Lyrics for Chicago as interpreted by beastiefreak00

Chicago Lyrics
I fell in love again
All things go, all things go
Drove to Chicago
All things know, all things know
We sold our clothes to the state
I don't mind, I don't mind
I made a lot of mistakes
In my mind, in my mind

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

I drove to New York
In the van, with my friend
We slept in parking lots
I don't mind, I don't mind
I was in love with the place
In my mind, in my mind
I made a lot of mistakes
In my mind, in my mind

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

If I was crying
In the van, with my friend
It was for freedom
From myself and from the land
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
(I made a lot of mistakes)
All things know, all things know
(I made a lot of mistakes)
You had to find it
(I made a lot of mistakes)
All things go, all things go
(I made a lot of mistakes)

Interaction
Mail to a friend Send Lyrics to a Friend
Share on Facebook

Stumble It
Add to Del.icio.us Add to Del.icio.us




  • 91 Comments
  • Printer Friendly Lyrics
oldest first     Expand All
Jugend
04-26-2005

Rated +2 
I've listeend to all of Illinois (it's been leaked), and I must say that the entire album is beautiful. This song though, is the centerpiece of the album. It's so phenomenal. I love it. I don't think Sufjan can ever disappoint me.

Log in to reply
infranippies
04-29-2005

Rated 0 
I agree, I'll be picking it up on July 5th!

Log in to reply
Nimbus the Kitten
05-03-2005

Rated 0 
It is settled, infranippies has the best user name, ever.

But this album, it is incredible. I decided when I heard this was in the immediate future that no matter what I was going to love this album, whether it was fantastic or horrendous. I don't think Sufjan can do wrong.

Also, I have been wondering for a long, long time how to pronounce his name; I usually end up calling him Mr. Stevens. Does anyone know how it is said?

Log in to reply
infranippies
05-04-2005

Rated 0 
haha! my name is killer, huh?
Sufjan is pronounced Soof Yon as far as I know.

Log in to reply
Raving Lunatic
05-07-2005

Rated 0 
Yeah, Soof-Yon is correct.

Log in to reply
Raving Lunatic
05-07-2005

Rated 0 
By the way, his name is a Islamic. I heard that on a radio interview with him one time. I guess his parents were in some kind of Muslim spiritual thing around the time he and his siblings were born, so they all have Islamic names.

Log in to reply
Nimbus the Kitten
05-09-2005

Rated 0 
I hope someone gets the lyrics for "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhhh!" up sometime soon. I have no idea what is being said and it's driving me mad.

Log in to reply
infranippies
05-11-2005

Rated 0 
I tried "night zombies", but its such a vocal smorgasbord at the beginning, that its impossible to glean anything of value, sorry. Beautiful though.

Log in to reply
Birdy
06-24-2005

Rated 0 
In the middle east,(where i come from) we pronounce Sufjan as Su-fi-yan (the J like in Jan). But maybe in the transision to english it's pronounced differently.

Log in to reply
snowflakerepose
06-26-2005

Rated 0 
Sufjan says about his name:
"It's Armenian. It means "comes with a sword." It's one of those charming militaristic Muslim names. I guess my purpose in life is to kill and avenge."

It doesn't mean his family had anything to do with Islam though, it's possible, but most Armenians nowadays are Christian.

Log in to reply
flybillisfly
07-08-2005

Rated 0 
it is soof-yon.I couldn't pronounce his sisters name to save my life though.(Djohariah). anyhow, i effing love this song though its too bad the owners to the superman copywrite are such slags he had to redo the album art so the album still isnt even out.phooey.

Log in to reply
1 Reply
WikedAbib
07-13-2005

Rated 0 
i've always pronounced it soof jaan

close!

Log in to reply
kaligula
08-15-2005

Rated 0 
how come every1s talkin about the pronunciation of sufjan instead of what the songs actually about?

Log in to reply
blackemma
08-17-2005

Rated 0 
To answer your question, kaligula, I think it's cause most of us like to appreciate the song without delving too deeply into its meaning, thus allowing us to interpret the song in ways that resonate with our experiences. The SOOF-YAWN debate is simply amusing.

From what I know, Sufjan used to make trips to Illinois when he was younger. Chicago, obviously, would have been one of the highlights of these trips. My guess is that he left on a trip for the purpose of fun, but ended up having some kind of 'self-discovery' which led to him becoming distanced from his friend.

That's only a guess though.

Log in to reply
Fight_nightx
08-22-2005

Rated -2 
I like Illinoise but can't sufjan stop crying in almost every single songs? He's way too emotional...

Log in to reply
Siah
08-30-2005

Rated 0 
ive heard the original and the t strings remix, theyre both beautiful

Log in to reply
kaligula
08-30-2005

Rated 0 
every artistic work has a superior meaning amongst its multiple meanings. Whats the point of interpreting an artists work in shallow incorrect way just to make it resonate with ur own experiences. Wouldnt u rather fully understand in depth what the artist is trying to say, and from that, learn something etc
thats gotta be more important than talkin about pronunciation.
I gotta analyse this song as part of a group assignment. I wanted to know what he means when he's says that they sold their clothes to the state, I'm from Sydney, Australia so I dont know what he means

Log in to reply
kaligula
08-30-2005

Rated 0 
and i mean this place is called songmeanings.net so...

Log in to reply
fromthehouseoflords
12-17-2005

Rated 0 
thats a kickass assignment, but not really a hard one. it seems that "chicago" is one of the most self-explanatory pieces on "illinois."

Log in to reply
rushless
01-17-2006

Rated 0 
"sufjan" does not mean anything in armenian. and armenians have always been christians.

Log in to reply
jda77
01-21-2006

Rated 0 
This song is about surrendering the things of this world for the things of God. He says all things go because he realizes that all things in this world are temporary. "You came to take us... to recreate us" is about Jesus and his role in creating a new nature in man. Sufjan cries in the van with his friend because he wants to let go of this world, "freedom from myself and from the land" but can't do it on his own.

Log in to reply
myopinionisafact
01-30-2006

Rated 0 
"by kaligula on 08-30-2005 @ 10:04:20 PM
every artistic work has a superior meaning amongst its multiple meanings. Whats the point of interpreting an artists work in shallow incorrect way just to make it resonate with ur own experiences. Wouldnt u rather fully understand in depth what the artist is trying to say, and from that, learn something etc
thats gotta be more important than talkin about pronunciation.
I gotta analyse this song as part of a group assignment. I wanted to know what he means when he's says that they sold their clothes to the state, I'm from Sydney, Australia so I dont know what he means ."

When I read that, I actually read: "I'M A SELF-PROCLAIMED INTELLECTUAL!" Stop trying to trick people into thinking you're smart. I don't give a shit about your two cents if it's not about the song.

When I listened to this when I was high, I believed it was about abortion. (Which isn't likely, but almost makes sense if you ignore common sense). He drove to Chicago and made love to a woman (or women) there, and they were impregnated, a one night stand (They sold their clothes to the state). But since he was only there temporarily, the woman had an abortion. The chorus is the aborted child(ren) singing to the woman who is having an abortion. You came to take us, to bring our souls into the phosphorescent light of a hospital room that we call earth. To recreate us, since we are aborted our souls take up residence somewhere else (all things grow, a million opportunities to become something else). We had our mind set, we're kind of pissed that our souls are being directed somewhere else at this point. Sufjan made a lot of mistakes in allowing these things to happen. Like I said, it makes sense if you ignore common sense.

Log in to reply
bobbob1313
01-31-2006

Rated 0 
You were high when you thought of that? SHOCKING!

Log in to reply
myopinionisafact
02-01-2006

Rated 0 
by bobbob1313 on 01-31-2006 @ 08:42:49 PM
"You were high when you thought of that? SHOCKING!"

You should think of something half-intelligent to say before you try to speak. I haven't seen your interpretation anywhere on this, genius. You're the kind of person that shouldn't be allowed to use songmeanings. Stop saying stupid shit that doesn't remotely pertain to the song, chowderhead.

Sufjan has a strong stance on abortion, so it makes sense for him to sing about abortion.

Log in to reply
ATrain162
02-10-2006

Rated 0 
myopinoinisfact: Since the sky is blue, does that mean it's made out of water? Nice leaping logic. Don't go jumping all over someone for your own entertainment. That's my job.

Log in to reply




  • Add Your Comments
What does this song mean to you?

You must be logged in to post your comments.

Feel free to create an account with us, or log in with your existing account, to start adding your comments to songs.





Popular
Top:   Lyrics, Artists, Albums
Random:   Lyric, Artist, Album

Your Ad Here