The Seer's Tower Lyrics
There is a view that reaches far
Where we see the universe
I see the fire, I see the end
There is Emmanuel of mothers
With his sword, with his robe
He comes dividing man from brothers
In the powers of the earth, we wait until it resurrects
In the tower above the earth, we built it for Emmanuel
Oh my mother, she betrayed us, but my father loved and bathed us
Where I go to sleep alone.
Joseph Smith. The Seer. We've heard quite a bit about him this last year(his 200th birthday.) He's the Prophet who founded what's now the LDS, 'Mormon' Church. He, and all the Saints, moved to Illinois, chased by their countrymen, hunted, murdered, and worse. They raised a Temple in Kirtland and then Nauvoo, both in Illinois, but Joseph never got to see the final Temple in Nauvoo, before he was gunned down, in Carthage Illinois. He was a visionary, and more. A man FAR beyond his time. The believers consider him a Prophet, no less so than Moses or Abraham, and today many more regard him as thus. He saw the end, wrote about where this life started, and where it would end, the truth of man's relationship with God, and wondered why He and 'the Saints' were persecuted and driven, betrayed, BY THEIR OWN COUNTRY, out of the states and into the far territories. The Religion he shared, both then and now, has oft been the cause of separation of brother from brother. Betrayed by their country, at the time, but as they felt, honored and held by God, Heavenly Father, as those of they faith refer to God. Joseph the Seer. In 2004 the State of Illinois issued an official apology to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's very much a part of their History, and a powerful part of the history of the LDS Church. I see it fitting, and clear, among other things, that he included such a long-reaching, though relatively unseen, both inspirational and tragic, moment of the United States History.
As a reminder, this looooong-ass entry is from an atheist's mind. I am not religious, but I do appreciate it for what it is, and Sufjan can make some good fucking art with it. Also, these lyrics have bothered me for a while.
The way Sufjan structures each line seems to represent the tower as a metaphor for his faith. Why a tower? It's majestic, tall, and intended for the faithful ones to go to the top. Sufjan is at the top questioning his faith.
The first lines, "In the tower above the earth / there is a view that reaches far / where we see the universe" are telling the viewer that faith provides people with these gifts. All they must do is believe to get to the top.
The following line, "I see the fire, I see the end" is referencing the title of the song, a pun on the Sears Tower in Illinois. A seer, by definition, is one that can foresee events before they happen. Sufjan is one of these faithful people, and he can see the apocalypse, or some end, approaching because of what we, as humans, have done. This is a common theme in Illinoise, that humanity has lost creativity over its existence.
The next 4 lines describe the effects of this tower in further detail. "Seven miles above the Earth" uses "7", a common biblical number that represents completeness (see Seven Swans).
"There is Emmanuel of Mothers / with His sword, with His robe / He comes dividing man from brothers" uses Emmanuel, another biblical term, which just means "God with us", or simply God. There is a bible verse, Matthew 10:34 and 10:35, that, in short, proclaims that God gives humanity the sword, or the hard way, instead of peace altogether, and that He asks for one's complete attention, setting aside all family and friends to be with Him. God is "dividing man from brothers" as a result. Sufjan sees this as a bad thing, causing him to question back and forth whether he should remain on this tower in the next 4 lines.
"In the tower above the Earth, we built it for Emmanuel / In the powers of the earth, we wait until it rips and rips / In the tower above the Earth, we built it for Emmanuel". These lines represent Sufjan's direct questioning of his faith. He goes back and forth, almost desperately, as evidenced by the sudden pitch shift he makes. We made religion ("the Tower") a thing, with the belief of God already in mind ("for Emmanuel"). But he also says that the tower is in the "powers of the earth", and that the tower "rips and rips", or simply tears the earth apart. He can't decide on whether his faith is a good thing.
And then there's "Oh, my mother, she betrayed us. But my father loved and bathed us," which is probably the most important line of all. The mother can be one of 2 things: Carrie Stevens, Sufjan's real life mother who was never quite good to him, or it can be mother earth as a whole. Now, the father is NOT Lowell Brams. Or Rasjid Stevens. In this line, the father is God. Okay, just thought I'd address that. Now let's analyze the actual line. Sufjan describes mother earth as a traitor, because of humanity's general indolence, like in "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!". As a result, he is drawn to God (the father) for giving him all his gifts. All Sufjan has to do is follow those bible lines from earlier, stay on the tower, and he'd keep these gifts. He's almost made the decision to stay on the tower forever.
But finally, he realizes the truth. "Still I go to the deepest grave / where I go to sleep alone". He realizes that the tower, faith itself, has blinded him from reality, and that earth has to be cruel. Bad things will happen, whether God exists or not. So, he makes his final decision to leave the tower. He goes back down to earth ("the deepest grave") , and mourns the sad truth ("go to sleep alone").
So, why is this subject in an album on the State of Illinois? He could've called this song "The CHRISTler Building" and placed in a New York album. Well, in a way, the Sears Tower is the same thing as this fictitious Seer's Tower: something majestic, tall, and something people expect gifts from. I think Sufjan specifically chose to reference the Sears Tower here, because of his personal history with Illinois, which REALLY says something: the song is personal. It's what he's really thinking in his mind.
sigh my god. Yes, I said God.
@gabriel156 I'm intrigued. I got interested in Sufjan Stevens after hearing the song Only At Christmas Time. In it (I assume you are familiar), only the king of kings, only at Christmas time, brings peace, joy, and thought destruction. I sensed he was mocking religion or religious people in general. I like your take on this song. I suspect Sufjan is a brite.
@gabriel156 I'm intrigued. I got interested in Sufjan Stevens after hearing the song Only At Christmas Time. In it (I assume you are familiar), only the king of kings, only at Christmas time, brings peace, joy, and thought destruction. I sensed he was mocking religion or religious people in general. I like your take on this song. I suspect Sufjan is a brite.
Wouldn't "the tower above the Earth" be the Sears Tower in Chicago?
@musicforlife! It is. "Seer's Tower" is a pun.
@musicforlife! It is. "Seer's Tower" is a pun.
I think you're all wrong.
The meaning is hidden in this: Tower of Babel and Sears Tower. Both divided men from brothers but the symbol of the second is that of the god of Progress. As for the rest, I'm not sure.
No doubt the song has an eerie, sad meaning to it - at least that's the sense I gather from the music. I think there's also something to be said for a song having several meanings. However, the thing that sprung to my mind initially was the Emmanuel bit. There is clearly a reference to the Bible prophecies about Christ here. Emmanuel means "God with us" and the prophecy is given as a comfort in a situation where everything looks dark. I see the tower as another Bible reference - that of the Tower of Babel. Yes, it's true that the Bible mentions that the tower was built in an attempt to raise mankind higher than God but I think that's exactly a point here. The combination of the tower and Emmanuel gives me the thought that the song means that we (mankind) has pursued God's love or comfort (hence: Emmanuel) but in the end it all went wrong (hence the view of fire and the end)
First comment for a gorgeous song. This is such a haunting song. I don't know what it means, but the imagery of the tower is beautiful. The references to Emmanuel, fire, and the end seem religious, but I don't know enough to say how.
"Oh my mother, she betrayed us, but my father loves and bathed us."---this is so powerful, does anyone know if it is an allusion to anything?
Sufjan is incredible, through and through. If you are looking at this without ever having heard his music, just do yourself a favor and get everything he's done...
if he's going with the biblical theme, "my mother, she betrayed us" could be referring to the story of adam and eve, when eve tempted adam to eat the forbidden fruit and created original sin for the rest of humanity. "my father loves and bathed us" could be referring to God himself, because even though we have original sin, God still loves us and the "bathed" could be referring to baptism.
if he's going with the biblical theme, "my mother, she betrayed us" could be referring to the story of adam and eve, when eve tempted adam to eat the forbidden fruit and created original sin for the rest of humanity. "my father loves and bathed us" could be referring to God himself, because even though we have original sin, God still loves us and the "bathed" could be referring to baptism.
the part about "With his sword, with his robe, He comes dividing man from brothers" could very well be talking about the second...
the part about "With his sword, with his robe, He comes dividing man from brothers" could very well be talking about the second coming when Jesus will make His final judgments... separating all sinners from the holy.
the whole tower thing could just mean that when you step back to a view where you can see everything, everything becomes clearer. God's whole plan. it just becomes clearer until you realize that eventually one day he will come whether you're ready or not. and that could be what sufjan is realizing in the last two lines, or maybe he just feels alone. or that he doesn't have as close of a relationship with God as he would like.
^that's my take on the song from a religious point of view. with all the allusions to Emmanuel, "the fire" and "the end" i dont know what else it could be... but that's just me.
I largely agree with congomage. although I kinda thought something different about the references to mother. Earlier in the work where it says, "Seven miles above the earth/There is Emmanuel of mothers." Well Emmanuel isn;t just the savior of women, so I thought mothers might mean something more akin to mankind. Later when it says "my mother she betrayed us" it could mean mankind betrayed us from salvation which is true. Original sin makes this factually true of every person born. I guess in this way it could connect to what congomage was talking about. Look at that, I started...
I largely agree with congomage. although I kinda thought something different about the references to mother. Earlier in the work where it says, "Seven miles above the earth/There is Emmanuel of mothers." Well Emmanuel isn;t just the savior of women, so I thought mothers might mean something more akin to mankind. Later when it says "my mother she betrayed us" it could mean mankind betrayed us from salvation which is true. Original sin makes this factually true of every person born. I guess in this way it could connect to what congomage was talking about. Look at that, I started by disagreeing and now I'm agreeing. How'd that happen?
Whatever the case, I'm glad there exists music which is, for all intensive purposes, poetry. Good song!
@sarcasticSmith It's literal. Sufjan Steven's mother abandoned their family when he was young, and he was raised by his father and stepmother.
@sarcasticSmith It's literal. Sufjan Steven's mother abandoned their family when he was young, and he was raised by his father and stepmother.
The songs Romulus and Decatur cover this in more detail.
The songs Romulus and Decatur cover this in more detail.
Not Sear's...Seer's
seer n 1: a person with unusual powers of foresight
I vote for the Tower of Babel
i dont think so...the tower of babel was not built for God, but to make a name for themselves.
i dont think so...the tower of babel was not built for God, but to make a name for themselves.
The end...
"still i go to the deepest grave where i go to sleep alone..."
beautiful.
I would say this song is definitely apocalyptical. Emmanuel was sent to help the Isrealites repent for their sins and return to God. "He comes dividing man from brothers" probably meaning at judgement day, when God divides the righteous from the evil, and evil dies forever. Brothers would maybe mean brothers to Jesus, i.e. friends/supporters. "I see the fire, I see the end" i'm guessing would refer to something in the book of revelation. I couldn't begin to guess about the relevance of "Oh my mother, she betrayed us, but my father loved and bathed us." But it is a really powerful line. I love the last two lines, they just sound sort of sad and wistful.
@cutie_carnivore It took me a while, but i think I somehow got it now. As some people already mentioned the "Oh my mother, she betrayed us" line is probably a personal experience/ memory. In this context the mother is a betrayer. If you see it like this, the expression "Emanuel of mothers" makes sense: It means something like: God is with the betrayers, the sinners and so on. (Emanuel = God is with us) "but my father loved and bathed us" means that God, our heavenly father loves us and cleans us from our sins....
@cutie_carnivore It took me a while, but i think I somehow got it now. As some people already mentioned the "Oh my mother, she betrayed us" line is probably a personal experience/ memory. In this context the mother is a betrayer. If you see it like this, the expression "Emanuel of mothers" makes sense: It means something like: God is with the betrayers, the sinners and so on. (Emanuel = God is with us) "but my father loved and bathed us" means that God, our heavenly father loves us and cleans us from our sins.
I found this song whilst reading a book from the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. Anyone whose read the books would say that this is Ka. So creepy...anyways, i love this song and find it devastatingly gorgeous.