Lyrics for Casimir Pulaski Day as interpreted by downhillracer

Casimir Pulaski Day Lyrics
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 shoulderblade
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 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 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

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hansning
10-27-2009

Rated 0 
It seems like the last line is subject to much debate. While I agree that it refers to God taking away things he loved, I believe it could also mean that God's taking away burdens.
The line before goes "he took my shoulders and shook my face", and the inclusions of shoulders in from of take makes me thing of burdens.
I'm gonna guess 'shook my face' as a wake up call kinda thing.

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spranx
10-01-2009

Rated 0 
When the girl I loved died, a tornado hit our town during her wake. The line about the cardinal hitting the window makes me think of that.

He takes and He takes and He takes...

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Christa426
09-27-2009

Rated 0 
This song is incredible. Absolutely incredible. "Amsterdam" by Coldplay used to be the saddest song I had ever heard, until I heard this song. It's just so simple. The line that breaks my heart the most is, "Tuesday night, at the Bible Study, we lift our hands and pray over your body but nothing ever happens." I'm not religious, but I understand its importance to people, and to believe so much in something, with all of your being, and to ask Him with every fiber of your being to save someone, and for it to seem as if there was no point... gah. It's just so sad. That line alone makes my eyes water.

Sufjan is brilliant.

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casmirpulask1
09-10-2009

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my favorite song. I think what makes Sufjan a genius is that he writes about the things we are most scared write about: God, loss, and redemption. It also doesn't hurt that he tucks in an occasional history lesson along the way. my favorite singer. my favorite songwriter. my favorite musician. my favorite song.

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jdstults
09-01-2009

Rated 0 
where are people getting the pregnant and baby idea? I don't see anything in reference to that throughout the song...

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fooGuy
08-26-2009

Rated 0 
@Moxman7: "I thought I saw you breathing" ... I think this is fairly literal but emotionally evocative. I think the friend has died at this point. But you can hear the narrator's deep desire for this not to be the case. He's yearning for his friend to keep breathing and stay with him. This line -- like the whole song -- just tears at my heart. Like so many other posters, I am taken to a specific moment in my life...in this case, when I pleaded with God for 1 more breath -- well, thousands more, really.

Great song. I hear anger, confusion *and* faith in God but I am looking for those things in the lyrics b/c I feel them in my life -- the first 2 come easily, the 3rd is much more of a struggle.

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Georgivs
08-04-2009

Rated 0 
This isn't necessarily any sort of informed opinion, but has anybody considered a child being born in this song? Maybe that's what the dad found out they did, and she was scared of what was happening.

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

Maybe the glory that the lord has made is the baby boy. There are complications wih the birth, and he sees the boy's face in the window of the infirmiry. The boy takes the place of the mother (or of both of them). And he has the features of the father--his face and his shoulders. Just a thought.

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almostfamous8789
08-03-2009

Rated 0 
Wow, indielover, that's a very good observation. I never really thought of those lines in that way. Also, I do agree with whoever made the argument that Sufjan isn't angry with God for taking her away. He's just sort of accepting it. Just telling us with a beautiful melody of something that happened to him once upon a time. He's just going along with the part of the Bible that tells us that the Lord gives and takes away. He's just accepting it. I don't think he's being sarcastic at all about the glory of God. He's feeling grief about the situation, but he knows that God is in control, and he knows what's best. And the last line "And he takes, and he takes, and he takes" is sort of a reflection of how sometimes it's painful when God takes something from us, and sometimes he does it often, because we mostly want the wrong things (unknowingly) as humans, being in our fallen state. And sometimes God takes people to be with Him, in order to save them from a greater grief in live. And the line about "All the glory when He took our place, but he took my shoulders and he shook my face" (Obviously the first part of that is a reference to Jesus, dying for our sins) The second part, I think that's Sufjan saying that God woke him up with the passing of this dear person. That with the passing of this loved one, God was pulling Sufjan even closer to Him.

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Moxman7
07-12-2009

Rated 0 
Any thoughts on the "I thought I saw you breathing" line?

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PorcelainPlanes
06-21-2009

Rated 0 
I just wanted to put in a little insight on a certain verse.

"In the morning when you finally go
And the nurse runs in with her head hung low
And the cardinal hits the window"

On the last line, when the cardinal is referenced, not only is it the state bird of IL, but cardinals are often referred to as having to do with death, or the afterlife. There have been many stories of people seeing cardinals frequentyl after loved ones have passed. I always think of that when I hear that verse, because when the girl he is talking about passed, the cardinal represents that she finally did pass on.

That's just what I think when I hear that part of the song, that he is trying to represent more with the bird.

Undoubtedly, the most beautiful song I've heard in a long, long time. Sufjan Stevens is amazing. End of.

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kookeedoh
06-15-2009

Rated 0 
This is one of my all-time favorite songs. The feeling it passes on to the listener and the way it captures the emotions of losing someone dear, I feel I can relate to it.

Ok, so I have actually heard two different versions of this song. And they have some slight variations in the words. This explains the controversy between the words "neck" and "mouth".

And to Jady, this is most definitely a song with Christian truths. Even "Christians" know that God doesn't always answer prayers the way you like. Have you ever heard of the term "The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away." This is the awesome thing about Sufjan Stevens is he doesn't try to sugar coat the truths of life unlike your average Christian music singer, Amy Grant, ect.
Death is a crappy part of life but it doesn't mean God doesn't care. Things never turn out the exact way we wish. Its just a beautifully written piece of art that captures the emotions of the death of a loved one.

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SpearmintSally
06-04-2009

Rated 0 
I'm sorry, but pregnant? Did you read the first stanza? The song is pretty literal.

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ksuave
06-02-2009

Rated 0 

"And the complications you could do without
When I kissed you on the mouth"

Reminds me of the book/ movie A Walk to Remember (sorry, everyone).
The girl who has cancer resists falling in love, because she knows it will only make her inevitable death harder.
She had accepted it, until she had something to really live for.

And, on the boy/girl argument, why would him almost touching the blouse have any significance if he were talking about a boy? If he were referring to a girl, especially a very religious one like the song implies, it would be very conflicting for her; religious ideals vs. the boy she loves.

I'm still on the side of he could be talking about either a boy or a girl, but if he were talking about a boy, what's the significance about touch the blouse?





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viveladame
05-31-2009

Rated 0 
The way I interpreted the song was that the guy in the song fot the girl pregnant and she died giving birth. He talks about the shirts being tucked in and the shoes untied, kinda like when you come out all dishelved and your clothes in disarray. He also talks about the girl being scared and the father being mad. And at the end I think she dies. I don't know, I could be way off, but that's my interpretation of the song.

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CancerousWonderland
05-13-2009

Rated 0 
I remember when I first heard this song,
I was sitting in my living room, listening to college radio and it just popped on,
I actually listened to it and bursted into tears,
It reminded me of my step-mother..

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armadillobean
05-07-2009

Rated 0 
ive lived in chicago for about 10 years now and this song always reminds me of those cold dreary days in march which is when the holiday is celebrated

also being at home by myself wondering what to do for the day since there's no school on that day

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NicoleGonzalez
05-05-2009

Rated 0 
what does Golden rod, and the 4h stone mean? This song is so cute how he took care of her and all. This would suck so much being so in love with someone and then loosing them. wow I don't know what I would do. I wonder if this actually happened to him?

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lifewasperfect
05-02-2009

Rated 0 
I like how, in spite of everything, you can hear the smile in sufjan's voice.

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avillato
04-28-2009

Rated 0 
This is the best song in the Illinois Album by far! theres nothing like listening to this on cloudy fall days. i wonder if people who don't live in Illinois get the full effect of this song. we always had casimir pulaski day off and it was awesome! furthermore i love how sufjan stevens sings about normal things that so many in middle class america can relate to. instead of dumb dreams of california or whatever. i have no desire to visit california. its my kind of music!

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speakforthwords
04-09-2009

Rated +1 
This song is obviously about the death of one of his childhood friends. I can be sure that this song is not about any one single emotion, (anger, sadness, etc.) because death is never simple. Sufjan uses a beautiful vagueness in all of the details he uses in this song. For example, I don't believe that Goldenrod and the 4H stone are intended to be delved into too deeply, but are intended to be some sort of nostalgic items which, I would guess, the speaker (Sufjan) and his girl friend both associated memories with. Sufjan's story-telling is really brilliant in this song. He omits large amounts of contextual information, but allows what is important to rise out of the details- I remember at Michael's house/In the living room when you kissed my neck/And I almost touched your blouse. I love how he skips around chronologically with each set of verses, because it makes the song feel very reminiscent, like he is sorting through memories. From the details of the lyrics there is confusion, fear, and anger that is evoked in perfect proportions. The theme of her father seems to indicate that he was abusive or at least negligent. He stands next to the other father referred to, God, with whom he is to be contrasted and compared. This is a really great move that Sufjan makes. Both are tied up with fear and the unknown, but the girl's father is essentially brought to his knees (at the navy yard) whereas God the Father has his character resolved quite differently. All the fear and pain come together and intersect with the repeated claims of glory as Sufjan is touched by God's confusing, awesome, and painful redemption.

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

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wildflower12
04-08-2009

Rated 0 
It seems that the bells represent something - possibly a lapse in health, or when the ambulance comes to take her to hospital. The bells during the instrumental parts are jarring and almost annoying. The lyrics are just amazing - and the chord progression is so simple but so beautiful. That is what I like the most about him.

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BurgyOH
04-06-2009

Rated +1 
I would just like to comment on the "Is he talking about a boy or a girl" discussion. I'm not sure why everybody assumes it's a girl. Maybe because it makes them uncomfortable to think otherwise.

I believe the song is meant to be ambiguous. It can be interpreted both ways, but I have a hunch he's talking about a guy. Many have said it must be a girl because guys do not wear blouses. I would tell them to pull out a dictionary. Blouse is also a term for military uniform jackets. It is also another word for a sailors jumper. Hmmm father drives into the NAVY yard to prove that he was sorry. Also, girls generally do not tuck in their shirts...so the "It's a girl because of..." argument go both ways.

Of course, women wear sailor jumpers as well. Like I said, I believe its meant to be ambiguous. Blouse was very cleverly chosen.

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BurgyOH
04-06-2009

Rated -1 
I would just like to comment on the "Is he talking about a boy or a girl" discussion. I'm not sure why everybody assumes it's a girl. Maybe because it makes them uncomfortable to think otherwise.

I believe the song is meant to be ambiguous. It can be interpreted both ways, but I have a hunch he's talking about a guy. Many have said it must be a girl because guys do not wear blouses. I would tell them to pull out a dictionary. Blouse is also a term for military uniform jackets. It is also another word for a sailors jumper. Hmmm father drives into the NAVY yard to prove that he was sorry. Also, girls generally do not tuck in their shirts...so the "It's a girl because of..." argument go both ways.

Of course, women wear sailor jumpers as well. Like I said, I believe its meant to be ambiguous. Blouse was very cleverly chosen.

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predicate
03-17-2009

Rated 0 
for some reason i got that impression when i first paid attention to the lyrics too... i'm pretty sure it's about a girl, but really, for the sake of the song i don't think it matters. love is love, and loss is loss, no?

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ellie--x
03-13-2009

Rated 0 
I'm probably going to get assaulted for saying this,
but sometimes I wonder if he's singing about another boy.

No matter who it's about, it's a beautiful song.
Definitely capable of making you shed a tear.

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