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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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01-21-2006
"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."
i think the book he sees she is reading is the bible hence the complications of kissing her on the mouth are that she is a christian and her faith says that kissing is an act that removes you from god... just a theory
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01-23-2006
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01-25-2006
First of all, the song is obviously about loss and his reaction to God. I don't think he's so much angry as he is confused or even betrayed; I agree with whoever said that this piece excels because he does not try to have all the answers.
I see this song taking place in the teenage years. The innocence of the language (“and I almost touched her blouse”) and the girl living with her father seem to point towards him being still fairly young.
I didn’t take this to have a fully linear storyline. The way I see it, the first five stanzas are together; he's just found out about the girl's cancer, and her dad comes to apologize to him for freaking out about Sufjan and his daughter making out (or whatever they do). Stanzas 6-8 is a reflection back on the past when her dad got mad at him. Then, jump back to the present, where he is cleaning or whatnot, finds something that reminds him of her, and cries on the bathroom floor. Then, he finishes with when she dies, and he reflects on it.
I think this order adds a lot more to the song, since the father apologizes for his reaction to the two lovers. The realization of her illness causes him to reevaluate things, and he therefore goes to great lengths to prove he is sorry.
The reiteration of the line “with your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied” to describe himself is probably, for me, the climax of the song. It relates the similarity of himself to the girl, thus showing the depth of their relationship and how much her death hurts him. Sufjan is the master of skillful repetition.
This song is probably one of the most moving songs I’ve ever heard. It brings me close to tears every time.
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01-28-2006
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01-30-2006
Through countless discussions about this song I have come to feel that He took my shoulders and he shook my face is God coming to him after losing this person he loves and letting him know that he is still there, that He takes - the friend, He takes - joy and he takes the pain of it all, that the Narrators burdens are lifted at the end.
It seems to go full circle through doubt for me. It covers it all.
And, other honest Christian song writers: any one heard Pedro the Lion? especially the old stuff. I feel that The Secret of the Easy Yoke deals with the same sort of issues (of doubt, of distance from God) in an equally beautiful way.
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02-04-2006
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02-04-2006
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02-04-2006
All the glory that the Lord has made,
and the complications when I see His face,
in the morning in the window.
Sufjans probably talking about how glory comes from everything that happens, yet as men it is complicated to understand that.
and he takes and he takes and he takes
it says in the bible that the Lord gives and He takes away
it is hard to grasp that as humans that no matter how God-fearing or how much we obey God, things dont always turn out how we want
its a beautiful song and its easy to play on guitar(it doesnt sound half as good as Sufjan but whatever)
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02-07-2006
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02-12-2006
This song completley floored me. I love it, It raises such mixed emotions, im happy, then sad. Just brilliance. Sufjan is amazing. He may be christian (whats wrong with that?) and he getsa lot of flack for writing so called 'christian' songs, but his meanings are universal. Also, deep down, most ppl believe in a higher power of some kind! The best song on Illinois (and the whole album is amazing).
I feel really sad at the beginning and ending f the song (and he takes.... and he takes..... and he takes...WOW! ), but in the middle of the song, im calm and contemplating.
This song is something special, wish more ppl could here it. True song writing and execution at its best. Well done Sufjan.
A Q:
Is this a plutonic relationship with a friend who is male?
Or a intimate relationship with a female?
Im ambigiuos on the answer....... Hmmmmm
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02-20-2006
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02-25-2006
1. 4-H reference isn't necessarily a glance back to childhood... as we've established the narrator is young, and personally I was one of many active 4-H members until graduating high school. Although I can't recall anything involving a stone of any sort, it could very well be an award -- perhaps for a floral exhibit involving goldenrod? County fairs often take place in August, when goldenrod would be in bloom, and 4-H would play a large role in that small-town experience.
2. Someone said the character is more likely to be a male when referencing that the shirt is tucked in: in the time period that Sufjan was growing up, girls tucked our shirts in often.
3. Cardinal hitting the window doesn't necessarily have to be symbolic. Birds fly into windows often... it may have more to do with the imagery than symbolism.
4. I read that Sufjan did a lot of research on the states before writing his albums, reading about the lives of their residents, and drawing off of this research to develop creative ideas for his songs. Nothing indicates that this story is rooted in his own life. That's the mark of a brilliant songwriter... to write not necessarily about that which personally affects you, but to tell a story from your imagination that touches our hearts.
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03-05-2006
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03-06-2006
which year was march 1st the first monday? this year it is the 6th.
i personally, don't know how old he but i'm interested how old he was when this person passed away.
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03-07-2006
Even in Illinois, where we get the day off from school, most of us don't even know who he is or that it's a holiday. I'm sure it's even more obscure in other states.
I actually had someone tell me today that we got the day off because he founded the school system and that he heard that on "useless trivia"- pulling shit out his ass is more like it.
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03-08-2006
i am still not sick of it.
Sufjan Stevens is such a talented talented young fellow.
i agree with what a lot of people have to say about the meaning of this song. but i don't think it is about a boy and boy, and i still don't know if sufjan has wrote about this from a personal experience.
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03-08-2006
At the end, when he sings, "...and the complications when I see His face in the morning in the window..."
Is that the same window that the cardinal hit? Does the window represent God, and if so, what's the cardinal? Perhaps it's the girl, stopped forcibly by something unseen. So the narrator's complications come from the fact that he's seeing that his friend's death is not just something wrong; it's the will of God. They had hoped that it was the will of God to save the friend when they prayed over the body. Now he sees that it's the opposite. Certainly complicates things. I think maybe he's confused...he wants to simply be mad at God, but he can't -- he believes in God's gift of salvation, so he knows that he can't simply think of God as malacious.
That turned into a bit of a ramble, I think. Hope it makes some sense.
And I hope that thought didn't come to mind because of reading it on this board already a few days ago. If so, I'm sorry for the repetition.
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03-17-2006
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03-27-2006
When you are little, your faith in God is absolute-- you haven't had a reason to doubt yet. This song is about a lot of "firsts." The speaker is exposed to death for the first time, it is the first time the speaker has a reason to doubt religion or feel angry towards God, the first time the speaker experiences the complex emotions associated with love.
Personally, I think this song is about God forcing you to grow up. It is tough, but eventually it is a good thing. I think the speaker's doubt and anger strengthens his relationship with God-- he is able to realize just how complex God is, which isn't a bad thing.
I could be completely wrong. Acutally, I probably am.
Anyway, it is a wonderful song. I stop whatever I am doing whenever I hear it.
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03-30-2006
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04-02-2006
Here's another contribution.
--
All the glory that the Lord has made
And the complications you could do without
When I kissed you on the mouth.
--
As suggested before by others to this list, this song is filled with contradictions and irony. This phrase is one example. Here's he's praising the Lord for all the wonders of the world, but he can't kiss the patient (I'll accept that it is a woman) in the song. With chemotherapy (or bone marrow transplant), the patient would have contact isolation (because of low white blood cell count). Therefore, kissing someone on the mouth is very likely to spread infection; hence "complications" from "kissing."
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04-03-2006
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04-15-2006
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04-23-2006
Also the imagery of God shaking his face.
I love this song because it is a very honest look at the complications involved in believing in God and having a relationship with Him, especially when tragedies you can't understand happen.
I especially love the lines "Tuesday night at the Bible study/We lift our hands and pray over your body/But nothing ever happens" because they seem to be taken straight out of my life experiences.
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04-29-2006
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