22 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Dumb I Sound Lyrics
Something's suddenly unclear
Someone's suddenly my fear
My eyes demand like broken eaves
The ladle overspills on eaves
If you once knew
How I loved you
And my bruise-colored eyes peal
Every image to your face and heel
And if you're happy, I am too
And if you're sleeping, I'm with you
But you love someone else
But you want to be with someone else
And I can't believe how dumb I sound
And I will put my face over the ground
And love you
Someone's suddenly my fear
My eyes demand like broken eaves
The ladle overspills on eaves
How I loved you
Every image to your face and heel
And if you're happy, I am too
And if you're sleeping, I'm with you
But you want to be with someone else
And I can't believe how dumb I sound
And I will put my face over the ground
And love you
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
This song is indeed one of Sufjan's most beautiful and heavy.
I tried manipulating the ending to see what was being said, and came up with some weird results. Sufjan continually repeats something along the lines of "This sounds so stupid, soo stupid, ha ha." Also, if you speed up the ending, you can hear this deep voice repeating something like "Pizza... pizza..." during the whole freak out at the end. And that very last rumble in the last two or three seconds? I think he's saying "Yeti." Why? I have no idea...
But rest assured when I figured that all out... I laughed! :D So silly at the end of such a heavy song.
At first I thought this was about domestic abuse, sort of.
"Something's suddenly unclear Someone's suddenly my fear"
And this:
"And my bruise-colored eyes peel Every image to your face and heel"
Just strike me -heh. unintentional puns, that are only funny to me- as a violent relationship. Bruise colored eyes and fear and all. But the last verse sort of messes up that theory. Still, everytime I hear it I think "Dude, violent"
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.
Dumb I sound: something's suddenly unclear, someone's suddenly my fear. My eyes demand like broken eaves. The ladle overspills on eaves. If you once knew how I loved you. And my bruise-colored eyes peal every image to your face and heel. And if you're happy I am too, and if you're sleeping, I'm with you. But you love someone else, but you want to be with someone else and I can't believe how dumb I sound, and I will put my face over the ground and love you.
I think this song is beautiful in the beginning, but the freaky evilness in the last minute of the song scares me.
It's about the fear & insecurity of love, selfishness, terror, desperation. Not understanding how this thing you love could be anything but perfectly reciprocal. Is true love possessive?
such an eerie song. gives me the willies. but still amazing none the less.
pretty heavy for an album with a track like "belly button"
personally, my favorite sufjan song, the flute is so killer \m/
Can someone explain the "eaves', "ladel', and "peel...heel" parts?
@Song of Songs This is 17 years too late but IMO Peel is like the phrase keep your eyes peeled, as in keeping watch, His bruised eyes are watching the subject of the song. Face and Heel could be merism ( a literary technique giving two extremes intended to include everything in between.) And refer to the subject's whole body/person. Eaves as in gutters are like the channelling or spouting of water. 'My eyes are crying' -> 'My whole self is overflowing.
@Song of Songs This is 17 years too late but IMO Peel is like the phrase keep your eyes peeled, as in keeping watch, His bruised eyes are watching the subject of the song. Face and Heel could be merism ( a literary technique giving two extremes intended to include everything in between.) And refer to the subject's whole body/person. Eaves as in gutters are like the channelling or spouting of water. 'My eyes are crying' -> 'My whole self is overflowing.
This has to be like my second favorite song. It's just....great. Really really really great.