someone's once like me.
She was once like me.

I once was better.
I put off all my grief.
I put off all my grief.
So I go to hell, I wait for it,
but someone's left me creased.
Someone's left me creased.


Lyrics submitted by EvilPopkin

A Good Man Is Hard to Find Lyrics as written by Sufjan Stevens

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

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A Good Man Is Hard to Find song meanings
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    General Comment

    Flannery O'conner is a terrifying writer. She has a way of bringing readers face to face with the hardest and most revealing questions one can ask. The Misfit, from whose perspective Sufjan writes, is essentially the antithesis of the modern sedation towards the implications of the question of God. My favorite lines are "So I go to hell, I wait for it/ but someone's left me creased." The Misfit is so coldly rational through the whole story and the Grandmother is the archtypal pretentious Christian. Then in a moment she is faced with death and truly finds God. Through her the Misfit sees God and he cracks for a moment. O'connor crushes all the cliche's that surround the biblical sense of grace in that instant. It's really beautiful. The Misfit has consigned himself to hell, but he can't resist the power of God's willingness to accept those most distant. This momentary realization is terrifying to the Misfit and he destroys the vessel of grace, the Grandmother. Carefully reading the story you can see images of Christ represented by both main characters. They provide grace for oneanother in their apocalyptic meeting. I guess I didn't talk much about the song, but the story Sufjan is covering is really tricky.

    speakforthwordson June 09, 2010   Link

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