Ok, I'm going to try to make this as comprehensive as possible, so it'll be a little repetitive.
In this song specifically, I think the lyrics are meant to be a little ambiguous for the purpose of wordplay.
This first four lines obviously reference the Underground Railroad, supported by some staunch abolitionists in the town i.e. the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, who would also serve as the first president of the Illinois College. At the same time, though, the third and fourth lines seem to reference another story - that of Andrew Jackson Smith, a runaway slave and medal of honor recipient from the American Civil War. He carried his regiments colors through heavy fire after their color-man was killed (i.e. despite what the captain said).
Another interesting wordplay in heart in the sixth line. Jacksonville is revered for its rich history for progress, the site of the state's first medical school, and geographically in the center of the state.
The Keller reference most likely references Helen Keller, connecting her to the deaf and blind school in Jacksonville. She was awarded the presidential medal of freedom, and asserted in her acceptance speech that the blind and deaf are not freaks but like any other (maybe a roadmap).
I simply have no idea on the Canner Row line. Steinbeck documents the lives of those on Cannery Row in Monterrey in both "Cannery Row" and "Sweet Thursday." The canneries all failed with the collapse of the area's fishing industry in the 50's. Perhaps there is a parallel to the depletion of agricultural resources.
I think "giving it one more try," could possibly refer to the large corrections facility in Jacksonville, despite a small population.
I'm not sure about the Dewey line, but the phrase Golden Age has roots in Greek mythology as an ideal state of utopia.
The second line about Keller is different, saying mirror instead of medal. In her life, Helen Keller wrote two autobiographies, the first called "The World in Which I Live," and second called "Light in my Darkness," a stretch, but possibly a mirror and a map.
The wheel probably does refer to the cheese, but I think it is once again a pun. Jacksonville is also home to the Eli Bridge Company, a maker of ferris wheels.
For Jackson Hammer, I know that Stonewall Jackson was called the hammer of the confederate army. Furthermore, there was an Illinois court case in 1995 entitled Jackson v. Hammer, ruling on non-compete clauses, recovery of attorney fees, and the differences in standards for large and small businesses. Not sure if any of that matters though.
Capital line could relate to Jacksonville's shortly lived shot at the state's capital, or its place as residence to what was formerly capitol records.
The story about the colored preacher is funny: The slave of Thomas Clark was lost in the prairie grass on the way to Diamond grove, until he saw the surveyors laying out what would soon be Jacksonville. He said he was lost and asked how to get to Diamond Grove. They directed him and asked his name. He replied "A. W. Jackson." They replied that they were laying out a town and because he was the first of his race in the area, they would name the town after him. The similarity in names of the boy and the soon to be president probably was the reason for the surveyor's private little joke. Regardless, he was the first black alderman of the town.
For education, Jacksonville is called the "Athens of the West," because it retains such a focus on education with so few people, both now and in history.
I am absolutely disgusted by some of these posts by users who are under the assumption that Sufjan Stevens is not a poet. I just almost couldn't believe it when I saw them. I wondered "How exactly could you come to this conclusion?" Whatever the premise is, I am simple flabbergasted.
I am absolutely disgusted by some of these posts by users who are under the assumption that Sufjan Stevens is not a poet. I just almost couldn't believe it when I saw them. I wondered "How exactly could you come to this conclusion?" Whatever the premise is, I am simple flabbergasted.
Sufjan is a poet. Rhyme scheme, consistent use of metaphors and symbolism, and adherence to meter aren't necessary in poetry. You would be surprised at how open-ended poetry really is if you were to delve into it further. What is even more ironic is that I can...
Sufjan is a poet. Rhyme scheme, consistent use of metaphors and symbolism, and adherence to meter aren't necessary in poetry. You would be surprised at how open-ended poetry really is if you were to delve into it further. What is even more ironic is that I can easily pull an example from many songs of his use pertaining to the mechanics of poetry. Take this example from "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!":
Oh, admiration
in falling asleep.
All of my powers,
day after day
I can tell you,
we swaggered and swayed.
Deep in the tower,
the prairies below,
I can tell you,
the telling gets old.
Terrible sting
and terrible storm,
I can tell you
the day we were born.
My friend is gone.
He ran away.
I can tell you,
I love him each day.
Though we have sparred,
wrestled and raged
I can tell you,
I love him each day.
Although the rhyme scheme isn't mapped out, it is obviously there. I plotted the scheme out as such: ABCDEF-CG-EF-HI-EI-JD-EFFFE-D. And there is an attempt of restraint and construction on a syntactic level. I think that this next mechanism is far more telling. Notice his use of syllables in a cohesive format: 5-5-5-4-4/5-5-5-4/5-4/5-4/5-4/5-4/4-4/5-4/4-4-5. Until the last three breaks, it is uni-linear. The last three breaks still show design though, and design in coherence with the preceding. I took my own liberty of separating the lines. The separation indicates his pauses in the song. If you were to double up the lines, you would get results on syntactic and synchronic level that would still indicate construction. I think a formally trained structuralist literary critic could easily show the poetic detail vastly more than I have skimmed this surface. Even though there is obviously construction, lets step into the hypothetical. Even if there the construction was missing, blank verse could always apply.
I think I did this song injustice after taking a second look. Take the rhyme scheme of the first verse:
I'm not afraid of the black man running.
He's got it right. He's got a better life coming.
I don't care what the captain said.
I fold it right at the top of my head.
I lost my sight and the state packs in.
I follow my heart and it leads me right to Jackson.
This is a too blatant example of his obvious use of rhyme scheme. It is a simple AA-BB-CC rhyme scheme. It is in simple tradition of rhyming couplets.
This album is chock full of lines that have some transcendent aspect. It is too oft for the poet to use notions and allusions that are past human limitation.
Sufjan does have a lot of blank verse poetry, but I think I've elaborated enough on how he is a poet (a brilliant one with a tender and marvelous voice at that). Further discredit towards Sufjan Stevens as a writer, poet, and artist would really just be unjust and, simply, sad.
As for the album itself, it is poetic genius. I think that should be obvious through music critics' praise in reviews and ranking though. That isn't to say that something is good or of worth simply because everyone likes it, but this is precisely what these critics deal with, exacting the aesthetic value within an album. This is a long response. I know. I felt that is was of absolute necessity to run to Sufjan's defense though.
@manly519 excellent research. One thing I want to point out may relate to Helen Keller and the cannery line (or capital line, if capital means profit). Helen Keller was a renowned socialist in her later life and laid out what could be seen as a “map” for a more socialist society including unionized work forces and workers rights. Also it’s worth noting that Keller’s father, Arthur Keller, was a confederate captain in the civil war. With the tone of the song seeming to welcome progress, it’s almost comparing Keller’s ideas and open mindedness to the anti slavery stance the city...
@manly519 excellent research. One thing I want to point out may relate to Helen Keller and the cannery line (or capital line, if capital means profit). Helen Keller was a renowned socialist in her later life and laid out what could be seen as a “map” for a more socialist society including unionized work forces and workers rights. Also it’s worth noting that Keller’s father, Arthur Keller, was a confederate captain in the civil war. With the tone of the song seeming to welcome progress, it’s almost comparing Keller’s ideas and open mindedness to the anti slavery stance the city was founded on.
Ok, I'm going to try to make this as comprehensive as possible, so it'll be a little repetitive.
In this song specifically, I think the lyrics are meant to be a little ambiguous for the purpose of wordplay.
This first four lines obviously reference the Underground Railroad, supported by some staunch abolitionists in the town i.e. the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, who would also serve as the first president of the Illinois College. At the same time, though, the third and fourth lines seem to reference another story - that of Andrew Jackson Smith, a runaway slave and medal of honor recipient from the American Civil War. He carried his regiments colors through heavy fire after their color-man was killed (i.e. despite what the captain said).
Another interesting wordplay in heart in the sixth line. Jacksonville is revered for its rich history for progress, the site of the state's first medical school, and geographically in the center of the state.
The Keller reference most likely references Helen Keller, connecting her to the deaf and blind school in Jacksonville. She was awarded the presidential medal of freedom, and asserted in her acceptance speech that the blind and deaf are not freaks but like any other (maybe a roadmap).
I simply have no idea on the Canner Row line. Steinbeck documents the lives of those on Cannery Row in Monterrey in both "Cannery Row" and "Sweet Thursday." The canneries all failed with the collapse of the area's fishing industry in the 50's. Perhaps there is a parallel to the depletion of agricultural resources.
I think "giving it one more try," could possibly refer to the large corrections facility in Jacksonville, despite a small population.
I'm not sure about the Dewey line, but the phrase Golden Age has roots in Greek mythology as an ideal state of utopia.
The second line about Keller is different, saying mirror instead of medal. In her life, Helen Keller wrote two autobiographies, the first called "The World in Which I Live," and second called "Light in my Darkness," a stretch, but possibly a mirror and a map.
The wheel probably does refer to the cheese, but I think it is once again a pun. Jacksonville is also home to the Eli Bridge Company, a maker of ferris wheels.
For Jackson Hammer, I know that Stonewall Jackson was called the hammer of the confederate army. Furthermore, there was an Illinois court case in 1995 entitled Jackson v. Hammer, ruling on non-compete clauses, recovery of attorney fees, and the differences in standards for large and small businesses. Not sure if any of that matters though.
Capital line could relate to Jacksonville's shortly lived shot at the state's capital, or its place as residence to what was formerly capitol records.
The story about the colored preacher is funny: The slave of Thomas Clark was lost in the prairie grass on the way to Diamond grove, until he saw the surveyors laying out what would soon be Jacksonville. He said he was lost and asked how to get to Diamond Grove. They directed him and asked his name. He replied "A. W. Jackson." They replied that they were laying out a town and because he was the first of his race in the area, they would name the town after him. The similarity in names of the boy and the soon to be president probably was the reason for the surveyor's private little joke. Regardless, he was the first black alderman of the town.
For education, Jacksonville is called the "Athens of the West," because it retains such a focus on education with so few people, both now and in history.
These are my best guesses.
I am absolutely disgusted by some of these posts by users who are under the assumption that Sufjan Stevens is not a poet. I just almost couldn't believe it when I saw them. I wondered "How exactly could you come to this conclusion?" Whatever the premise is, I am simple flabbergasted.
I am absolutely disgusted by some of these posts by users who are under the assumption that Sufjan Stevens is not a poet. I just almost couldn't believe it when I saw them. I wondered "How exactly could you come to this conclusion?" Whatever the premise is, I am simple flabbergasted.
Sufjan is a poet. Rhyme scheme, consistent use of metaphors and symbolism, and adherence to meter aren't necessary in poetry. You would be surprised at how open-ended poetry really is if you were to delve into it further. What is even more ironic is that I can...
Sufjan is a poet. Rhyme scheme, consistent use of metaphors and symbolism, and adherence to meter aren't necessary in poetry. You would be surprised at how open-ended poetry really is if you were to delve into it further. What is even more ironic is that I can easily pull an example from many songs of his use pertaining to the mechanics of poetry. Take this example from "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!":
Oh, admiration in falling asleep. All of my powers, day after day I can tell you, we swaggered and swayed. Deep in the tower, the prairies below, I can tell you, the telling gets old. Terrible sting and terrible storm, I can tell you the day we were born. My friend is gone. He ran away. I can tell you, I love him each day. Though we have sparred, wrestled and raged I can tell you, I love him each day.
Although the rhyme scheme isn't mapped out, it is obviously there. I plotted the scheme out as such: ABCDEF-CG-EF-HI-EI-JD-EFFFE-D. And there is an attempt of restraint and construction on a syntactic level. I think that this next mechanism is far more telling. Notice his use of syllables in a cohesive format: 5-5-5-4-4/5-5-5-4/5-4/5-4/5-4/5-4/4-4/5-4/4-4-5. Until the last three breaks, it is uni-linear. The last three breaks still show design though, and design in coherence with the preceding. I took my own liberty of separating the lines. The separation indicates his pauses in the song. If you were to double up the lines, you would get results on syntactic and synchronic level that would still indicate construction. I think a formally trained structuralist literary critic could easily show the poetic detail vastly more than I have skimmed this surface. Even though there is obviously construction, lets step into the hypothetical. Even if there the construction was missing, blank verse could always apply.
I think I did this song injustice after taking a second look. Take the rhyme scheme of the first verse:
I'm not afraid of the black man running. He's got it right. He's got a better life coming. I don't care what the captain said. I fold it right at the top of my head. I lost my sight and the state packs in. I follow my heart and it leads me right to Jackson.
This is a too blatant example of his obvious use of rhyme scheme. It is a simple AA-BB-CC rhyme scheme. It is in simple tradition of rhyming couplets.
This album is chock full of lines that have some transcendent aspect. It is too oft for the poet to use notions and allusions that are past human limitation.
Sufjan does have a lot of blank verse poetry, but I think I've elaborated enough on how he is a poet (a brilliant one with a tender and marvelous voice at that). Further discredit towards Sufjan Stevens as a writer, poet, and artist would really just be unjust and, simply, sad.
As for the album itself, it is poetic genius. I think that should be obvious through music critics' praise in reviews and ranking though. That isn't to say that something is good or of worth simply because everyone likes it, but this is precisely what these critics deal with, exacting the aesthetic value within an album. This is a long response. I know. I felt that is was of absolute necessity to run to Sufjan's defense though.
I'm sorry. This was not directed towards you. I didn't mean to post it as a reply to your post. This was intended to just be a comment.
I'm sorry. This was not directed towards you. I didn't mean to post it as a reply to your post. This was intended to just be a comment.
@manly519 excellent research. One thing I want to point out may relate to Helen Keller and the cannery line (or capital line, if capital means profit). Helen Keller was a renowned socialist in her later life and laid out what could be seen as a “map” for a more socialist society including unionized work forces and workers rights. Also it’s worth noting that Keller’s father, Arthur Keller, was a confederate captain in the civil war. With the tone of the song seeming to welcome progress, it’s almost comparing Keller’s ideas and open mindedness to the anti slavery stance the city...
@manly519 excellent research. One thing I want to point out may relate to Helen Keller and the cannery line (or capital line, if capital means profit). Helen Keller was a renowned socialist in her later life and laid out what could be seen as a “map” for a more socialist society including unionized work forces and workers rights. Also it’s worth noting that Keller’s father, Arthur Keller, was a confederate captain in the civil war. With the tone of the song seeming to welcome progress, it’s almost comparing Keller’s ideas and open mindedness to the anti slavery stance the city was founded on.