Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Once when our mother called
She had a voice of last year's cough
We passed around the phone
Sharing a word about Oregon
When my turn came, I was ashamed
When my turn came, I was ashamed
Once when moved away
She came to Romulus for a day
Her Chevrolet broke down
We prayed it'd never be fixed or be found
We touched her hair, we touched her hair
We touched her hair, we touched her hair
When she had her last child
Once when she had some boyfriends, some wild
She moved away, quite far
Our grandpa bought us a new VCR
We watched it all night, we grew up in spite of it
We watched it all night, we grew up in spite of it
We saw her once last fall
Our grandpa died in a hospital gown
She didn't seem to care
She smoked in her room and colored her hair
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
She had a voice of last year's cough
We passed around the phone
Sharing a word about Oregon
When my turn came, I was ashamed
When my turn came, I was ashamed
Once when moved away
She came to Romulus for a day
Her Chevrolet broke down
We prayed it'd never be fixed or be found
We touched her hair, we touched her hair
We touched her hair, we touched her hair
When she had her last child
Once when she had some boyfriends, some wild
She moved away, quite far
Our grandpa bought us a new VCR
We watched it all night, we grew up in spite of it
We watched it all night, we grew up in spite of it
We saw her once last fall
Our grandpa died in a hospital gown
She didn't seem to care
She smoked in her room and colored her hair
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
Lyrics submitted by etcetera_whatever, edited by josh113245, CompressedAire
Romulus Lyrics as written by Sufjan Stevens
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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There is an author, Raimond Gaita. He wrote a memoir about his father, entitled "Romulus, My Father", about which a movie was recently made. I have not read the book or seen the movie, but, supposedly, it tells the story of a depressive, cheating, neglectful mother, and the father's struggle to raise his son. Romulus is a city in Michigan, but it is entirely possible that Sufjan employed this title for this song as a double entendre of sorts, as the song is clearly about a (Sufjan's?) derelict mother.