Lyrics for Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highlan... as interpreted by thisismyname

Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highlan... Lyrics
When the revenant came down
We couldn't imagine what it was
In the spirit of three stars
The alien thing that took its form
Then to Lebanon, oh God
The flashing at night, the sirens grow and grow
Oh, history involved itself
Mysterious shade that took its form
Or what it was, incarnation, three stars
Delivering signs and dusting from their eyes

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wooki
05-23-2005

Rated 0 
This song is just so... mystical. I think its mood is very haunting, one full of awe.

Looks like Sufjan connects UFO sightings with supernatural events, possibly God's incarnation as Jesus (always keep the bible in mind when interpreting his lyrics!) or the second coming of Jesus (according to the dictionary a "revenant" is "one that returns after death or a long absence")
"Three stars" = the Trinity?
"Delivering signs" = Jesus performing miracles?

Hm, maybe this song shouldn't be overanalyzed like this.

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diehard
05-30-2005

Rated 0 
what is the "to lebanon" reference from?

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ThePlaygroundMiracle
06-14-2005

Rated 0 
I live in Highland, IL, and Lebanon is around where a UFO was sighted, close to Highland.

The guy that saw it is this crazy 50 year old guy that mumbles a lot and owns a miniature golf place.

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IAmACliche
06-23-2005

Rated 0 
Beautiful song...my favorite on the Illinois album

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blackemma
07-14-2005

Rated 0 
I'm going to have to agree that this song is about the incarnation of God in Jesus. I think what Sufjan is doing in this song is taking the UFO sighting as a jumping point to explore the idea of incarnation. Of course, I could be wrong, but it seems to make sense, especially with the whole bit about the alien thing taking its form.

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Empirer85
08-02-2005

Rated +1 
this song is excellent, especially the line where he says, "history involved itself." very clever. i also feel this is the best song on the CD. it's so melodic and....perfect. good choice for an opener.

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lichty
08-12-2005

Rated +1 
I think he is loosely referencing the bible. I am no biblical scholar, but there is one passage that describes an object coming from the sky with three stars surounded by the faces of lions, that some say, in modern times would have been a fitting description of an UFO.

So what I think he is trying to say, is that our perceptions are changed or evolve with history and our growing collective imagination. At one time, one group could interpret what they see as something biblical or caused by god and another group at a later time sees the same thing as something caused by aliens.

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woahwoah
08-18-2005

Rated 0 
I absolutely love this song. The piano and whatever kind of pipe or flute that plays is so beautiful. Probably my favorite on the album too.

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thedrizzle
08-23-2005

Rated 0 
I won't pretend to know what this songs means or even implies as a whole, but for what it's worth, the last line is definitely in reference to Jesus. "delivering signs" is a phrase the Bible uses when talking about Jesus performing public miracles to prove his power, and "dusting from their eyes" is from a specific story where Jesus heals a blind man by spitting on the dust to make mud, then wiping the mud in the blind man's eyes. I think he references that specific miracle because the blind man had trouble understanding what he was seeing after he had been healed.

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ikefox
08-27-2005

Rated 0 
drizzle, very well done. I can't say I don't think that Sufjan's material hasn't been throroughly overanalyzed from the Christian perspective, but it seems more than coincidence that there's so much correlation in the lyrics to this song and The Bible.

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TimeTruthAndHeart
12-23-2005

Rated 0 
I think it's about Jesus' birth, rather than a second coming.
Perhaps "the flashing at night" is the star over Bethlehem?

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FBIlocano
12-28-2005

Rated 0 
he's comparing a UFO sighting to faith.

like some may see faith as farfetched as UFO's.

generally speaking.

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FBIlocano
12-28-2005

Rated 0 
he's comparing a UFO sighting to faith.

like some may see faith as farfetched as UFO's.

generally speaking.

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letterstonoelle
12-30-2005

Rated 0 
I'm not a necessarily religious person and I can see the religious symbolism in this. The talk of incarnation, revenant (verbally similar to reverent even), the number three (the trinity), etc....

For God's sake a revenant is someone who comes back after a long absence ... aka as Jesus is supposed to...

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_ellie
01-03-2006

Rated 0 
Thanks for 'dusting my eyes', everybody, I had never listened hard to this. It sighs with incredulity. Jesus is an alien revenant.

Everytime I hear how 'history involved itself', I..

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mrrochester
01-04-2006

Rated 0 
He's talking about the space people!! I swear my grandma claims to have seen this very UFO!!! She lives near Lebanon (and that is, historic Lebanon, as the billboards claim, but I like to refer to the people who live there as Lebanese just because it sounds ridiculous being Illinois and all). She said that the UFO looked like a giant purple cigar, and maybe Sufjan is trying to make a statement about the glory of Cubans, with the oh God references and whatnot. Yes, I think that Sufjan likes cigars, which is why he's going all orgasmic over the UFO references. This song is an ode, a reverie if you will, to tobacco. And we though Sufjan was such a nice boy!!!

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jamisonlikewhat
01-27-2006

Rated 0 
from jamisonlikewhat.com:

In the opening seconds of Stevens’ latest and lushest musical sojourn, Illinois, you’re unsure as to whether you should take your territorial cheerleader seriously or not– a song about aliens? The piano echoes off of itself and the woodwind section beckons Stevens to life. The spaceship descends and our hero begins to sing. The song is about what the title says it is, right? Right. But when our favorite cherub-like folksman half-croons, half-moans, “Oh, God,” you begin to get antsy. What’s going on here? The man’s freaking out, so you start to, too. But why?

Because when Sir Sufjan Stevens tells you that “History involved itself,” you know damn well that the dude means business. And as soon as you realize this, stars begin to explode, galaxies start to crash into themselves, and the physical universe that we know and love is never again the same: The word “revenant” means “one who returns after death.” Hmmm. The “Incarnation of three stars?” Three stars. Make the connection yet? See, people, the thing is this: Sufjan really thinks the song is about an alien– something or someone so completely foreign to this Earth that it has never been seen since, but may one day be seen again. The other thing is this: Sufjan doesn’t actually believe that it got here on a spaceship.

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nebulasinbloom
02-13-2006

Rated 0 
stupid question, but working off this biblical theme, i know lebanon is in illinoise but isnt it in the bible too? i might be thinking this cause its followed by "oh god" so ... or wait, maybe its in asia. i dont know. yay for sufjan.

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caitsith01
03-06-2006

Rated 0 
Instead of all saying 'ooh it's so great', perhaps someone would venture to explain precisely what they think the 'history involved itself' line means?

jamisonlikewhat that is the most pretentious post I've seen in a while...

A few points. When a singer/songwriter writes about something they do not necessarily 'believe' anything they write. This could be purely fictional, written from someone else's point of view, intentionally obscure, and so on. So let's forget about what 'Sufjan believes...' etc.

And what is he saying? I think there is no question that he has taken a literal (alleged) incident, being a UFO sighting, and is extrapolating from there. However, if you look for biblical themes, so shall ye find. You can work religion into nearly anything if you want to. Certainly particular parts could be references to the bible - the revenant and the trinity in particular - but they could equally be completely unrelated.

I think lichty hit the nail on the head - it's neither one nor the other, it's more a reflection on the utter awe one would feel in seeing something mysterious and awesome come from the sky.

By the way, if you want a somewhat more literal and equally awesome song about a UFO coming down to earth I strongly advise you to listen to 'The Happening' by the Pixies... they've come so far, I've lived this long, I must just go and say hello.

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midxwinter
03-06-2006

Rated 0 
caitsith01:

You're right about singers not necessarily believing in or agreeing with what they write. However, Sufjan has demonstrated quite clearly that, if nothing else, he has a large interest in the Christian faith. It makes its way into many of his songs, some more obviously than others. When a song's first sentence references something that has come back from death, do you really think that a Biblical stance is a huge leap? Biblical references are in so many of his songs, I'd be surprised if someone suggested that the 'revenant' was something other than Jesus.

"You can work religion into nearly anything if you want to." Absolutely. But, as I said, Sufjan is rife with his religious lines and metaphors. I think that considering this one a 'working in' is silly.

All I'm saying, really, is that while you're totally entitled to see this song however you want, I think it points strongly to religion, and I can't see how you can deny that.

Onto discussion. The history line is a bit vague; I've been puzzling over it. Up for some extra religious slant? The only thing that came to mind for me was that 'history' was a reference to God. God involved Himself in history? I don't think that's a very good explanation, but I've seen nothing else, so I might as well throw it out there.

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23w225
03-08-2006

Rated 0 
"history involved itself"

thinking of history as the story that we tell ourselves about the past it would be possible for a group of believers in a particular history to attempt to re-create a part of their history. God becoming man is one example of an event, believed in by some, that some believers would want to see happen again.

Is it me or does the delivery of the line "history involved itself," have tones of dread and fear? Something like being witness to an act of revenge.

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wanderingmounty
03-08-2006

Rated 0 
The song is about the sense of god and wonder that still infiltrates our modern, rational life. The revenant is God-Jesus. A UFO is the pinacle of technology, but inspires a wonder we cant descibe.

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tree123456
03-09-2006

Rated 0 
This song is very biblically related. Quoting Matthew 5:16 - "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Also quoting Matthew 5:17 - "Bogus aliens will attacketh some small-ass town in the middleth of nowhere in the west of thee world and it shalleth be calleth Highland."

I think that both of these references are really important to the story. Sufjan was obviously just reading the bible when he wrote this song and whacked out an ol' toon on his honky-tonker.

The line "the sirens grow and grow", is probably mushroom related. Hang on...that could explain the aliens as well. And maybe the bible.

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midxwinter
03-20-2006

Rated 0 
tree123456:

Many people agree that this song has religious metaphors in it. You are welcome not to agree. However, being an asshole is just going to piss everybody off. Stop trolling.

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dan356
04-03-2006

Rated 0 
I think this song is definitely about the incarnation of god on earth, but I'd be careful of just saying "it's Jesus." Nearly every religion in the world is waiting for an incarnation of god to come. For example, Judaism awaits the messiah, Christianity awaits the second coming of the messiah, Hinduism is awaiting the final avatar (incarnation of vishnu) that will mark this end of this universe.

I mean, yes, it's about a divine incarnation, but I think that Sufjan Stevens is very aware of other religions as well, and I hate it when Christians (note: I am a christian) try to "claim" songs.

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