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He Woke Me Up Again Lyrics
He was, he was in the churchyard
My father was in the first part
He came, he came to my bedroom
But I was asleep
He woke me up again to say:
Halle, Halle, Halleluiah
Holy, holy is the sound
And I hope, I hope you are tired out
And I know, I know there is joy endowed
But I was asleep
And he woke me up again
And he woke me up again to say:
Hold on, hold on to your old ways
Or put off, put off every old face
And I know, I know you are changed now
I hope, I hope you're arranged out
But I'm still asleep
And you woke me up again
And I'm still asleep
But you woke me up to be holy
I really like the parallel between his father literally waking him up and God figurtively waking up his father. When I first realized what this song was about, I couldn't stop smiling for about five minutes. There's so much joy in it.
The thing I like about Sufjan is that though he is very spiritual and speaks of God in his songs, they are figurative enough that I (a person of no religion) can enjoy them on a less christian level
totally. even though i have no real interest in being a christian, its great to hear a really beautiful side of catholicism. even though i dont fundamentally agree with the lyrics, he writes them so beautifully and puts them so seamlessly into the music that i have to love every word
totally. even though i have no real interest in being a christian, its great to hear a really beautiful side of catholicism. even though i dont fundamentally agree with the lyrics, he writes them so beautifully and puts them so seamlessly into the music that i have to love every word
the last line of the song is "you woke me up again ... to be holy." (It is pretty much whispered.) And I think it is "changed now," not "changed out." This song is encouraging to me and reminds me of the God who "wakes us up" and calls us to be holy.
yes, and it seems that he's alluding to the syzygy of our relationship with God, wooing us closer even though we are Asleep to "waking the dawn" (Psalm 57), Unaware to being perceptive and bright, Unwilling to being conscious and light, Little faith to being open and teachable, Obstinate to growing into faith and hope, Unconscious to having intention and vision, Blind and deaf to seeing and hearing, Ignorant to knowing, ignited and awake...
yes, and it seems that he's alluding to the syzygy of our relationship with God, wooing us closer even though we are Asleep to "waking the dawn" (Psalm 57), Unaware to being perceptive and bright, Unwilling to being conscious and light, Little faith to being open and teachable, Obstinate to growing into faith and hope, Unconscious to having intention and vision, Blind and deaf to seeing and hearing, Ignorant to knowing, ignited and awake...
Actually Sufjan says at one of his performances that this song is about being woken up in the middle of the night by his parents when they came up with ideas.
you can hear him say it here: youtube.com/watch
I agree with most of what ya'll have brought up but I think it's worth mentioning that he might be referring to being woken up to music as well as his spirituality. Many people are first introduced to music through church, and as someone who sings forth his sense of spirituality, Sufjan Stevens here can be seen literally singing out Hallelujah. It is no wonder so many people are made happy by this song, as Hallelujah isn't just a praising of God, but a praising in joy through song. As far as words go, Hallelujah is one of the most joyous of terms. Praise be to Sufjan for connecting us all through something so powerful and simple: his own expressions of joy.
This song he said described the night his father woke up the family and told them they would be (some religion)...I think it was catholicism but I don't remember.
this is a song about a spiritual awakening , if every one wants to know you can check out his opinions in his interview articles Sufjan is a man after my own heart, he is very in love with our Lord Jesus
i love sufjan. and i love the banjo. hallelujah!
gosh sufjan is genius
greatsong!