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Demetrius Lyrics

Reach for the archer
He chose an offer

You are only a redeemer
You are holy, like Demetrius

Change the hoodoo caper
Strange impersonator
Make a multi-tracker
Take your book and back her

You are like that, a redeemer
You are like that, like Demetrius
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Cover art for Demetrius lyrics by Sufjan Stevens

I'm guessing he is talking about Demetrius I, whose nickname was "Soter" or "Savior"/"Redeemer". He was the king of Syria from 162-150 B.C, and got his nickname from the Babylonians whom he saved from a Roman tyrant. I'm not really sure how the rest of the song relates to the man, though, or why Demetrius would be considered holy.

He is mostly known in modern western history for his relationship with the Jewish people. He got involved in Jewish politics, and defeated Judas Maccabeus at the urging of one political faction, but was never able to win the political support of the Jews. Again, I don't know how this relates to the song... now I'm just blabbing....

For more info, Wikipedia has a short article about Demetrius, and the Jewish Encyclopedia and Catholic Encyclopedia (both available online) flesh things out a bit.

Oh, also, 1 Maccabees, 7-10 and 2 Maccabees, 14-15 describe the events from the Jewish perspective (ALSO available online via a quick Google search! Hurrah! Too much information!)

Looks like this is it. Sufjan's lyrics take from Biblical stuff all the time. Demetrius being a "Redeemer" makes him holy in the sense that a redeemer is the most holy person (see: Christ)

Cover art for Demetrius lyrics by Sufjan Stevens

I LOVE THIS SONG

for some reason. I have n0 clue what its about. but aaaaah.

Cover art for Demetrius lyrics by Sufjan Stevens

this song is so much darker than sufjan's other stuff and im crazy about it because of that.

Cover art for Demetrius lyrics by Sufjan Stevens

Any ideas as which Demetrius this song is in reference to?

Cover art for Demetrius lyrics by Sufjan Stevens

Here are the exact lyrics for this song, transcribed from Sufjan's handwriting in the first pressing of the album. The lyrics are originally written without line breaks.

Demetrius: reach for the archer. He chose an offer. You are only a redeemer. You are holy, like Demetrius. Change the hoodoo caper; strange impersonator. Make a multi-tracker. Take your book and back her. You are like that, a redeemer. You are like that, like Demetrius.

Cover art for Demetrius lyrics by Sufjan Stevens

I love this song :)

The arabic part of it is originally from one of my mom's favorite artists, Fairuz. Its an arabic easter song

Cover art for Demetrius lyrics by Sufjan Stevens

Hey, Johnnyk (or anyone) ~~ Do you happen to know what Fairuz song it is that he samples?

Cover art for Demetrius lyrics by Sufjan Stevens

Hey, Johnnyk (or anyone) ~~ Do you happen to know what Fairuz song it is that he samples?

Cover art for Demetrius lyrics by Sufjan Stevens

I think the Arabic song is 'El Yom Ollika' by Fairuz, a famous Lebanese artist.

Cover art for Demetrius lyrics by Sufjan Stevens

I kind of think this song is about DMT a spiritual hallucinogen often called "Demetrius"

 
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