Fix what’s wrong, but don’t rewrite what the artist wrote. Stick to the official released version — album booklet, label site, verified lyric video, etc. If you’re guessing, pause and double-check.
Respect the structure
Songs have rhythm. Pages do too. Leave line breaks where they belong. Don’t smash things together or add extra empty space just for looks.
Punctuation counts (but vibe-editing doesn’t)
Correct typos? Yes. Re-punctuating a whole verse because it ‘looks better’? Probably not. Keep capitalization and punctuation close to the official source.
Don’t mix versions
If you’re editing the explicit version, keep it explicit. If it’s the clean version, keep it clean. No mashups.
Let the lyrics be lyrics
This isn’t the place for interpretations, memories, stories, or trivia — that’s what comments are for. Keep metadata, translations, and bracketed stage directions out unless they’re officially part of the song.
Edit lightly
If two lines are wrong… fix the two lines. No need to bulldoze the whole page. Think ‘surgical,’ not ‘remix.’
When in doubt, ask the crowd
Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.
"Out of Egypt" is a common Jewish/Christian reference to God's salvation--by His own power bringing His people out of slavery and oppression.
"The Great Laugh of Mankind" feels like more of a stretch, because contrary to how we typically view laughter (joy and happiness), in the Bible laughter tends to be more about mocking and sneering (esp. when talking about "mankind" as a whole). For instance, Psalm 44:14 says "You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples" and Psalm 80:6 says, "You make us an object of contention for our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves."
Regarding "And I Shake The Dirt From My Sandals As I Run," you'll find this in chapter six of the Mark's Gospel: "And [Jesus] said to them, '...if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.'"
So put all that together and this could be a way of saying, "God has pulled me out of this mess we're all trapped in, and now I'm running headlong into the world's mocking and criticism to tell you what I know, but if you refuse to listen, then the consequences are on your own heads." Kind of a sobering way to close an album.
if this song is from come on,feel the illinoise(which i am assuming it is),its in reference to an area i live not far and sort of in
there is a town called cairo way way south by missouri thus southern illinois is called little egypt. oh yeah and that whole lake,sand thing.
this is simply an astoundingly beautiful song. wow.
it sort of like broken social scene, willlliw, though i see broken social scene as more organized chaos, and i don't find sufjan's music chaotic at all. just a personal opinion, though.
To me this song is about the ultimate acceptance of social identity. Sufjan spent the first seventy minutes talking about vanity, murder, love, death, fear, ambition, failure, and it is all indeed very laughable. It is the mess of human life, and in the final song we plunge face first into that mess, free and content.
Sufjan Stevens is a fantastic composer, but this borrows heavily from the music of Steve Reich. Compare with Music for 18 Musicians, written in 1978: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCkd46hcRag
It's super cool, but this technique is nothing new. The repeated tonal pulsating percussive beat with interwoven melodic lines is the same, with voices and woodwinds floating over the surface.
What Sufjan's doing sounds gorgeous and this is a wonderful homage to Steve Reich!
I'm not sure what the title means, and I think most of you guys have got the topic covered, but the music is very heavy Steve Reich. I think Sufjan does this type of minimalism on a few other songs on his other album "Michigan" ('Tahquamenon Falls' and even 'Alanson, Crooked River' have this sense of Reich). I love his approach, and obviously it has a Reich influence with the rhythmic tonal beats and an intertwined melody on top. It's a good try at creating minimalism, but Reich is the GOAT in that type of music. Great homage though. Sufjan gets better and better the more I listen to his stuff.
@YYZ2112 For the Egypt part it references the southern part of Illinois. It was once known as "Little Egypt" The states most southern town is Cairo. Its probably not a coincidence that this song is at the bottom of the track list.
@YYZ2112 For the Egypt part it references the southern part of Illinois. It was once known as "Little Egypt" The states most southern town is Cairo. Its probably not a coincidence that this song is at the bottom of the track list.
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
"Out of Egypt" is a common Jewish/Christian reference to God's salvation--by His own power bringing His people out of slavery and oppression.
"The Great Laugh of Mankind" feels like more of a stretch, because contrary to how we typically view laughter (joy and happiness), in the Bible laughter tends to be more about mocking and sneering (esp. when talking about "mankind" as a whole). For instance, Psalm 44:14 says "You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples" and Psalm 80:6 says, "You make us an object of contention for our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves."
Regarding "And I Shake The Dirt From My Sandals As I Run," you'll find this in chapter six of the Mark's Gospel: "And [Jesus] said to them, '...if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.'"
So put all that together and this could be a way of saying, "God has pulled me out of this mess we're all trapped in, and now I'm running headlong into the world's mocking and criticism to tell you what I know, but if you refuse to listen, then the consequences are on your own heads." Kind of a sobering way to close an album.
Southern Illinois is nicknamed "Little Egypt"
Southern Illinois is nicknamed "Little Egypt"
if this song is from come on,feel the illinoise(which i am assuming it is),its in reference to an area i live not far and sort of in there is a town called cairo way way south by missouri thus southern illinois is called little egypt. oh yeah and that whole lake,sand thing.
this is simply an astoundingly beautiful song. wow. it sort of like broken social scene, willlliw, though i see broken social scene as more organized chaos, and i don't find sufjan's music chaotic at all. just a personal opinion, though.
To me this song is about the ultimate acceptance of social identity. Sufjan spent the first seventy minutes talking about vanity, murder, love, death, fear, ambition, failure, and it is all indeed very laughable. It is the mess of human life, and in the final song we plunge face first into that mess, free and content.
Sufjan Stevens is a fantastic composer, but this borrows heavily from the music of Steve Reich. Compare with Music for 18 Musicians, written in 1978: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCkd46hcRag
It's super cool, but this technique is nothing new. The repeated tonal pulsating percussive beat with interwoven melodic lines is the same, with voices and woodwinds floating over the surface.
What Sufjan's doing sounds gorgeous and this is a wonderful homage to Steve Reich!
Totally in agreement with morgan1366
I'm not sure what the title means, and I think most of you guys have got the topic covered, but the music is very heavy Steve Reich. I think Sufjan does this type of minimalism on a few other songs on his other album "Michigan" ('Tahquamenon Falls' and even 'Alanson, Crooked River' have this sense of Reich). I love his approach, and obviously it has a Reich influence with the rhythmic tonal beats and an intertwined melody on top. It's a good try at creating minimalism, but Reich is the GOAT in that type of music. Great homage though. Sufjan gets better and better the more I listen to his stuff.
@YYZ2112 For the Egypt part it references the southern part of Illinois. It was once known as "Little Egypt" The states most southern town is Cairo. Its probably not a coincidence that this song is at the bottom of the track list.
@YYZ2112 For the Egypt part it references the southern part of Illinois. It was once known as "Little Egypt" The states most southern town is Cairo. Its probably not a coincidence that this song is at the bottom of the track list.
something with the theme of God bringing his chosen people out of egypt maybe???
something with the theme of God bringing his chosen people out of egypt maybe???
Yeah, I think so...
I love that he chose to conclude the album with such an interesting song. There's just this serence sense of closure at the end.