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


Lyrics submitted by browncrayon, edited by Mellow_Harsher

Age Of Adz Lyrics as written by Sufjan Stevens

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

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Age of Adz song meanings
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  • +3
    General Comment

    I feel like this song could be a reflection from the perspective of a small worker who is a relatively insignificant cog within a larger industrial society that values the community over the individual. He is reflecting upon the age at hand, and its (sarcastic?) utopian promise of “eternal living” and the merits of hard work and duty, and he is also pondering his individual mortality within that society’s framework (acknowledging he will eventually rot into nothingness, but finding some sort of purpose in a mantra of giving maximum effort in life). It somewhat reminds me of the world described by the book “Brave New World,” or of any society that is more focused on productivity, stability and the “greater good” than upon the value and purpose of individual lives. The line about the world being “split in fives” reminds me of Brave New World’s storyline where the population is divided up into five distinct castes, but the line could very well represent any sort of cold, broad statistical categorizing of a population by governments, corporations, etc. — yet another way of dehumanizing individuals and lessening their value while propping up large entities and the greater community. “Victoria” may be a reference to the Victorian Era and Industrial Revolutions in Europe and North America, as they seem an appropriate setting for the narrator of the song within this interpretation. As an Adze is a woodworking tool, it is possible that the “Age of Adz” could refer to an age that values hard work and industry above all else (serving as a symbol not unlike the sickle and hammer are to communism), though the spelling difference makes me question this. I’m also wondering if “Adz” could mean, “odds,” “ads” (as in “advertisements,” consumerism), or “adds” (as in adding small value at different stages along an assembly line). I still don't have a firm grasp on this song (or album), and I'd like to look into the Royal Robertson connection people are referencing.

    Browns0286on December 12, 2010   Link

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