Lyrics for The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts as interpreted by drinkmilk

The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts Lyrics
Trouble falls in my home
Troubled man, troubled stone
Turn a mountain of lies
Turn a card for my life
Man of Steel, Man of Heart
Tame our ways, if we start
To devise something more
Something halfways

Only a steel man came to recover
If he had run from gold, carry over
We celebrate our sense of each other
We have a lot to give one another

I took a bus to the lake
Saw the monument face
Yellow tides, golden eyes
Red and white, red and wise
Raise the flag, summer home
Parted hair, part unknown
If I knew what I read
I'll send it half ways

Only a real man can be a lover
If he had hands to lend us all over
We celebrate our sense of each other
We have a lot to give one another

Took my bags, Illinois
Dreamt the lake took my boy
Man of Steel, Man of Heart
Turn your ear to my part
There are things you have said
Raise the boat, and raise the dead
If you take us away
Still can we say:

Only a steel man can be a lover
If he had hands to tremble all over
We celebrate our sense of each other
We have a lot to give one another

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  • 39 Comments
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blackemma
08-17-2005

Rated 0 
This song seems to work on two levels. The first is the more obvious one: it's about Superman. The other would be a Christian one. I'm not sure about the second though. There are some lines -'Raise the boat, and raise the dead' and 'Man of Heart, turn your ear to my part' - that suggest the song might be a clever way of exploring Christian themes. More likely though, it probably is about Superman.

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pstans
08-18-2005

Rated 0 
What does Superman have to do with Illinois or Chicago?

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mrblau
08-20-2005

Rated +1 
Superman lives in Metropolis
there is a real city named Metropolis in Illinois
Superman is kinda like Jesus

it all works out

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Sadex
09-17-2005

Rated +2 
Or maybe it just happens to be a song not about god.

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knitting
10-29-2005

Rated 0 
has anyone actually been to metropolis? it is a very quirky city. they even have a daily planet. tres cute.

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strokesman
11-10-2005

Rated +1 
this song is awesome

only a real man can be a lover is the best line

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strokesman
11-10-2005

Rated 0 
this song is awesome

only a real man can be a lover is the best line

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misterhipster
12-06-2005

Rated 0 
I'd say, given Stevens' strong Christian faith and his tendency to write about it in his songs, it's safe to assume that there is another, Christian based level to this song, especially since the Superman/Jesus comparison is pretty easy to make.

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alter913
12-21-2005

Rated 0 
well superman is on the cover of the cd...kinda obvious

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musicforlife!
12-26-2005

Rated 0 
OK we've established that there's a Metropolis, IL. It has been deemed "The Official City of Superman" (or something to that effect). Every summer they have a Superman festival and they are thinking about building a theme park devoted to Superman there. I think this song is about this town's obsession with Superman and how he may be seen as a Christ figure there.

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jukeapples24
01-07-2006

Rated 0 
I realize that Mr. Stevens is very rooted in Christianity, which is why I think that if you are going to compare Superman to someone in the Bible Christ works I guess but I think Moses actually works better. Think about it, Moses was put into a basket and left to be taken in by a random family. (Sufjan actually wasn't too far from this himself, he was found on a doorstep in a crate). Superman was put into a giant pod and sent to live on earth to be taken in by a random family. Moses after growing up and becoming an adult went to protect the people from oppression, and injustice. Superman after growing up and becoming a man did practically the same. So yes Sufjan has a religious tone in his music and that's great I love it. But I really think Superman is more of a parallel to Moses than Christ.

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mendingchaos
01-09-2006

Rated 0 
maybe it's just because i'm from Joliet,IL, but i thought the "steel man" aspect was a reference to Joliet, since it historically has a steel mill and the school's team the steelmen, etc

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jukeapples24
01-13-2006

Rated 0 
well considering the song title says "Metropolis" I think it's safe to assume he's talking about the man of steel Superman

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imnadel
01-21-2006

Rated +1 
I have NO idea what this song means. So I can HERE for answers. It's been gnawing at my brain for months as I love this song. Sadly, the suggestions on this page just say "i think it's about jesus" or "i thinnk it's about superman." great! however, what ABOUT these characters? This song is so addictive yet a bit too lyrically cryptic. Trying to understand what it is SAYING about someone or something as a whole. Any thoughts? Help? thanks.

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kid amnesiac
02-11-2006

Rated 0 
i think it doesnīt really matter if itīs about jesus or supes. the important thing here is that itīs about hope, about having an ideal, a role model or something, a spiritual guide. itīs definitely one of the most uplifting songs by mr. sufjan.
now, wouldnīt it be nice if brian synger used this song for the ending credits of superman returns? just a thought :D

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squeakyfingers
02-22-2006

Rated +2 
while i can see the resemblences to moses, jukeapples, but in this song i'd have to agree with those who said who use the christ comparison.

superman, son to the most powerful man on krypton (god, maybe?)...benevolent yet powerful ie superspeed, vision, super hearing etc (jesus performs miracles himself..water to wine, healing the sick)...moses doesn't translate in this way.

in all honesty, it seems to be more about god, than christ. "raise the boat, raise the dead", reminds me of noah's ark, the flood, and the water rising..."if you take us away, still we can say"...even if you rid the world of sin, it returns and your son will be there to fight against it (ie "if he had hands to tremble all over").

the underlying christian theme seems to dictate god talking to/about his son ("dreamt the lake, took the boy"), as well as the people talking about him. The lines,

"Trouble falls in my home
Troubled man, troubled stone
turn a mountain of lies
turn a card for my life
Man of Steel, Man of Heart
Tame our ways, if we start
To devise something more
Something half ways"

seems a direct reference to christs dying on the cross...while others seem to reference the ark, and his son. the songs switches POV's from a plural 'we' (the people) in the beginning, to a singular "I" in the middle, and then back again...which is confusing.

in general i think its about a people putting faith in someone to save them, and watch over them. and in his doing this (in a selfless way), they realize all the goodness that humainty can offer. it gives them hope. clearly, it takes a special person to do that to a race (society, group, whatever) of people...be it the man of steel, jesus, moses, martin luther king jj etcetera. while the references are biblical, this idea can be applied to a great deal of figures in history that led us to freedom and tolerance.

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threestars
03-06-2006

Rated 0 
i just think it is a beautiful song.
like most of sufjan stevens stuff is.
and i came here looking for answers.
and i got what i was looking for.
but it was brought to my attention, that my CD doesn't actually have superman on the cover.. it has everything else..but superman is missing.
hmmm....

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ufonacious
03-06-2006

Rated 0 
the cover did originally have superman on the front, flying right down the centre. but it was removed cause of legal issues with using the image of superman. i think some album covers got reprinted and some got a sticker placed over superman.

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arturus
04-03-2006

Rated 0 
I think it's important to remember the folk aspects of this music. People here seem obsessed with the religious and fantastic aspects of it, but like mendingchaos pointed out, Illinois has a strong steel industry, so rather than superman or a religious figure, it can also work as a song about the working class. On that level, there's a tension in this song between the working class and the middle class, the refrain and the verses, respectively. The speaker in the verses has money for things like a summer home, but his lines are much more sullen than the refrain, which glorifes the working class and is overall positive.

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stupid_name
05-02-2006

Rated 0 
arturus: yeah, I love the "folk aspects" of Sufjan, as you put it. Casimir Pulaski day and Decatur are awesome songs that are also very folk-based.

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ohpioneer
05-31-2006

Rated 0 
i really like the play on the title of this song... its called the "man of metropolis steals our hearts" and within the song... stevens sings the lyrics "man of STEEL, man of HEART."

i think its clever. this whole album is really.

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drm00se
07-08-2006

Rated 0 
I agree with arturus, too, and I think that can help answer squeakyfingers' question. The first person singular is in the verses (sung by Sufjan alone) and the first person plural is in the chorus (sung by a choir). This demonstrates the two personalities present in the song pretty clearly.

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shouvik
07-14-2006

Rated 0 
i listen to this constantly. what speaks to me is, as someone originally from illinois, that there's something amazing about my state's innocence. even if lake michigan (where chciagoans like to go every weekend) slowly takes our youth, we continue to believe in heroes... that someone incredible (whether superman, jesus, or barrack obama) will help us give to each other.

i think this song helps me contrast illinois to california, the state i moved to for 7 years. at least the part of cali i was in, san francisco, is wrought with cynicism. people there generally don't believe in a man of steel or a man of heart.

i think sufjan, his hope, and his sympathy represents the midwest better than anyone since bob dylan.

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The_Epidermis
09-13-2006

Rated +2 
Seems to me like he is talking about the difficulties of marriage and being a father. Then he chimes in about how it seems like only superman/someone who is perfect can really succeed. The only reference to jesus that I notice is the "raise the boat, raise the dead" Since jesus saved the disciples from a storm at sea, and raised Lazarus from the dead. So more or less, it seems to me like a call to God to help him be a better man.

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Mr. Hippo
02-11-2007

Rated +1 
can't believe i just read through all that crap just to find the best explaination at the very bottom...

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