Terribly sad and yet beautiful song. The line that always chokes me up is: "Tuesday night at the bible study, we lift our hands and pray over your body but nothing ever happens." Man, that feeling of being absolutely powerless. Such a strong line.
I did a Casimir Pulaski day cover on my channel, even though it wasn't very good. If you want to look : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SonEGuazvX4.html 😊
My mom passed March 2018 of cancer. It was so hard to watch her go. My dad showed up on their first date with sunflowers in his hand. They were her favorite. A month after she passed my dad and I were pulling weeds in the garden, but there was one that was taller than the others, so I convinced him to leave it alone. A couple weeks later it bloomed into a beautiful sunflower. Our yard hadn’t been watered or tended to in years, and I am certain it was her. Time after time I revisit this song. It makes me feel less alone in this process. Every now and then I spot a sunflower growing in an unusual spot- it’s just mom, saying hello.
I feel you my grandpa had cancer and got covid. Beat covid and was beating cancer but on Thanksgiving he passed away from something Idk but I could he was on his way to resting. But know it's like a piece of me died with him.
It’s bizarre to me that losses like that will always feel so personal, so targeted… and yet people lose someone important every single day, in every single moment. Everywhere. Thank you for sharing. My parents are getting pretty old, but I know I’ll never be ready for what you went through. Seeing a comment like this reminds me that we find a way to persevere. To make it count. When the cardinal hits the window. ❤️
Mariielah Cruz I think Sufjan is referring to "he" meaning God. The girl Sufjan is talking about dies from the cancer and he refers to God giving him the glory which is the girl and the time they spent together but then God also takes her from him. At least that's what I got. The line really gets to me having lost my sister to cancer.
This is one of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard, but the crescendo at 4:50 still feels oddly triumphant. Like pushing on and daring to live life in the face of unthinkable grief.
I did a Casimir Pulaski day cover on my channel, even though it wasn't very good. If you want to look : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SonEGuazvX4.html 😊
FriendsinMyHead - I hope 2 years later finds you in a good place - hopefully with a rescue dog after you had time to grieve the loss of your beloved friend. I lost my cat to lymphoma December 12, 2014. As time has passed, I may go little longer periods of time without hurting to think of him but upon reading your comment I was instantly brought to tears and it feels like I lost him yesterday.
My mother died of bone cancer. It was my father crying on the telephone. Now he's passed too. There are no words to tell how much this song has helped me. Thank you so much Sufjan.
I...can't even explain. Just...just.....HOW DOES A MORTAL MAN WRITE SUCH A HEAVENLY SONG!?!?!?!?!? This song has been a part of me since I was in third grade. It feels like home.
At first I listened to this song as back ground music while I studied, but after the first few words I found myself listening to it more instead of my homework and I started crying. This is such a powerful song, yet it's so calming and quiet. I'm obsessed.
don't you worry dear for crying with this song. I could remember some few yrs ago to have done the same. Sufjan and his band and miraculous musicians... this must be their best song I like very much. Regards, G.
Ayy same here, I've had this song saved on my player for years, it was only this morning I bothered listening to the lyrics for once. Holy shit the unexpected feels, I was not prepared.
The part in the song when he says "And I thought I saw you breathing" reminds me of when I saw my Dad in his coffin after he was killed in a motorcycle accident. I thought I saw him breathing...
Stumbled upon this comment randomly by my love if sufjan Stevens. My father also died in a motorcycle accident. In the identification room he looked relatively normal tucked into the bed, except his legs were at strange angles underneath the white sheets, and his green eyes were still half open, somehow bird-like and staring up at the ceiling. I feel your pain and hope that you are well now.
This song is very nostalgically sad; it feels like you're alone late in the evening in the winter, blinkly slowly with flustered cheeks. Your skin is warm, so when the wind blows, it stings. Your chest aches and your limbs are weak. There is nothing to do about this situation. You've accepted it duly, but it still rings throughout you. You're not sure you'll ever be over it.
Jan Ševčík the only fault I've ever found with it is that the second half is kinda boring. it seems like all the best songs; this, Chicago, John Wayne.., Jacksonville, feel the Illinois, are all on the first half.
I can't listen to this song in front of people. If I hear it I have to walk out of the room. It's too heart-wrenchingly sad. I don't know why it provokes such a strong emotional reaction from me- but it does. It just creates a set of images in my mind that just absolutely fucking pulverize my soul.
I've listened to this song so many times that the vinyl would be worn out. While I don't share Sufjan's Christian faith, he seems like a genuine Christian. As a non-American, I'm glad that there are guys like this to serve as positive, sensitive, thoughtful role models for young American males.
Two, three, four Goldenrod and the four H stone The things I brought you When I found out you had cancer of the bone Your father cried on the telephone And he drove his car into the Navy yard Just to prove that he was sorry In the morning, through the window shade When the light pressed up against your shoulder blade I could see what you were reading All the glory that the Lord has made And the complications you could do without When I kissed you on the mouth Tuesday night at the Bible study We lift our hands and pray over your body But nothing ever happens I remember at Michael's house In the living room when you kissed my neck And I almost touched your blouse In the morning, at the top of the stairs When your father found out what we did that night And you told me you were scared All the glory when you ran outside With your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied And you told me not to follow you Sunday night when I cleaned the house I found the card where you wrote it out With the pictures of your mother On the floor at the great divide With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied I am crying in the bathroom In the morning when you finally go And the nurse runs in with her head hung low And the cardinal hits the window In the morning in the winter shade On the first of March, on the holiday I thought I saw you breathing All the glory that the Lord has made And the complications when I see his face In the morning in the window All the glory when he took our place But he took my shoulders and he shook my face And he takes and he takes and he takes
My best friend showed me this song almost two years ago. It reminded her of losing her mother to a neurological disease. Now shes inherited it is in hospice care and on life support herself. This song came on in a random playlist I didn't know would have it and well...crying in the bathroom before class. Hope you all and your loved ones are well :')
The realest song I've ever heard about loss. The element of joy (to have known her in the first place, to have seen His face in the window while in the midst of doubt) is undeniable, as is the pain. Amazing.
José Rivera Funny, I just heard that album 1st time yesterday! I liked it but need to give it more time to really let it sink in...thanks for the recommendation! Can't wait to give it my full attention.
I did a Casimir Pulaski day cover on my channel, even though it wasn't very good. If you want to look : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SonEGuazvX4.html 😊
Damn, I am a sucker for a good lyric - "All the glory, when He took our place / But he took my shoulders, and he shook my face / And he takes, and he takes, and he takes" ...damn...
What does it mean exactly? Well, who can say aside from Sufjan himself and I doubt he's telling anyone. That being said, I read it as an observation on the world - these kids have been raised in a religious setting, gone through the trials of puberty and discovering sexuality and all these moments, only for the narrator to be robbed of his companion. All the glory when He took our place (at her side, as her guide and her focus as opposed to himself and her family) but He took my shoulders and He shook my face (possibly metaphorically referencing her role as his strength etc., or literally referring to his current breakdown) and He takes, and He takes, and He takes (as his understanding of God "saves" people by taking them from this plain, He is also selfish and vindictive, merely taking and taking and taking again without any regard for those left behind). Merely my reading of the story - not intended to be my own commentary on religion in any way =)
The ending bit: "He takes and he takes and he takes" is a reference to the book of Job in the Bible, where it is said that "The lord giveth and the lord taketh away." Sufjan's use of biblical references is beyond beautiful.
Also, the "took my place" is referring to Jesus (i.e. God) dying for humanity's sins on the cross, which is inverted by the reference to Job where God bestowed misfortune upon humanity, so the narrator is torn between his belief in Jesus/God saving humanity, and his doubt exemplified by the story of Job (in which the moral is that you cannot hide from god and must go towards him). Repeating the "he takes" motif makes clear (IMO) that the narrator feels his faith isn't just being tested like Job, it feels like it's being eroded and shattered (in the same way the narrator observes "Tuesday night at the Bible study / We lift our hands and pray over your body / But nothing ever happens"). The world of the narrator was totally suffused by a deep religious belief, but the events described have whisked away the certainty of solace in that faith. What the narrator makes of that doubt, what YOU make of that doubt, that's up to your interpretation.
I mostly agree. But I would say his declaration that He took our place is pretty Job-like in the face of unspeakable pain: "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face." (Job 13:15) Like Job, the singer is holding the two ideas simultaneously. "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."
@@19JAKEtheSNAKE99 I wouldn't call it listening if it's just 3 minutes of silence at the end. And I listened to the whole thing because I thought it was going to be something different or special considering my friend posted it on his story.
Even as a pretty hardline atheist I love his references to his faith and the doubts he has. They're still relatable feelings in other ways. "We pray over your body/but nothing ever happens". Such a simple but powerful statement.
First off, let me say that I'm a struggling believer in God, but a believer nonetheless. I must say, that amongst all Atheists that I've run into while being a youtube follower, you are, in fact, the first one to show any sort of respect towards believers and non-believers alike. For that, I commend you, sir.
SuburbValues Hi there, SuburbValues. I respect you, your struggle with belief, your inevitable human experience, your thoughts and opinions and emotions and values. I imagine many of your thoughts and opinions and values differ from mine, but our nature and our nurture are different, so who am I to judge? In conclusion, now you've run into two respectful atheists on RU-vid.
David Eppelsheimer I grew up in a very christian home, going to sunday school every week etc etc. I've been an atheist for a long time now, but when I listen to Sufjan I actually kinda miss those days.
One of the most fucking heart-wrenching songs ever written. Something about the weirdly happy (even if bittersweet) tone of it makes it even more crushing.
Such a beautifully sad song, and composed with pure poetry, with my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied, a metaphor for appearing alright on the surface, but falling apart underneath. Genius! I would compare this song to I will follow you into the dark by death cab for cutie, in terms of tone and content
I did a Casimir Pulaski day cover on my channel, even though it wasn't very good. If you want to look : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SonEGuazvX4.html 😊
When this song came out I was an 18 year old kid with the whole world ahead of him. The world was new and exciting and full of possibilities, but as I sit here and write this on April 27, 2024 I am now 36 years old and wondering if my best days are behind me. I come back to these old songs to reminisce of a different time in my life, and ponder what’s still in store for me. Unfortunately that great optimism I once felt has greatly diminished. If you’re a young person reading this, don’t be like me and take your youth for granted. It goes by so much faster than you could ever imagine. One day you’ll wake up pushing 40 and wondering what happened.
I did a Casimir Pulaski day cover on my channel, even though it wasn't very good. If you want to look : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SonEGuazvX4.html 😊
This song fills me. It completes me. Just the first few notes make me swell up inside. I don't know. It's just so perfect. I remember the first time I heard it I found this album in my grandmothers art studio and I put it on. I thought it was pretty good. And then _this_ song started to play and I just started crying and I played it over and over and over and over for about half an hour. It's been with me ever since and no matter how many times I play it I always want to hear it again. Music is a strange thing. It can make you feel so much.
I know your comment is a year old, but I love to see someone experience music so strongly. People always cringe and change the topic when I speak about songs I love the way you wrote here and it makes me feel awful. I'm so happy to see someone feel like me
I came to this song today because I couldn’t get it out of my head...after I heard that a little girl I knew from church died of complications from sickle cell. It’s hard to describe how I felt reading this comment. She was about 6. Her grandparents were “aunt” and “uncle” to me. They loved this little girl so much. They hadn’t seen her in months because her mom took her away and wouldn’t talk to them. They didn’t know she was in the hospital, with appendicitis, having a bone marrow transplant...she was taken once and then she was taken once and for all. 2 Samuel 12:23...we’ll see them again.
I did a Casimir Pulaski day cover on my channel, even though it wasn't very good. If you want to look : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SonEGuazvX4.html 😊
The banjo gets me, too.....such an amazing song. The Cowboy Junkies do a sad song about a dying town (The Last Spike), and the banjo is used to similar effect
I first heard this song a couple of years ago and boy, no song I've heard since has been able to touch me as well as this one does. The development and unfortunate end of a relationship between the narrator and the dying girl was the first sad aspect that I noticed back when I first heard it. But now that I've come back to it, I can feel for more than just the loss. The father's one whom I also feel terrible for. The last thing you hear about the father in the song is how he made the girl scared when he figured out she and the narrator had shown their love for one another, and it kind of takes away from the sympathy I think we should feel for him. When he first hears about her bone cancer, he crashes his car because he's so distraught over it, and he tells her he's sorry even though she isn't there. There's no way the bone cancer was his fault. He's just sorry that he couldn't protect his little girl and he knows she'll die. I picture that scene and it instantly cripples me.
Taylor Leibel well, if the artist directly comes out and says it's something specific, it's fine to have your own interpretation, but it's no longer an ambiguous openly defined meaning. Everyone can have their own interpretation, but that doesn't mean it's objectively right.
my grandmother died on october 1st, 2018. my brother and i left the hospital and walked up to the parking lot. not a word was spoken. it was around 6. the sun was setting. i hop into the car and stare at the sky, trying my hardest to choke back tears. he puts on this song. we start driving. that whole drive- the music, the lack of words, the beautiful golden light- never has a song impacted me like this. i remember choking up, soaking in every single word, remembering all she had done for my family. i loved her so much and i still do. i miss her incredibly. this was my introduction to sufjan. his music has helped me through countless depressive episodes and i am forever grateful that he took the opportunity to share his talent with us.
On this year's Casimir Pulaski Day, my father collapsed. For 40 minutes his heart stopped. He's alive and conscious now with mental impairment. Sufjan has always been beautiful, profound, etc. but I never thought his words would be prophetic to me.
Casimir Pulaski Day is celebrated on the first monday of March in Illinois. In the song he says "on the first of march, on the holiday i thought i saw you breathing" so I think it happened on Casimir Pulaski Day and thats why its called that
I’ve lived in Illinois my whole life, and this song being on this album was how I found out that we’re the only state that celebrates Casimir Pulaski Day.
I'm seeing Sufjan in Boston tonight. "Casimir Pulaski Day" is the song that got me interested in him. So sad, so beautiful. His John Wayne Gacy song is also quite beautiful... quietly terrifying somehow. What a talent.
"Tuesday night at the Bible Study, we lift our hands and pray over your body, but nothing ever happens." The existential futility of this line...elevates this song over 99.99999 percent of "sensitive indie boy" sounds.
Only Sufjan Stevens could write beautiful and haunting songs about Pulaski Day and John Wayne Gacy on the same album. This song sneaks up on you, the banjo plucking kind of tricks you into thinking this may be a happy song. Next thing you know you're crying.
I can't believe i'm only just getting into Sufjan's work, this song in particular really hit me hard when I realized what it was about. Really reminds me of myself when I used to be quite religious as a kid, I'd always pray and ask god why my dad died when I was so young
@@cheeseguru1017 I'm sorry. It gets easier. I lost my younger brother when he was 20, and for some time I kept thinking I saw him on the street, or in passing cars...I don't think that anymore, but I do feel he watches over my family and myself. I'm sure your Dad does the same. Much love, internet stranger 💗
This song is also about religion, it's about a man who loved a girl and she died, and he is struggling to maintain his faith because what kind of God would take away the one thing you love the most. He realizes that God will always take and he eventually learns to accept it
I know this comment is 7 years old, but I have to add that the writer is appreciative of the significance of the cross and its real effect on his life ("the glory when he took our place") but in the moment, grief has overpowered him.
This song is sad and sadder than most people think. Its not just about a girl dying of cancer. Its about that, a boy losing his best friend and first crush, and losing faith in his religion (which is a massive deal if you're a religious person.) And whats more, it seems to me that the mother had been dead awhile (hence the pictures of your mother line) and the father died when the girl was diagnosed with cancer because he was so distraught, driving his car into the navy yard, so also the girl is dying without her family around to be there for her. And all this through the lens of a young boy trying to make sense of it all as its in opposition to his whole world view about religion and God taking care of you. Finally the name of the song is Casimir Pulaski Day, a very small holiday mainly recognized in Chicago which will still forever overshadow the death of the girl. Saddest and most beautiful song I know.
This is genius on several levels.. Sufjan quietly places you into each room as a witness ....the melancholy of this (unlikely) paring of instruments pulls you into it all... you have no choice but to "experience" these moments with him...on the surface, this song may sound simple enough, but it is so much more...it is truly a remarkable piece of work!
Liz M Haha this is the first "new" song I've heard for 2017. By new I mean a song I haven't heard before. I've listened to a few other Sufjan Stevens songs but not this one
My dad has listened to sufjan Steven’s since before I was born so I never really had the experience of listening to this the first time but still a really good song
my brother showed me this song while i was on my period. so take whatever you feel from this song and multiple it by like 20000. thats how i felt. i cried so much.
Goldenrod and the 4H stone The things I brought you When I found out you had cancer of the bone Your father cried on the telephone And he drove his car into the navy yard Just to prove that he was sorry In the morning, through the window shade When the light pressed up against your shoulder blade I could see what you were reading All the glory that the Lord has made And the complications you could do without When I kissed you on the mouth Tuesday night at the Bible study We lift our hands and pray over your body But nothing ever happens I remember at Michael's house In the living room when you kissed my neck And I almost touched your blouse In the morning at the top of the stairs When your father found out what we did that night And you told me you were scared All the glory when you ran outside With your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied And you told me not to follow you Sunday night when I cleaned the house I find the card where you wrote it out With the pictures of you mother On the floor at the great divide With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied I am crying in the bathroom In the morning when you finally go And the nurse runs in with her head hung low And the cardinal hits the window In the morning in the winter shade On the 1st of March on the holiday I thought I saw you breathing All the glory that the Lord has made And the complications when I see His face In the morning in the window All the glory when he took our place But he took my shoulders and he shook my face And he takes and he takes and he takes
@@titteryenot4524 Brother, if there is anything in this life I can guarantee, it’s that God is good. And he loves you. I don’t know you, but I love you too. And I will pray you seek comfort and salvation in God.
My grandmother died of cancer a couple months ago. I was with her near the end but for some reason I held back my tears at her funeral. I'm finally letting it all out. Thank you Sufjan, this song means more to me now than it ever has.
My grandson sang it to me one day, and I have been smitten with this ever since. He is a wonderful poet and brings to banal trite pop music a new level of meaning and depth.
The redemptive power of art, when music crosses over into the transcendent. The number of people Sufjan has helped with this one song alone... That's why artists play, that's why we listen.
I play this song every day on my sad guitar. There's just something really powerful about this folkey song. To me, Sufjan is like the modern-day counterpart to Neil Young. I'm glad that folk music is still going strong. God bless.
I was just reading "28 songs that will make you cry" on Buzz feed and knew this song would make the list. Love this song so much. It just really makes me feel so ambivalent about life.
My sister’s friend passed from a rare form of ovarian cancer a little over 10 years ago. She was only 19. She was so bright and such a good person and her life was just stolen from her. This song breaks my heart and makes me think of her every time I hear it
