Dear Mr. Supercomputer

This song has a definite nod to the "You Never Give Me Your Money" portion of the Beatles' Abbey Road medley.

"1-2-3-4-5-6-7 All good children go to heaven..."

This is the funeral dirge for a too world obsessed with technology to see the greater glory. Too often we are blind to God because we have iPod eye patches and Television sunglasses.

Look carefully at the lyrics and you can detect the little culture references. "Pull the chord, raise the dead." This is the tale of a society who sees no more miricles and thinks they have everything figured out on their own.

The final verse is Sufjan's praise to the Lord that he knows he is saved. He brings it back with comparing iot to Abraham Lincon and Illinois.

Brilliant lyrics as always and quite simply an awesome song to listen to.

Such an amazing song from one of the greatest musicians of our time...

Zachharrisment - great interpretation... and I agree with you for the most part. Just had some things to add.

There's, of course, the disdain of a world that has lost itself to a Godless machine. No spirituality, just computers... Hence, I felt like this song was from the narrator to Mr. Supercomputer.

"Take it for a patient man I caught it Patient is the kind that gets you paid Even if I had, man, I got it Seems I never had it anyway Sometimes it may seem your best intentions Take off with a fever anyway"

Even the narrator himself has found himself getting caught up in the disconnect that exists nowadays between people and eachother. With the advent of PCs in every home and iPods in every hand... it's so easy to get caught up in the fever of "I gotta have this and that." Even though he was trying to avoid it, even with the best intentions; he caught the fever anyway.

"I rejoice in what I carry in my heart it overwelms what a man"

The narrator's recognition of his own spirituality... and of course, how such feelings can overwhelm a man.

"Great Emancipation plans, and public transport, clap your hands, Abraham"

This line, to me, sort of asks, "Is this what our Forefathers intended?" They had such great plans, such great ambitions, and look at what we've become... that sort of tone.

I get the feeling that the supercomputer is the narrator.

That's about all I can figure out.

I LOVE YOU FOR PUTTING UP THESE LYRICS! :D

Apparantly one of Mr. Stevens' favorites, as well as one of my own.

The live version is absolutely amazing. He omits most of the lyrics, but the orchestration and new arrangement is genius.

You can find the mp3 here: http://ryspace.com/index.php/2006/10/02/sufjan-stevens-the-town-hall-september-29th/

Is the line "God is dead, God is dead" somehow a reference to Nietzsche?

I don't know if Nietzsche ever visited Illinois, but... well that's what I think of (only because I'm taking a course in him now).

Interesting connection, just out of the blue though, Nietzsche was the philosopher mentioned in Little Miss Sunshine....the movie that made Sufjan's "Chicago" more popular. Sorry, I can't help but get excited by silly coincidences that mean nothing.

Just fyi, at the University of Illinois, they have one of five supercomputers in the US. http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/AboutUs/

...for those of you who are like, wtf supercomputer?

The "God is Dead" could be linked the the "superman" comment. I take this from a philosophical stand point; it is literally a question if a computer that acts human has a soul. I initially misheard the background lyrics as (Some will go some won't go, they will go they will go, no they won't no they won't) or something... it certainly made me think about what makes people different than automatons, or even other animals, and left me with the question: Does rational thought entail possession of a soul?