"Casimir Pulaski Day" as written by and Sufjan Stevens....
Goldenrod and the 4H stone
The things I brought you
When I found out you had cancer of the bone
Your father cried on the telephone
And he drove his car into the navy yard
Just to prove that he was sorry
In the morning, through the window shade
When the light pressed up against your shoulder blade
I could see what you were reading
All the glory that the Lord has made
And the complications you could do without
When I kissed you on the mouth
Tuesday night at the Bible study
We lift our hands and pray over your body
But nothing ever happens
I remember at Michael's house
In the living room when you kissed my neck
And I almost touched your blouse
In the morning at the top of the stairs
When your father found out what we did that night
And you told me you were scared
All the glory when you ran outside
With your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied
And you told me not to follow you
Sunday night when I cleaned the house
I find the card where you wrote it out
With the pictures of you mother
On the floor at the great divide
With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied
I am crying in the bathroom
In the morning when you finally go
And the nurse runs in with her head hung low
And the cardinal hits the window
In the morning in the winter shade
On the 1st of March on the holiday
I thought I saw you breathing
All the glory that the Lord has made
And the complications when I see His face
In the morning in the window
All the glory when he took our place
But he took my shoulders and he shook my face
And he takes and he takes and he takes
The things I brought you
When I found out you had cancer of the bone
Your father cried on the telephone
And he drove his car into the navy yard
Just to prove that he was sorry
In the morning, through the window shade
When the light pressed up against your shoulder blade
I could see what you were reading
All the glory that the Lord has made
And the complications you could do without
When I kissed you on the mouth
Tuesday night at the Bible study
We lift our hands and pray over your body
But nothing ever happens
I remember at Michael's house
In the living room when you kissed my neck
And I almost touched your blouse
In the morning at the top of the stairs
When your father found out what we did that night
And you told me you were scared
All the glory when you ran outside
With your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied
And you told me not to follow you
Sunday night when I cleaned the house
I find the card where you wrote it out
With the pictures of you mother
On the floor at the great divide
With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied
I am crying in the bathroom
In the morning when you finally go
And the nurse runs in with her head hung low
And the cardinal hits the window
In the morning in the winter shade
On the 1st of March on the holiday
I thought I saw you breathing
All the glory that the Lord has made
And the complications when I see His face
In the morning in the window
All the glory when he took our place
But he took my shoulders and he shook my face
And he takes and he takes and he takes
Lyrics submitted by downhillracer, edited by Stockholm
"Casimir Pulaski Day" as written by Sufjan Stevens
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
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A tucked-in shirt is what? Completely aesthetic. There is no physical benefit or reason to have a shirt tucked in or not, - it's simply something you do to appear a little more "put together" to those around you.
An untied shoe, on the other hand, will probably be noticed after the shirt. This is something that's a little "below the radar." That being said, an untied shoe is more than simply an aesthetic problem, it's a functional one as well - you can very well fall down, and possibly hurt yourself from tripping on a shoelace. So to me, this phrase really, and I think purposefully, highlights the juxtaposition of appearances/reality, strength/weakness, maturity/age - all themes which kind of undercurrent through the song.
Any thoughts?
What a fantastic lyricist.
well said, although i would probably myself want to suggest something more along the lines of "confusion" and/or "frustration." perhaps that is a mere semantical point, though... what i am most struck by is the HONESTY stevens uses in his music. truly - he is willing to express BOTH the joy and the despair that are regular parts of our lives. i think it is a form of defensiveness and denial when people are not willing to acknowledge their fear, disappointment, rage, jealously, etc... unfortunately, many have been made to feel that the only emotions welcome in a religous enviornment are joy and happiness. how discouraging this must be (and is) when much of our experience is in reality a great deal less pleasant than such affectivity would imply.
"and he takes, and he takes, and he takes." a wise person told me once that true worship can only happen when we are willing to be honest with God - be that a moment of thankful praise - or one of darkness and doubt.
Two of my favourite elements: the contrast between the happy melody and the subject - and the pain in the lyrics. The ending ultimately is happy: despite the pain Sufjan is celebrating his friend's life.
Also: the bit that chokes me up most is the whispered 'and he takes and he takes and he takes'. Sufjan is expressing his doubts here: his faith is shaken - sometimes it seems to him that God just takes.
My favourite thing about all of Sufjan's songs is the humanity in them. Really beautiful.
“I was a teenager and this was my first experience with death. At that age, you’re easily confused. I couldn’t understand why she had to die. Experiences like this always cause doubt. Because we don’t cope well with the idea of evil in this world. Then you doubt the existence of God and His intentions.. actually everything. But that’s good. One of the foundations of faith is the lack of it - the disbelief. It’s very important. Firm belief is a bit unreal. That leads to religious fanaticism. Doubt is inseperable from Christianity. With every figure in the bible you find doubt - Abraham, Moses, all the kings and the apostles. Even Jesus doubted. So isn’t it funny how religions - especially Christian institutions in the US - have eliminated all doubt? They don’t understand how important it is to doubt. With all its consequences.” (Roughly translated from a Dutch interview)
Sufjan:
"On an aesthetic level, faith and art are a dangerous match. Today, they can quickly lead to devotional artifice or didactic crap."
"It’s not so much that faith influences us as it lives in us. In every circumstance (giving a speech or tying my shoes), I am living and moving and being. This absolves me from ever making the embarrassing effort to gratify God (and the church) by imposing religious content on anything I do."
"As for your question of faith (which I think has nothing to do with Dan’s statement): on a certain level you cannot separate art from faith, because it is our persuasions which drive us to create."
"Whether you are religious about politics or fashion (or saving the whales), you are still motivated by your convictions to participate in art. But I don’t think that means faith should necessarily prescribe art. In fact, this is a dangerous assumption, which often leads to music that is pedagogical, or a novel that is moralistic. As for our intentions, well, that’s all bunk. We may intend our music for one person or another, but who’s to say? I can’t decide who reads my novel or buys my record. Look what that did for Jonathon Franzen, who snubbed Oprah for liking his book. It’s an arrogant, imperialist motive to try to determine who will receive you and who won’t."
adequacy.net/2006/09/interview-with-sufjan-stevens/
He said, "I am Lord, I am Lord, I am Lord"
He said, "I am Lord, I am Lord, I am Lord"
He will take you
If you run
He will chase you
He will take you
If you run
He will chase you
Because he is the Lord
I performed this song at church. It's a great Good Friday song.
All the glory when He took our place
But He took my shoulders and He shook my face
And He takes and He takes and He takes
Having grown up in a similar household, I was petrified of disappointing my parents and/or the punishments that came along with it, thus "scared", but never actually scared for my physical well-being. Maybe I'm naive, or maybe I'm inserting a little personal narrative into it.