Though Stevens had announced plans to make an album for each of the 50 U.S. states, beginning the series with the albums 'Michigan' (2003) and 'Illinois' (2005), he has since then somewhat retracted the statement. "Sufjan Stevens is not going to write a record for each of the 50 states after all" was the original text included on the online liner notes for 'Mews Too: An Asthmatic Kitty Compilation' , a disc released on February 7, 2006. This statement was possibly included as a joke, as the text has since been removed and the current liner notes related to Sufjan Stevens reads: "Sufjan Stevens can fold a fitted-sheet (he once worked as a professional folder in a commercial Laundromat)."
Background
Stevens was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in the city of Petoskey in that same state. He attended Hope College on the west coast of Michigan.
The name Sufjan is an Arabic/Persian name that predates Islam and most famously belonged to Abu Sufyan, a figure from early Islamic history. It has been mentioned in the press that the name was given to Stevens by the leader of Subud, a spiritual sect to which his parents belonged when he was born. Stevens has stated that the name is of Armenian origin and means "comes with a sword," and that it is "a charming militaristic Muslim name." In fact the name is not Armenian, and Armenia is a predominantly Christian country.
Sufjan is also the plural form of Sufi in Persian . Sufi is a practitioner of Sufism .This word is frequently used in the old Persian literature ,specially Sufi poetry .
His brother, marathonist Marzuki Stevens, has trained to compete in the 2008 Olympic trials, and has played on two of Sufjan's albums.
A multi-instrumentalist, Stevens plays the banjo, guitar, drums, and several other instruments, often playing all of these on his albums through the use of multi-tracking. While in school, he studied the oboe and English horn, which he also plays on his albums; he is one of the few musicians in popular music to use these instruments.
Career
Sufjan Stevens began his musical career as a member of Marzuki, a folk-rock band from Holland, Michigan. He also played (and continues to play) various instruments for Danielson Famile. While in school at Hope College, Stevens wrote and recorded his debut solo album, A Sun Came, which he released on Asthmatic Kitty Records, a record label he founded with his step-father in 1999. He later moved to New York City, where he was enrolled in a writing program at the New School for Social Research.
While in New York, Stevens composed and recorded the music for his second album, Enjoy Your Rabbit, a song cycle based around the animals of the Chinese Zodiac that ventured into electronica.
Stevens followed this with the first of his 50 states albums, a collection of folk songs and instrumentals inspired by his home state of Michigan. The result, the expansive Michigan, included odes to cities including Detroit and Flint, the Upper Peninsula, and vacation areas such as Tahquamenon Falls. Melded into the scenic descriptions and characters are his own declarations of faith in God, sorrow, love and the regeneration of Michigan.
Following the release of Michigan, Stevens compiled a collection of songs recorded previously into a side project, the Christian folk album Seven Swans, which was released in March 2004.
Next he released the second in the 50 states projects, entitled Come On Feel The Illinoise!. Among the subjects explored on Come On Feel The Illinoise! are the cities of Chicago, Decatur and Jacksonville, the serial killer John Wayne Gacy, the poet Carl Sandburg, and Mississippi Palisades State Park.
He has contributed to the music of Denison Witmer, Soul Junk, Half-handed Cloud, Brother Danielson, Danielson Famile, Serena Maneesh, Castanets, and Liz Janes. He played piano on for fellow Brooklyn musician's The National's album 2007 Boxer. A cover of "She Is" is included on the album Dream Brother, released in the United States on January 31, 2006.
Sufjan contributed a lot to the sound of the 2001 Liz Janes album Done Gone Fire as he engineered, recorded, produced and arranged it as well as playing many addition instruments.
Sufjan recently recorded with Rosie Thomas and Denison Witmer playing banjo and providing vocals. It is unknown how this record will be released. In April 2006, Pitchfork erroneously announced that Stevens and Thomas were having a baby together, but were forced to print a retraction. Witmer and Thomas later admitted it was an April Fools' prank.
The Fifty States Project
Beginning with Michigan, Stevens announced an intent to write an album for each of the 50 U.S. states, although in interviews he wavers between utter sincerity and self-deprecating irony when describing the idea.
Stevens spent the second half of 2004 researching and writing material for the second of these projects, this time focusing his efforts on Illinois. As with Michigan, Stevens used the state of Illinois as a leaping-off point for his more personal explorations of faith, family, love, and location.
The widely acclaimed Illinois was the highest rated album of 2005 on the Metacritic review aggregator site, based on glowing reviews from Pitchfork, The Onion A/V Club, Spin, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and The Guardian. The 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards awarded Stevens with the Album Of The Year, Best Album Art/Packaging, and Male Artist Of The Year. Pitchfork Media and Paste Magazine named Come On Feel The Illinoise! as the editors' choice for best album of 2005 and Stevens received the 2005 Pantheon prize, awarded to albums selling 500,000 copies or fewer, for Come On Feel The Illinoise!. In April of 2006, Stevens announced that 21 pieces of music he had culled from the Come On Feel The Illinoise! recording sessions would be incorporated into a new album, called The Avalanche. The album was released on July 11, 2006.
While there were other projects rumored to be released following 2005's Illinois, by 2009 and his live album The BQE, he was seemingly finished with the project, calling it "Such a joke", and accepting that the project was too massive and too cliché to ever reach an end.
Religious themes
Many of Stevens' songs have religious and spiritual allusions, but his album Seven Swans has the most direct religious references. Stevens has expressed that he is Christian, but does not overtly advertise this aspect of himself in his music. Stevens has also stated that he does not try to make music "with a message", or music for the sake of preaching. "I don't think music media is the real forum for theological discussions," says Stevens. "I think I've said things and sung about things that probably weren't appropriate for this kind of forum. And I just feel like it's not my work or my place to be making claims and statements, because I often think it's misunderstood."
The songs 'Abraham', 'Seven Swans', 'To Be Alone With You', 'We Won't Need Legs To Stand' and 'The Transfiguration' directly address Christianity on the album Seven Swans. In 'Abraham', Sufjan recounts the Old Testament story in the Book of Genesis when Abraham, ordered by God as a test of faith, leads his son, Isaac, up a mountain and prepares to kill him, as commanded (but before God sends an angel to intervene). The lyrics of 'The Transfiguration' follow the Biblical accounts of Jesus' Transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9: 1-8, and Luke 9:28-36.
Michigan and Come On Feel The Illinoise! are packed with Christian references and metaphors. Michigan contains "Sleeping Bear, Sault Saint Marie", which implores "Oh Lamb of God! Tell us Your perfect design and give us the rod" ("Lamb of God" being a Biblical name for Jesus Christ). The song "Oh God, Where Are You Now?" asks God to "hold me now", to "save somehow", searching for God in the midst of personal turmoil. "There's no other man who could save the dead," the song states. The album closer, 'Vito's Ordination Song', was apparently originally written for Sufjan's friend Vito Aiuto, and its lyrics allude directly to Psalm 139 ("I always knew you. In your mother's arms, I have called your name", "I've made a crown for you"). The song speaks of "When the bridegroom comes" - the New Testament speaks of Jesus Christ as being the Bridegroom and the Church His Bride, finally being united together at the End of Time.
Come On Feel The Illinoise! features the song 'Chicago' with its refrain of "You came to take us, to recreate us", and 'Decatur' has the chorus of "It's the great I Am" ("I Am" being the name the Lord reveals Himself by to Moses in Exodus 3:14). "Casimir Pulaski Day" speaks of "All the glory that the Lord has made" in the midst of personal pain and loss. "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out To Get Us!" has the lyrics: "Lamb of God, we sound the horn. Hallelujah!" One instrumental passage has the title of "In This Temple as in the Hearts of Man for Whom He Saved the Earth". "The Seer's Tower" speaks of Emanuel, "With His sword, with His robe He comes dividing man from brothers" (an interesting side note is that "Sufjan" actually means "comes with a sword"). Indeed, the vast majority of songs of Come On Feel The Illinoise! contain lyric lines which can be readily identified as having a basis in Stevens' faith in Christ.
Sufjan's second, electronic album, Enjoy Your Rabbit, contains a song cycle based on of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac, culminating with the song "Year of our Lord". Stevens released the original, Christian-themed song "God'll Ne'er Let You Down" on the "To Spirit Back the Mews" compilation on Asthmatic Kitty. The officially unreleased Christmas albums Sufjan Stevens made and then compiled into Songs for Christmas feature suitably Christmas and Christian themed music, both originals and covers of hymns and traditional songs.
Trivia
On Snow Patrol's 2006 album Eyes Open there is a reference to Sufjan and the song "Chicago" in the song "Hands Open" - "Put Sufjan Stevens on and we'll play your favorite song/"Chicago" bursts to life and your sweet smile remembers you."
Sufjan has twice been featured on the FOX television show "The OC". "To Be Alone With You" and "For The Widows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti" can be heard on episodes 202 and 315, respectively.
Sufjan Stevens' music has appeared twice on the Showtime dark comedy "Weeds". "All The Trees Of The Field Will Clap Their Hands" appears on S1E02 over the end credits, and "Holland" appears near the end of S2E10.
Two of Sufjan's songs appear on the soundtrack to "Little Miss Sunshine": "Chicago" and "No Man's Land"
The song "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." appears on the 3rd season of the tv show "Nip/Tuck".
Several songs can be heard on the movie "Driving Lessons"
You can also hear snippets in between CSI shows on 5US
In the TV show "Austin City Limits", he mentioned that when he was a kid, he and his best friend saw something in the sky which they couldn't figure out. They thought it was a spaceship or UFO first, then an eagle or a dragon. Finally they realized it was a giant wasp. He wrote the song "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us!" about the incident and mentioned that the reason they (the band) all have wings on stage is to overcome his fear of flying things.
The song "Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)" is heard in the 2012 "World of Red Bull" television commercial. he is quoted as saying "selling out never looked so good." and "somebody had to pay for all of that Christmas confetti." referring to his recent Christmas album and supporting tour.
In 2017 Stevens wrote two Original Songs to be featured in the gay drama film “Call me by your Name”, entitled “Mystery of Love” and “Visions of Gideon”. He also made a reworked version of his Song “Futile Devices” which is also featured on the soundtrack.
Website:http://sufjan.com
Borderline
Sufjan Stevens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A wonderful lover,
A satisfied hole,
Hope isn't a word,
A sudden said brother,
And what do you care?
And i'll take the pictures,
I'll run down the park,
If you put up your head.
Don't put up your borderline,
Don't put up your borderline.
Oh there is a house,
A wonderful lover,
And what do you care?
Four or five years ago,
I wouldn't believe it,
I wouldn't receive it,
And i'll take the stiches.
You put in my head,
I'll run down the ark,
If you put up your head.
Don't put up your borderline,
Don't put up your borderline,
Borderline,
Borderline.
It feels like i'm going to lose my mind,
It feels like i'm going to lose my mind.
The lyrics to Sufjan Stevens's "Borderline" appear to be ambiguous and open-ended at first glance. Stevens seems to be describing several different things, and it's difficult to get a clear sense of what they all have in common. However, at the heart of the song, there is a plea for intimacy and connection, and it seems as though Stevens is struggling with some kind of emotional barrier or "borderline" that is preventing him from experiencing the kind of deep emotional fulfillment that he craves.
The opening lines of the song describe a house and a lover, which could be interpreted as symbols for stability and security. However, Stevens also describes a "satisfied hole" and suggests that "hope isn't a word," which implies that something is lacking or unfulfilling in his life. The sudden mention of a brother complicates matters even further, and it's unclear how this figure fits into the overall narrative of the song.
As the song progresses, Stevens offers to "take the pictures" and "run down the park" if his lover will "put up [their] head." This suggests that he feels responsible for the happiness or well-being of his partner, and that he wants to be able to provide for them in some way. However, he also warns against putting up a "borderline," implying that there is some kind of emotional barrier that needs to be overcome if their relationship is going to thrive.
The final lines of the song suggest that Stevens is struggling with his own mental health, as he laments that "it feels like I'm going to lose my mind." This could be interpreted as a plea for help from his lover, or simply as an acknowledgement that he is struggling to cope with the pressures of his own life.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh there is a house,
There is a place where I find comfort.
A wonderful lover,
I have someone who brings me joy.
A satisfied hole,
I have a sense of completion.
Hope isn't a word,
I sometimes struggle to find hope.
A sudden said brother,
I have someone who I can rely on in difficult situations.
And what do you care?
Why are you asking about this?
And i'll take the pictures,
I am willing to document and remember these moments.
If you stay in bed,
I'll take care of things if you need a break.
I'll run down the park,
I will take care of errands or physical activities.
If you put up your head.
I need you to make an effort to participate in these moments too.
Don't put up your borderline,
Don't distance yourself emotionally.
Oh there is a house,
I still have this place of comfort.
A wonderful lover,
I still have this person who brings me joy.
And what do you care?
Why does it matter to you?
Four or five years ago,
There was a time when things were different.
I wouldn't believe it,
I wouldn't have thought things would turn out this way.
I wouldn't receive it,
I wouldn't have been willing to accept this reality.
And i'll take the stiches.
I will endure and heal from my wounds.
You put in my head,
You made me think or feel a certain way.
I'll run down the ark,
I'll take on responsibility and make things happen.
If you put up your head.
If you can find the motivation to engage as well.
Don't put up your borderline,
Don't build emotional walls between us.
Don't put up your borderline.
I'm begging you to not put this emotional distance between us.
Borderline,
A reference to the emotional distance or division between us.
Borderline.
A plea to not create this boundary between us.
It feels like i'm going to lose my mind,
I'm feeling overwhelmed or mentally unstable.
It feels like i'm going to lose my mind.
Reiteration of the previous line.
Contributed by Riley K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
CloneDaddy
James Klieve
OK, James, “the internet says, so it must be true, eh”?
Here's my point:
I was diagnosed with BPD about five years ago. When my doctor sent me to get a diagnosis for PTSD .
It was explained to me then, off the record, that BPD is an umbrella term that covers many conditions, and if I were to be diagnosed with PTSD (which was clear to every other medical professional I had seen that up to that point, that that was what I had), then they would have to do something about it.
But, by giving BPD as a diagnosis, they could effectively just fob me off with anti-depressants and a few pamphlets .
That's what a borderline is. A line between the borders of two, or more, states.
A non specific hinterland , and in this instance, intentionally vague.
It could represent a borderline psychotic state, or a schizophrenic state, or any of the other mental states we humans are capable of, but until you qualify it, it's just a pro-noun.
And , in all the years I have suffered with this condition that they are only just now calling BPD, not once, ever , has it been referred to as just "borderline".
So, you'll forgive me for wondering why a simple noun would suddenly be promoted to the status of "Medical Condition" all on it's own.
In my opinion, and based on the research I have done into it, the entire human race qualifies as having BPD.
BPD is the psychiatric professions "gift" to us all.
Our own, personal mental illness, to satisfy everyone that there is indeed "something wrong with them", and send them away happy with their new "Badge of Honour".
In my opinion, if you are someone like me, who suffers with genuinely debilitating mental illness, and some overworked doctor tries to label you with BPD, then, call him out on it .
Because, until you receive a specific diagnosis for your woes, you won't receive the treatment you need, and things will only get worse for you.
It's taken me 13 years, and only recently am I starting to be treated for my problem.
That took a huge chunk out of what ever little was left of my self esteem.
So, don't give me "borderline" (or any other noun), until you specifically nail it down with a term that can be directly treated.
Don't settle for it as an answer. You haven't been diagnosed as " borderline", you've been "borderline" diagnosed.
Now, before anyone jumps on their high horse and starts accusing me of belittling, or demeaning the plight of others, I call BS.
I have nothing but sympathy for others in the same boat as me, and I readily admit that I don't have it as bad as some.
My argument is merely this:
Don't allow yourself to be so easily "tagged" as being "almost ill, but not quite". Because that's what they've done to us.
The things that made me unwell, were done to me, I don't want to keep them, and I certainly didn't want my kids to see me trying to live with them, while the psychiatric profession did fuck all to help me.
It tore me apart to see my kids being torn apart by watching me being torn apart.
So, BPD is a dirty word around here. It's certainly nothing to be proud of, or touted as a "cool" thing, which is what you do when you strip it of it's meaning by giving it such a friendly, harmless (meaningless) name as "borderline".
I want everyone to be well. I want everyone to get the help they need.
That starts with someone determining whether you're ill, or you aren't.
"Maybe, a bit", won't hack it for any of us.
So, James. I don't doubt that the internet refers to BPD as “borderline” (I did, in fact, check it out).
Maybe, you're an American. The “psych dept” you refer to, sounds like an Americanism, and, is therefore, maybe, a legitimate term in your country, but not in mine.
The trouble I have is with the de-humanising power of a misused word.
In much the same way that Americans now refer to “a homeless person” as “a homeless”, and thereby make it easier beat them and set fire to them, because they aren't human , they are “a homeless” (a tactic many despots and dictators have been more than well aware of, throughout history. Just ask a Jew).
Being labelled “a borderline” does the same thing. It strips you of your humanity, renders you “a thing” and ignores your illness.
I have had to fight hard for my treatment. No mean feat when you have no sense of self worth, but, that's what I did.
I educated myself and faced off with one psychiatrist after the other, until I could finish their sentences for them.
In the end, they recognised that I couldn't be fobbed off, and they started to do what they should have done over a decade ago.
I am now no longer BPD. Now, “suddenly”, I am “living with PTSD”.
And that has made *all the difference in the world to me*.
Now, my pain is acknowledged .
Now, I can talk to people about what happened without being judged .
Now, I receive specific treatment for a specific problem, and my life is changing for the better.
Maybe, one day, I will be someone I remember, someone my kids remember.
I hope so. Which is something I can do now, too. Hope.
And none of this came about by allowing myself to be labelled as neither fish nor foul.
So, “common usage” means nothing , James.
BPD means nothing .
You might as well say “I suffer from humanity in a sick society”.
And if you're still with me after this, kudos to you for hearing me out.
But you did ask :)
dope_lion
This give me chills down to my core. Such beauty can't be put into words.
Billy Knight
This song hits even harder if you have borderline.
Alasdair Ekpenyong
this
Nicole
Yes.
starry night
completely
Pleiades
i don't really understand the lyrics, could you explain them?
Andrew Lampe
It so does xx
dingorullugardina
This song... I can't express it's beauty in written words...
Lô Ô
this voice is my favorite one in this world.
Lợi Giáp
ô ô