No Man's Land

There is yet another level of connection/symbolism here, and this is on the completely gratuitous level. Would we expect anything less from Mr. Stevens?

. . .Woody Guthrie, whose song /No Man's Land/ references here, was from Oklahoma. Before the distinctive strip of land (the 'panhandle') of Oklahoma became a part of the state, it was an unclaimed area called 'no man's land,' where various groups sought sanctuary and fought each other.

this song rocks, did anyone else notice that this song is in a 17/4 time signature?

I know this might be random but did anyone pick up the connection between "O'Hare" who lives up in the highest of heights" and the O'Hare in Gone with the Wind who lives on a hill, believing that her (racist supremicist) lifestyle and the many people who followed were allowed to lay claim to the land even though her ancestors were not from there. It was No mans land. Just my take on the song and yes i know O'hare was not from illinois and yes i know that im not from the U.S and shud not be typing this but its late and im board and my cat just died, my girlfriend got pregnant, i got crabs and iv been watching spike t.v for ten hours after ten cups of coffee and shes still not back yet so there!!!!

Also, O'Hare is more likely a reference to the Chicagoan airport by that name. The first section seems to indicate air travel, so it's possible that the song is was inspired by an aerial view of Illinois on a flight out of Chicago.

The suggestion that Sufjan doesn't realize the time signature he's writing is really just silly. With his proficiency in odd time signatures (7/4 in "Dear Mr. Supercomputer", 5/4 in the first movement of "Come on, Feel the Illinoise", alternating 5/4:6/4 in "Tallest Man, Broadest Shoulders", 9/4 in "Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!", etc.), it's most certainly a stylistic device he employs with specific intent. I honestly doubt he just plays a riff on one of his instruments and "rolls with it", especially considering the cooperation of people other than himself.

Also, Dreamer, it's not hard to tell what time signature a song is in if you keep a good running beat in your head as you listen to it. Then you simply count the beats as they come. As for its significance... An unusual time signature, especially when it's part of a passage consisting mostly of common time, usually has an accentuating effect. In No Man's Land, the extra beat added by the 5/4 measure in each phrase is almost exclusively reserved for the flute run. This serves to set it off from the rest of the phrase and signify a transition to a new one.

Thanks for the info on the time signature! Sometimes I can pick it out, sometimes I can't.

This is one of my favorites on the Avalanche. In it Sufjan takes us across the land of Illinois.

It starts with observations, the progresses to actions, then feelings, and all seem to be fueled by memory. He's showing what the land means to him, and at the end decides that the "land was made for the good of itself," but as it fed his memorys, functioned for the good of his existance as well.

Amazing. Why didn't this song make the real album? It's better than all but 5 songs on Illinoise.

17/4... it's true, that's insane.

I love the imagery of the journey. Sort of reminds me of transcendentalism/Romantic poets (you know, Wordsworth waxing poetic about the countryside, the little things that are beautiful, etc.).

yea, sufjan is a real pioneer with rhythm; "The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders" on Illinois is in alternating 5:4 / 6:4.

I think it's pretty nifty that a song with the lyrics: I'm counting it out I'm working it out inside Is in 17:4

This song plays in the credits of Little Miss Sunshine

this song refers to Woody Guthrie's song "this land is your land".