Lyrics for The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is O... as interpreted by addictedtosound

The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is O... Lyrics
Thinking outrageously, I write in cursive
I hide in my bed with the lights on the floor
Wearing three layers of coats and leg warmers
I see my own breath on the face of the door

Oh, I am not quite sleeping
Oh, I am fast in bed
There on the wall in the bedroom creeping
I see a wasp with her wings outstretched

North of Savanna we swim in the Palisades
I come out wearing my brother's red hat
There on his shoulder my best friend is bit seven times
He runs washing his face in his hands

Oh, how I meant to tease him
Oh, how I meant no harm
Touching his back with my hand, I kiss him
I see the wasp on the length of my arm

Oh, how I meant to tease him
Oh, how I meant no harm
Touching his back with my hand, I kiss him
I see the wasp on the length of my arm

Oh great sights upon this state, hallelu–
Wonders bright, and rivers, lake, hallelu–
Trail of Tears and Horseshoe Lake, hallelu–
Trusting things beyond mistake, hallelu–

We were in love, we were in love
Palisades, Palisades
I can wait, I can wait

I can't explain the state that I'm in
The state of my heart, he was my best friend
Into the car, from the backseat
Oh, admiration in falling asleep
All of my powers, day after day
I can tell you, we swaggered and swayed
Deep in the tower, the prairies below
I can tell you, the telling gets old
Terrible sting and terrible storm
I can tell you the day we were born
My friend is gone, he ran away
I can tell you, I love him each day
Though we have sparred, wrestled and raged
I can tell you, I love him each day
Terrible sting and terrible storm
I can tell you

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dmcdowel
05-20-2005

Rated 0 
its "best friend is bit seven times" not just "friend"... but that doesn't mean much...

soo..

the narrator is lying in his bed... and I'm guessing he is poor based on how cold it is... but who knows...

He sees a wasp and it reminds him of a person/event from his past...

He was swimming with his best friend (were they lovers? I think so... but its not clear)...

It seems as though some incident occurs with a wasp stinging his friend.... it seems to be a symbol of something bad happening in the relationship... the narrator had only the best intentions...

now the narrator only has memories as the friend (or lover?) is now gone... dead, or run away, or out of his life...



that's what I get anyway...


any insights on sylvanna? or what the Palisades are?

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MixedUpConfusion
05-26-2005

Rated 0 
It's Savanna, and it's a city in Illionois. Palisades are a line of lofty steep cliffs, usually along a river.

I don't analyze Sufjan, I just enjoy. ;)

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BrainDamage
05-31-2005

Rated 0 
Leg warmers tended to be worn by women though, so I think the narrator is a female character.

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1 Reply
dmcdowel
05-31-2005

Rated 0 
BrainDamage... this is very likely... I was wondering that myself...
obviously it could be interpreted either way...

and as far as Savanna goes...

It is indeed a city in IL which has a park in it called "Mississippi Pallisades ParK"

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jsa1583
06-17-2005

Rated +1 
Am I alone in the thought that he is talking of his brother? Even if Sufjan didnt have a brother that killed himself maybe he knew someone that did.

It kind of seems like he teased his brother exorbitantly causing him to jump of the the steep cliffs known as palisades in order to kill himself.

The wasp was the hurt that he brought to his brother, even though it was an accident it was in his idea his fault.

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dmcdowel
06-21-2005

Rated 0 
I think the brother idea is possible...

but I get an impression that there is some sort of romance or something in the relationship...

the narrator refers to sleeping in the car together with the word admiration (which is very mysterious... because there are a lot of interps to this...)

and just the way he sings we were in love over and over makes me think of the type of love that is shared between two lovers and not family members...

that being said... I became very interested in this song because I at first thought it was about two brothers who were more than brothers..

the brother's red hat line is a bit tricky... but I don't think it implies that the friend is his brother...

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jsa1583
06-24-2005

Rated 0 
Maybe the way he sings is not really an expression of his true love for another lover but rather despair

Causing someone to kill themselves that I loved and never got to show that love to them.. That would be so unbelievably depressing..

Althought it could be between two lovers, as you talk of when the slept together in the car. But maybe when they were much younger they could have very easily slept in a car together. I dont know. Im very torn, both ideas seem very plausable. I guess until sufjan tells us we will never know.

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NiQ
07-17-2005

Rated 0 
I think when he talks of wasps and storms in the end of the song, that those are metaphors. But in the beginning, i think that they are real wasps. I also, dont think that hes talking of his brother, because he says, "there on HIS shoulder, my best friend..." the HIS being his friend...

but, i do think Sufjan is writing all this from a Lady's point of view. After all, he is a Folk Writer, and there songs dont neccesarilly have to be from the point of view of the gender of the singer...

anyways,beautiful beautiful song.

have a great day

GODBLESS

-Nicholas

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markreveley
08-09-2005

Rated 0 
I think up until where he (actually 'she') see's the wasp outstreched it triggers a memory..

I think the whole song has a childhood 'love' sound about it. It's probably not love and even if it were you wouldn't know how to recognise it, but it's two best friends a boy and girl who probably think they will be together one day... but the boy dies or runs away.

Either that or it's about a brother. "sparred, wrestled and raged" although I've never heard anyone say they were "in love" with their brother.. I think "we were in love" has a different emphasis to "loved your brother". I would never say I was In Love with a familly member.

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markreveley
08-09-2005

Rated 0 
Oh, and I'm probably wrong but...

"i can't explain the state that i'm in
the state of my heart, he was my best friend
into the car, from the backseat
oh admiration in falling asleep
all of my powers, day after day"

Doesn't have to mean she's with her friend in the car... I thought that maybe falling asleep was her way of escaping, and the backseat being a metaphor for being able to forget control of her life.. kinda like emotional breakdown because he has already passed away.

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Way_AE
08-13-2005

Rated 0 
I dont know about the narrator being female. I mean, It just seems like if Sufjan wanted the narrator to be female, he'd give a bigger hint than "leg warmers".

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imperfectofferings
08-14-2005

Rated +1 
why does anyone think that either someone died or that someone convinced someone else to kill themselves? at the end of the song he says his friend ran away...not he was convinced to jump off a cliff to his certain death.

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2 Replies
trisweb
08-25-2005

Rated 0 
Could be literal... a story about a friend (or lover, sure) that got stung by a wasp and died, and then the narrator thinks about their relationship after the fact and realizes all the little things that they did (Oh how I meant to tease you) but now seems so trivial or stupid after the person is gone.

I see it simply as a reflection on a relationship before and after it existed -- maybe the wasp is metaphor, maybe the sting is what caused the breakup, maybe it's literal -- either way, the narrator sees the person differently now that they're gone, and "I love him each day" is all that needs to be said.

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tree123456
09-02-2005

Rated -4 
Three letters - g.a.y.

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barabbas
09-13-2005

Rated +1 
tree, you're an idiot. know that about yourself.

i just attended a question & answer session with sufjan, and he said this song was inspired by time spent at camp as a little kid, around the age of 8. he and his brother saw what they believed to be a terrible mutant wasp monster, and so they ran off, scared out of their wits. after that, every airborne thing they saw - be it a bird, a bug, or plastic bag floating in the wind - they were sure was this mutant wasp monster.

the song was inspired by the beauty and INNOCENCE of childhood imagination.

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1 Reply
Sadex
09-17-2005

Rated 0 
I have no idea where this talk of suicide and brothers comes from, lovers I can somewhat see if someone interpreted wrong.

As far as I see it, he is in his room cold, sees the bee, reminds him of his past with his best friend, with the bee stinging both physically and metaphorically. I assume that he enjoyed the time he spent with his best friend, specifically the palisades (we were in love), and the rest of the song is a reflection.

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mollymason_2009
10-03-2005

Rated 0 
Barrabas, Will you please tell me how I can get in on these question and answer sessions!? That sounds awesome...
I agree, tree123456 is not cool at all! Why did he abbreviate gay, anyway?

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mayday882
11-06-2005

Rated +1 
What Barabbas has said, only confirms what in initially thought about this song, which is that it is an expression of the innocent love that is embedded within childhood friendships. When you are child you do not think about sex--you have no conception of it-- and thus being in love with you best friend is totally normal. And that's what he's remembering in this song--how he loved his best friend. Several years later he sees a wasp and it reminds him of the time he spent with his friend and how close they were. I don't think his friend died and I don't think he committed suicide. I think they just "swaggered and swayed" meaning they went their seperate ways. And on a non-lyrical note, the 16 bars of music that ensue after he sings the line "I see wasp on the length of my arm" is a chillining vivid portrait of that image (just slightly dissonant, fluttering, yet commanding...god damnit). This guy is amazing.

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(cloud of smoke)
11-11-2005

Rated 0 
i was at a concert a couple months ago, and sufjan did tell the story of being at camp, etc. except he said it was with his best friend, not his brother. maybe they were all at camp together?

i like the interpretation of "innocent love" but unfortunately it goes against my theory. which i put waaay too much thought into, so i'm going to post it anyway. as much as i love the rest of the cd for some reason this song just won't let me go.

obviously it is a memory from when he was younger, but i see it as he really was "in love" with his best friend. i know this isn't quite sequential, but here's my interpretation of parts of it:

the beginning they are just in the water, swimming and so on, but then i think he actually makes a move

oh how i meant to tease him
oh how i meant no harm
touching his back with my hand i kiss him
i see the wasp on the length of my arm

that sounds to me like a real kiss, on the lips, hand on his back.

there on his shoulder my best friend is bit seven times
he runs washing his face in his hands

then... i think the wasp maybe crawled onto his friend and stung him. and i think his friend ran away from the kiss, and "washed his face in his hands". kids aren't very subtle, they haven't learned to let people down easy. hence "my friend is gone, he ran away, i can tell you i love him each day... terrible sting, terrible storm" and also maybe "i can wait i can wait", until his friend is ready perhaps?
maybe this isn't entirely plausible if they were really young, but then maybe it's a mix of situations, or partially invented.

just because i like to have a theory for everything, and everything accounted for, can anyone suggest what the "oh admiration in falling asleep" bit might be?

i know that was ridiculously long and detailed, and i have much admiration for you if you made it this far without falling asleep
i am

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3 Replies
floz2323
12-11-2005

Rated 0 
At a Sufjan Stevens's show he said he had a friend at camp, and they invented an imaginary creature known as "the predatory bird wasp," and apparently often tried to scare eachother with it. I don't think the kiss is meant literally, but rather as his touch was a measure of comfort directed at his friend.
I do think the idea of death is present, maybe the friend ran away and never came back and this song is a specific memory of a time they had together.

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passionandparadox
12-22-2005

Rated +1 
If Sujan hadn't explicitly explained otherwise, I'd consider a twisted Christian interpretation from the perspective of Judas: something about the red hat being a crown of thorns, seven places from which Christ bled, the kiss to betray him, "I meant no harm" as a reference to conflicting desires, "on the length of my arm" as a reference to guilt, etc. Of course, there are obvious difficulties with this interpretation... but it's interesting to note recurrent themes, even if it's more of an exercise.

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see jaymoney jam
01-03-2006

Rated 0 
i think you guys are all funny; not condescendingly, i just like the way everyone has their own thoughts. here are mine:
i think he is reminiscing about a time when he was a kid and he was swimming in the lake with his dog who was stung by a wasp. then his dog ran away later. eh? not too deep, makes sense though.

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littlemass
01-08-2006

Rated +1 
Apparently, this song is actually about going to camp in Michigan, but Stevens said he moved the “story to the Palisades in Illinois for the sake of the album.” He also said that while at camp he and either his brother or his friend (different sources said different things) saw a really big wasp and claimed it was a “mutant wasp monster.”

Anyway, my take on this song is as follows: The narrator (I think actually Stevens in this case), as an adult is lying in bed trying to fall asleep when he sees a wasp on the wall. The wasp reminds him of a time at camp when he was a kid because of the whole mutant wasp incident, I guess. So he starts to reminisce and remembers a particular instance when he and either his best friend or his brother who was also his best friend were swimming and Stevens was teasing him but it was all in good fun. Then, the friend/ brother either actually gets stung by a wasp or he metaphorically is stung by Stevens’ teasing and gets fed up with it so he gets angry and begins to run off. Stevens tries to stop him and apologize, but it is too late. He then either literally sees the wasp or he just realizes that he really hurt his friend/brother this time. The “we were in love” line is kind of tricky, but I think it just means they were young and really good friends. And I think the “I can wait” means he thinks his friend will come back/ forgive him eventually.
Then, he either never sees his friend again or his brother actually runs away. He is picked up from camp and is trying to forget about the friend by falling asleep, but can’t. He feels terrible for making his friend/ brother run off and tries to rationalize it by saying they always had stupid little fights and arguments but were still friends until now. He ends the song by saying he’ll never forgive himself for losing such a good friend/ making his brother run away.

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i_am_a_little_rose
01-10-2006

Rated 0 
here's what they're chanting over the "we were in love" part:

Oh great sights upon this state! Hallelu-
Wonders bright, and rivers, lake. Halelu-
Trail of Tears and Horseshoe Lake. Hallelu-
trusting things beyond mistake. Hallelu-

and the second one is:

Lamb of God, we sound the horn.
Hallelujah!
To us your ghost is born.
Hallelu-

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littlevisigoth
01-12-2006

Rated 0 
okay, so tree was a little blunt, but what's so blasphemous about the idea that this is about a guy reflecting about a close boyhood friend, back in the time that little boys are "figuring themselves out", he tries to kiss him, the friend flees in disgust, he loses him as a friend forever, and regardless of the spurning and the trivial wrestling and raging, they were close friends, and whether its fraternal love or romantic love, it lasts to this day, and he can wait for his friend to forgive him and for them to go back to being friends and nothing more. the sting of the wasps maybe is both literally related to the event that drove them apart (and ultimately reminds the narrator of it), but also figuratively reflective of the pain that it caused. sleeping in the backseat of a car is just another boyhood memory, maybe one in which he looked upon his friend sleeping in admiration, unsure of the nature of his feelings for his friend.

or maybe not. that's the great things about song lyrics. they're wide open to interpretation and sometimes just meant to evoke whatever thoughts are personal to each listener and create a mood with the music. potentially gay or not, it's a great song.

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