Lyrics for Impossible Soul as interpreted by strykerchick

Impossible Soul Lyrics
(1)
Oh, woman, tell me what you want
And I'll calm down without bleeding out
With a broken heart that you stabbed for an hour
Woman, I was freaking out because I want you to know
My beloved, you are the lover of my impossible soul

Woman, too, promise me you'll stay and put off all your woes
I was wigging out, too much worry
I could not get you at all
And you said what you want, you would laugh it off
But I know you won't go, not for it at last
Must you write it off for the impossible soul?
And I was in a dream, I was gone away without you, but not too slow
Lest I put it off, for I put it right for the impossible soul

And all I couldn't sing, I would say it all, my life, to you
If I could get you at all
Don't be a wreck, trying to be something that I wasn't at all

Seems I got it wrong, I was chasing after something that was gone
To the black of night, now I know it's not what I wanted at all
And you said something like, "All you want is all the world for yourself"
But all I want is the perfect love
Though I know it's small, I want love for us all

And all I couldn't sing, I would say it all, my life, to you
If I could get you at all
Trying to be something that I wasn't at all

(2)
[Shara Worden]
Do you want to be afraid?
Do you want to be afraid?
For life in the cage where courage's mate runs deep in the wake
For the scariest things are not half as enslaved

Don't be distracted, don't be distracted
Do you want to be alone?
Do you want to be alone?
For life isn't stained of righteousness pain
The seed and the hail, all impossible flights for an interesting light

Don't be distracted, don't be distracted
Do you want to love me more?
Do you want to love me more?
For love is the breath
If water and wave is cursed by the same thing that nurtured its shame
Is it worth all the work?

Don't be distracted, don't be distracted
Have you failed to feel delight? (No, I don't want to feel pain)
Have you failed to feel delight? (No, I don't want to feel pain)
Instead of the life, lived tired and lost, have you left it at last
Where it floundered its death with the language of ghosts

Don't be distracted, don't be distracted
Do you want to be afraid? (No, I don't want to feel pain)
Do you want to be afraid? (No, I don't want to feel pain)
For life in the cage where where courage's mate runs deep in the wake
For the scariest things are not half as enslaved

Don't be distracted, don't be distracted

No . . . don't be distracted

(3)
Stupid man in the window, I couldn't be at rest
All my delight, all that mattered, I couldn't be at rest
From what I liked, from what I gathered, I couldn't be at rest
Stupid man in the window, I couldn't be at rest

And don't be shy in the window
Come down and give your best
Oh, delight in the window I couldn't be at rest
Stupid man in the window, I couldn't be at rest
From what I liked, from what I gathered, I couldn't give my best

Oh, I know it wasn't safe, it wasn't safe to breathe at all
Oh, I know it wasn't safe, it wasn't safe to breathe at all
Oh, I know it wasn't safe, it wasn't safe to breathe at all
Oh, I know it wasn't safe, it wasn't safe to speak at all

(4)
Hold on, Suf
Hold on, Suf
Hold on, Sufjan

1, 2 3, 4!

It's a long life, better pinch yourself,
Put your face together, better get it right
It's a long life, better hit yourself
Put your face together, better stand up straight
It's a long life, only one last chance
Couldn't get much better, do you wanna dance?
It's a long life, better pinch yourself
Get your face together, better stand up straight

Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get it right, get it right, get it right, get it right)
Boy, we can do much more together
(Better give love, give love, give love, give love)
Boy, we can do much more together,
(better get it right, get it right get it right, get it right)
Boy, we can do much more together it's not so impossible
It's not so impossible

It's a long life, better pinch yourself
Get your face together, better roll along
It's a long life, better pinch yourself
Put your face together, better stand up straight
It's a long life only one last chance
Couldn't get much better, do you wanna dance?
It's a good life, better pinch yourself
Is it impossible? Is it impossible?
Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get it right, get it right, get it right, get it right)
Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get a life, get a life, get a life, get a life)
Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get it right, get it right, get it right, get it right)
Boy we can do much more together, it's not so impossible
It's not so impossible

It's a long life, better pinch yourself
Put your face together, better get it right
It's a long life, better hit yourself
Put your face together, better stand up straight
In the wrong life, everything is chance
Does it register? Do you wanna dance?
In the right life, it's a miracle
Possibility, do you wanna dance?

Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get it right, get it right, get it right, get it right)
Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get a life, get a life, get a life, get a life)
Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get it right, get it right, get it right, get it right)
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible

Do you want to dance?

Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible

(5)
I never meant to cause you pain
My burden is the weight of a feather
I never meant to lead you on
I only meant to please me, however

And then you tell me, boy, we can do much more
Boy, we can do much more
Boy, we can do much more together
Boy, we can do much more together

I'm nothing but a selfish man
I'm nothing but a privileged peddler
And did you think I'd stay the night?
And did you think I'd love you forever?
And then you tell me, boy, we can do much more

I got to tell you, girl, I want nothing less
Girl, I want nothing less
Girl, I want nothing less than pleasure
Girl, I want nothing less than pleasure

I got to tell you, boy, we made such a mess
Boy, we made such a mess
Boy, we made such a mess together
Boy, we made such a mess together



Add to Mixtape  (view all)






  • Lyric Tags
Earn points by tagging lyrics!


  • 58 Comments
  • Printer Friendly Lyrics
oldest first     Expand All
DrakelikesNachos
09-28-2010

 Rated  +3 
What an amazing song. The auto-tune surprised me...pissed me off a bit...But now I love it.

Log in to reply
General Comment
DrakelikesNachos
09-28-2010

 Rated  0 
Oh...And does anyone have any idea who the female singer is in this song?

Log in to reply
8 Replies  ·  General Comment
Way_AE
09-28-2010

 Rated  +5 
Man, it's so hard to do anything while this song is playing. I can't imagine it just being "background music" or "driving music" because it just takes all your attention.

I think it's unfair how people have a knee-jerk reaction to auto-tune because of its prominence in recent pop music. It's a sound, just like any other effect, from Elliott Smith's multi-tracking or distortion on guitar. It's like any other instrument.

It's not like he's using auto-tune to cover up his lack of vocal talents - he's made a dozen albums without it, so using it for a few verses shouldn't matter. It's not like he uses it on every song like T-Pain. It's specific sonic choice, like the decision to use a trumpet, or a synth, or a choir.

Log in to reply
7 Replies  ·  General Comment
MisterHand
09-28-2010

 Rated  +2 
I was taken aback by the auto tune at first, but after listening/thinking about it in the context of the song I really love it now.

It seems to have been used as a device to disguish between different voices/points of view within the song. I see the auto-tune verse as being sung by Sufjan's psyche to himself. He himself is the stupid man in the window, and he's asking himself to come down and give what he has to offer without apology or worry.

Log in to reply
General Comment
Way_AE
09-28-2010

 Rated  0 
Also the woman sounds like Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond, but I am just judging this by the way she sings the word "afraid." That part sounds distinctly like her voice.

Log in to reply
6 Replies  ·  General Comment
solitary walker
09-28-2010

 Rated  +1 
I kind of love the auto tune. More power to him. My favorite section is the fourth "song" - who know that you could (sort of) dance to sufjan stevens??

Log in to reply
3 Replies  ·  General Comment
luv2chill
09-29-2010

 Rated  +1 
I love it _despite_ the autotune. I compare autotune today to moog in the 70s--it's a novel "instrument" but it is gonna sound dated once the music world moves on to something else. It will sound like an artifact of the early 2000s. In general, I have found Sufjan's music to be timeless. However, I suspect that 20 years on autotune will sound cheesy, like a product of its time. Something our kids will listen to and giggle at.

I do love that at the end he gives us a snippet of the Sufjan of yore. Maybe a sign he's not quite done with acoustic instruments and hushed ballads yet.

Log in to reply
2 Replies  ·  General Comment
bsr814
09-29-2010

 Rated  +1 
To me this song is kind of like a transformation of sorts. The woman's voice is like a divine entity speaking to him.... and when he emerges singing in autotune, it is as if he has been transformed. But when I first heard the autotune I definitely lol'd.

Log in to reply
1 Reply  ·  General Comment
Shyvan
09-30-2010

 Rated  0 
He CLEARLY says "I was wigging out" not "I was bleeding out" in the second stanza.

Log in to reply
1 Reply  ·  General Comment
Shyvan
09-30-2010

 Rated  0 
oops sorry didnt mean to respond to your post

Log in to reply
General Comment
gob
10-02-2010

 Rated  0 
I have some minor corrections:

It wasn't safe to breath at all -> It wasn't safe to breathe at all (x4)
Out your face together -> Put your face together
It's long life -> It's a long life
It's impossible, it's impossible -> Is it possible, is it possible
Better get it right, get it right, get it right, get it right -> Better get a life, get a life, get a life, get a life (it's repeated on a couple occasions)

Log in to reply
General Comment
TheLightIsMine
10-02-2010

 Rated  +6 
(1) Breakup event. Gets dumped, goes a little nutty. Realizes he's mourning something secondary he wanted from it, not the person herself. As though it were an ego blow. She the love of his "Impossible Soul," the cynical/fearful part of him that thinks that happiness is not possible...too risky.

(2) His "angel" coaches him... the things you do for safety imprison you more than the worst outcomes you could ever experience from taking chances. Basically, the risk averse life robs you of the full experience (delight) of life.

(3) The lesson seeping into his conscience (auto-tune).

(4) Life essential beckoning...use it or lose it, champ. Snap out of the dream life you're living.

(5) Sorry I was a dick. I'm much better now. Wasn't that a lot of drama?



Log in to reply
2 Replies  ·  General Comment
avengedsurvive
10-03-2010

 Rated  +2 
first... and foremost... this is a damn good song.

second... the auto-tune part reminds me of the antoine dodson 'bed intruder' song.

Log in to reply
General Comment
stevenj777
10-03-2010

 Rated  0 
After "it wasn't safe to breathe at all" they say "hold on suf" 12 times in three sets of 4.... then "1,2,3, 4!"

Log in to reply
1 Reply  ·  General Comment
whap whap
10-03-2010

 Rated  0 
I believe Sufjan may be gay (mostly because of the track "Futile Devices") and was in a relationship with a woman.

I never meant to cause you pain
My burden is the weight of a feather
I never meant to lead you on
I only meant to please me, however

He is saying my being gay is so small and I shouldn't have you led you on just to make a good image of myself. I mostly interpret this way because of other songs like I mentioned.

Log in to reply
12 Replies  ·  General Comment
refusedxrxdead
10-04-2010

 Rated  0 
I think besides the autotune Sufjan also uses a talkbox in this song. It sounds to me like near the end of Act 4 where he repeats, "It's not so impossible" he is using a talkbox. I could be wrong.

Log in to reply
General Comment
BMAN12688
10-05-2010

 Rated  +1 
i thought this song connected to "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!" with the lines:
"I cried myself to sleep last night
And the ghost of Carl, he approached my window
I was hypnotized, I was asked
To improvise
On the attitude, the regret
Of a thousand centuries of death"

thats what I immediately thought of when he sang in part 3:
"Stupid man in the window, I couldn't be at rest
All my delight, all that mattered, I couldn't be at rest
From what I liked, from what I gathered, I couldn't be at rest
Stupid man in the window, I couldn't be at rest"

maybe im the only one who thought so. I also like Shara Worden's guest vocal here (aka My Brightest Diamond). fantastic song. thanks sufjan

Log in to reply
1 Reply  ·  General Comment
JaviV
10-09-2010

 Rated  0 
Guys,

Does anyone think that lyrics at Act V are addressed to "the fan" somehow? I'm talking about these verses:

I never meant to cause you pain
My burden is the weight of a feather
I never meant to lead you on
I only meant to please me, however

(...)

I'm nothing but a selfish man
I'm nothing but a privileged brother

This could match with:
a) The "transfiguration" from the old banjo Sufjan to the new electronic Sufjan.
b) His latest statements to the media, where he even declared was tired of music, of his own voice, what undoubtedly would lead to a change in the way Sufjan is doing things, that is what I've called "the new Sufjan" (I'm nothing but a selfish man; I only meant to please me).

So, in these verses Sufjan would address to that person that follows him since years, saying that he needed this transfiguration to "be well" (as he says in song #10). Sufjan tries to make up with the fan, in case he had been shocked with this Age of Adz.

No need to say that I loved the old Sufjan and I love more the new one. :-)

Log in to reply
My Interpretation
JoeyMcChipmunk
10-10-2010

 Rated  +1 
The woman sounds like St Vincent. Which is possible, because she toured with him and they know each other and all that jazz.

Log in to reply
General Comment
drkpssngr11
10-12-2010

 Rated  -3 
The woman singing is most definitely, absolutely, unequivocally Annie Clark of St. Vincent.

That being said, what a fantastic song.

Also, I believe it's from a girl's point of view during the ending part: "And then you tell me, boy, we can do much more..." it's when he says "girl, I want nothing less than pleasure" when he, Sufjan, is actually speaking. Thus, there aren't any homosexual undertones.

Anyway, that's just what I think.

Log in to reply
6 Replies  ·  General Comment
Nimbus the Kitten
10-14-2010

 Rated  +10 
You know that a song is completely amazing when 25 minutes seems too short.

Log in to reply
General Comment
beetee
10-14-2010

 Rated  0 
This section is:

Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get a life, get a life, get a life, get a life)
Boy, we can do much more together
(Better give love, give love, give love, give love)
Boy, we can do much more together,
(better get it right, get it right get it right, get it right)
Boy, we can do much more together it's not so impossible
It's not so impossible

All 3 times

Log in to reply
General Comment
Sweet_Amity
10-15-2010

 Rated  0 
This song is amazing, I kept putting off listening to it because it was so long and I wanted to devote all my attention to it. I'm glad I did :)

Log in to reply
General Comment
Swiftlygothedays
10-17-2010

 Rated  0 
"Stupid man in the window, I couldn't be at rest
All my delight, all that mattered, I couldn't be at rest
From what I liked, from what I gathered, I couldn't be at rest
Stupid man in the window, I couldn't be at rest"

reminds me of "Casimir Pulaski Day":

"All the glory that the Lord has made
And the complications when I see His face
In the morning in the window"

Makes me wonder who the "stupid man in the window" is. Is it God? I mean, if you're gonna talk to God, you might as well do so using auto-tune. Of course, I'm just drawing this connection based on "Casimir Pulaski Day". My interpretation could be very wrong based on the context of this specific song. Like other people said, the "stupid man" could also be Sufjan himself. Or a part of Sufjan. It's just I'm having a hard time raveling this song and this was the best I could come up with, I guess.
Even without knowing the meaning, I absolutely love this track. It's beautiful. Just beautiful. Ever since I got this album, I've been listening to it non-stop. This song is the most played. Considering its length, I guess I really do love this song.

Log in to reply
4 Replies  ·  General Comment
hab204
10-17-2010

 Rated  0 
if listening to this song didn't already change your life, seeing him play it live will surely do it for ya.
my god. this might be one of the best pieces of art to be created in my lifetime; i legitimately mean that.

Log in to reply
4 Replies  ·  General Comment




  • Add Your Comments
What does this song mean to you?

You must be logged in to post your comments.

Feel free to create an account with us, or log in with your existing account, to start adding your comments to songs.







Your Ad Here