First comment for a gorgeous song.
This is such a haunting song. I don't know what it means, but the imagery of the tower is beautiful. The references to Emmanuel, fire, and the end seem religious, but I don't know enough to say how.
"Oh my mother, she betrayed us, but my father loves and bathed us."---this is so powerful, does anyone know if it is an allusion to anything?
Sufjan is incredible, through and through. If you are looking at this without ever having heard his music, just do yourself a favor and get everything he's done...
if he's going with the biblical theme, "my mother, she betrayed us" could be referring to the story of adam and eve, when eve tempted adam to eat the forbidden fruit and created original sin for the rest of humanity. "my father loves and bathed us" could be referring to God himself, because even though we have original sin, God still loves us and the "bathed" could be referring to baptism.
if he's going with the biblical theme, "my mother, she betrayed us" could be referring to the story of adam and eve, when eve tempted adam to eat the forbidden fruit and created original sin for the rest of humanity. "my father loves and bathed us" could be referring to God himself, because even though we have original sin, God still loves us and the "bathed" could be referring to baptism.
the part about "With his sword, with his robe, He comes dividing man from brothers" could very well be talking about the second...
the part about "With his sword, with his robe, He comes dividing man from brothers" could very well be talking about the second coming when Jesus will make His final judgments... separating all sinners from the holy.
the whole tower thing could just mean that when you step back to a view where you can see everything, everything becomes clearer. God's whole plan. it just becomes clearer until you realize that eventually one day he will come whether you're ready or not. and that could be what sufjan is realizing in the last two lines, or maybe he just feels alone. or that he doesn't have as close of a relationship with God as he would like.
^that's my take on the song from a religious point of view. with all the allusions to Emmanuel, "the fire" and "the end" i dont know what else it could be... but that's just me.
I largely agree with congomage. although I kinda thought something different about the references to mother. Earlier in the work where it says, "Seven miles above the earth/There is Emmanuel of mothers." Well Emmanuel isn;t just the savior of women, so I thought mothers might mean something more akin to mankind. Later when it says "my mother she betrayed us" it could mean mankind betrayed us from salvation which is true. Original sin makes this factually true of every person born. I guess in this way it could connect to what congomage was talking about. Look at that, I started...
I largely agree with congomage. although I kinda thought something different about the references to mother. Earlier in the work where it says, "Seven miles above the earth/There is Emmanuel of mothers." Well Emmanuel isn;t just the savior of women, so I thought mothers might mean something more akin to mankind. Later when it says "my mother she betrayed us" it could mean mankind betrayed us from salvation which is true. Original sin makes this factually true of every person born. I guess in this way it could connect to what congomage was talking about. Look at that, I started by disagreeing and now I'm agreeing. How'd that happen?
Whatever the case, I'm glad there exists music which is, for all intensive purposes, poetry. Good song!
First comment for a gorgeous song. This is such a haunting song. I don't know what it means, but the imagery of the tower is beautiful. The references to Emmanuel, fire, and the end seem religious, but I don't know enough to say how.
"Oh my mother, she betrayed us, but my father loves and bathed us."---this is so powerful, does anyone know if it is an allusion to anything?
Sufjan is incredible, through and through. If you are looking at this without ever having heard his music, just do yourself a favor and get everything he's done...
if he's going with the biblical theme, "my mother, she betrayed us" could be referring to the story of adam and eve, when eve tempted adam to eat the forbidden fruit and created original sin for the rest of humanity. "my father loves and bathed us" could be referring to God himself, because even though we have original sin, God still loves us and the "bathed" could be referring to baptism.
if he's going with the biblical theme, "my mother, she betrayed us" could be referring to the story of adam and eve, when eve tempted adam to eat the forbidden fruit and created original sin for the rest of humanity. "my father loves and bathed us" could be referring to God himself, because even though we have original sin, God still loves us and the "bathed" could be referring to baptism.
the part about "With his sword, with his robe, He comes dividing man from brothers" could very well be talking about the second...
the part about "With his sword, with his robe, He comes dividing man from brothers" could very well be talking about the second coming when Jesus will make His final judgments... separating all sinners from the holy.
the whole tower thing could just mean that when you step back to a view where you can see everything, everything becomes clearer. God's whole plan. it just becomes clearer until you realize that eventually one day he will come whether you're ready or not. and that could be what sufjan is realizing in the last two lines, or maybe he just feels alone. or that he doesn't have as close of a relationship with God as he would like.
^that's my take on the song from a religious point of view. with all the allusions to Emmanuel, "the fire" and "the end" i dont know what else it could be... but that's just me.
I largely agree with congomage. although I kinda thought something different about the references to mother. Earlier in the work where it says, "Seven miles above the earth/There is Emmanuel of mothers." Well Emmanuel isn;t just the savior of women, so I thought mothers might mean something more akin to mankind. Later when it says "my mother she betrayed us" it could mean mankind betrayed us from salvation which is true. Original sin makes this factually true of every person born. I guess in this way it could connect to what congomage was talking about. Look at that, I started...
I largely agree with congomage. although I kinda thought something different about the references to mother. Earlier in the work where it says, "Seven miles above the earth/There is Emmanuel of mothers." Well Emmanuel isn;t just the savior of women, so I thought mothers might mean something more akin to mankind. Later when it says "my mother she betrayed us" it could mean mankind betrayed us from salvation which is true. Original sin makes this factually true of every person born. I guess in this way it could connect to what congomage was talking about. Look at that, I started by disagreeing and now I'm agreeing. How'd that happen?
Whatever the case, I'm glad there exists music which is, for all intensive purposes, poetry. Good song!
@sarcasticSmith It's literal. Sufjan Steven's mother abandoned their family when he was young, and he was raised by his father and stepmother.
@sarcasticSmith It's literal. Sufjan Steven's mother abandoned their family when he was young, and he was raised by his father and stepmother.
The songs Romulus and Decatur cover this in more detail.
The songs Romulus and Decatur cover this in more detail.