1
Well I have known you
For just a little while
But I feel I've known you
I feel I've seen you
When the Earth was split in fives
And in your words, I
Should let it out, I
Would see you die
But I'm a watcher
I see it watch her
It's in your afterlife
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
Oh keep from trying
Oh keep from caring
You are the light
We see you trying to
Be something else that
You're not, we think you're nice
The circumstances
Of what I thought, I
Could see it now
I wouldn't be so
I wouldn't feel so
But it's a running wild
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal lving
When it dies, when it dies
It rots
And when it lives, when it lives
It gives it all it gots
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
It rots
It gives it all it gots
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
In all reflections
I see your method
I see it all
And what about you?
And what about me?
Are we the lost of lost
Don't speak too soon, don't
be fruit of loom, don't
Excite yourself
For what you see is
Not fantasy, it's
Not what it gets, but gives
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
In all reflections
I see it mentioned
I see it all
The gorgeous mess of
Your face impressed us
Imposed of all its art
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
When it dies, when it dies
It rots
And when it lives, when it lives
It gives it all it gots
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
It rots
It gives it all it gots
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
When I die, when I die
I'll rot
But when I live, when I live
I'll give it all I've got
When I die, when I die
I'll rot
But when I live, when I live
I'll give it all I've got
Gloria, Gloria
Victoria, Victoria
It lives in all of us
Gloria, Gloria
Victoria, Victoria
It lives in all of us
I've lost the will to fight
I was not made for life
I've lost the will to fight
I was not made for life
Now I have known you
For just a little while
I feel I must be wearing my welcome
I must be moving on
For my intentions were good intentions
I could have loved you
I could have changed you
I wouldn't be so
I wouldn't feel so
Consumed by selfish thoughts
I'm sorry if I seem self-effacing
Consumed by selfish thoughts
It's only that I still love you deeply
It's all the love I've got
For just a little while
But I feel I've known you
I feel I've seen you
When the Earth was split in fives
And in your words, I
Should let it out, I
Would see you die
But I'm a watcher
I see it watch her
It's in your afterlife
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
Oh keep from trying
Oh keep from caring
You are the light
We see you trying to
Be something else that
You're not, we think you're nice
The circumstances
Of what I thought, I
Could see it now
I wouldn't be so
I wouldn't feel so
But it's a running wild
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal lving
When it dies, when it dies
It rots
And when it lives, when it lives
It gives it all it gots
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
It rots
It gives it all it gots
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
In all reflections
I see your method
I see it all
And what about you?
And what about me?
Are we the lost of lost
Don't speak too soon, don't
be fruit of loom, don't
Excite yourself
For what you see is
Not fantasy, it's
Not what it gets, but gives
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
In all reflections
I see it mentioned
I see it all
The gorgeous mess of
Your face impressed us
Imposed of all its art
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
When it dies, when it dies
It rots
And when it lives, when it lives
It gives it all it gots
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
It rots
It gives it all it gots
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
When I die, when I die
I'll rot
But when I live, when I live
I'll give it all I've got
When I die, when I die
I'll rot
But when I live, when I live
I'll give it all I've got
Gloria, Gloria
Victoria, Victoria
It lives in all of us
Gloria, Gloria
Victoria, Victoria
It lives in all of us
I've lost the will to fight
I was not made for life
I've lost the will to fight
I was not made for life
Now I have known you
For just a little while
I feel I must be wearing my welcome
I must be moving on
For my intentions were good intentions
I could have loved you
I could have changed you
I wouldn't be so
I wouldn't feel so
Consumed by selfish thoughts
I'm sorry if I seem self-effacing
Consumed by selfish thoughts
It's only that I still love you deeply
It's all the love I've got
Lyrics submitted by browncrayon, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Age Of Adz Lyrics as written by Sufjan Stevens
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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After reading more about Royal Robertson, it seems like Sufjan is telling Royal's story. Wiki said this about Royal 'Numerous hallucinatory visions of space travel where aliens predicted the End of Days through complex numerological formulas and warned him about the dangers of adultery and fornication led Robertson to believe that he was a victim of a global female conspiracy.He believed that his ex-wife's betrayal would be the cause of the cataclysmic destruction of humanity, and that his art was divinely sanctioned.' Sufjan is interested in Royal because he walks the line of genius and mad man. If your know anything about schizophrenia, it commonly occurs in people who are in the highest realms of intelligence. This is what makes it so frightening. Someone could be at the top of their class, brilliant and creative one day, and then unable to tell truth from hallucination the next.
"If your know anything about schizophrenia, it commonly occurs in people who are in the highest realms of intelligence."<br /> <br /> You shouldn't make such irrational claims. Something like "the highest realms of intelligence" doesn't even make sense, there is no quantifier in the statement. Simple reality is that there is nothing that tells us Royal Robertson was a smart man at all, 8th grade education with training in sign painting. Just because someone does art based around apocalyptic visions involving biblical revelations, numerology, and sci-fi with a large self-created and believed mythological background doesn't make someone a genius. He was insane, which doesn't devalue his work I might add, it adds something to it, an irrational passion and devotion uncommon to most created works. That's the beauty of his art and to me why it's such a suited inspiration for this album.<br /> <br /> The dissolution of R.R.'s marriage sent him over into insanity and in a lot of ways this album is about the pain, stress, and weight of love and relationships. It's about being on the brink, barely holding on, being lost, all swirling around love. This song is a perfect example, and in ways mirrors R.R. himself. The dissolution of love and its many challenges harken back to apocalyptic visions and emotions, internal being externalized.<br /> <br /> It is true that many intelligent people can end up with a mental illness, but this is likely because of mental stress and wear, meaning they pushed themselves too far. If you knew anything about schizophrenia you'd know it has nothing to do with intelligence, but heredity and life events. Drug use can aggravate mental illness, bringing out an until otherwise dormant case, you can inherit schizophrenia, and trauma and mass stress can bring it out too. This all goes for other illnesses too, Bipolar for instance.
I disagree. The ONLY time he mentioned Royal Robertson was when he played Get Real Get Right.
The entire album artwork was based off of Royal's work. It goes without saying that Robertson influenced more than just one song, it was definitely the entire album. Not to mention this is the title track of the album, if Robertson is so influential for the album as to get the artwork and this song is so pinnacle as to get the title it should be clear they correlate.<br /> <br /> Just because the artist doesn't say something doesn't mean it isn't so, to take that a little further, just because the artist didn't intend it doesn't mean it isn't there. Just because Stevens didn't reference Robertson for every song doesn't mean the influence didn't go in to them, to take that a little further, even if he didn't perceive this song as being influenced by Robertson it doesn't mean it wasn't.