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
Come on Feel the Illinoise
Sufjan Stevens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, great intentions
I've got the best of interventions
But when the ads come
I think about it now
In my infliction
Take us to glory
I think about it now
Cannot conversations cull united nations?
If you've got the patience, celebrate the ancients
Cannot all creation call it celebration?
Or united nation, put it to your head
Oh, great white city
I've got the adequate committee
Where have your walls gone?
I think about it now
Chicago, in fashion
The soft drinks, expansion
Oh, Columbia
From Paris, incentive
Like Cream of Wheat invented
The Ferris wheel
Oh, great intentions
Covenant with the imitation
Have you no conscience?
I think about it now
Oh, God of Progress
Have you degraded or forgot us?
Where have your laws gone?
I think about it now
Ancient hieroglyphic or the South Pacific
Typically terrific, busy and prolific
Classical devotion, architect promotion
Lacking in emotion, think about it now
Chicago, the New Age
But what would Frank Lloyd Wright say?
Oh, Columbia
Amusement or treasure
These optimistic pleasures
Like the Ferris wheel
Cannot conversations cull united nations?
If you've got the patience, celebrate the ancients
Columbia
Part 2: Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream
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
Even with the heart of terror and the superstitious wearer
I am riding all alone, I am writing all alone
Even in my best condition, counting all the superstition
I am riding all alone, I am running all alone
And we laughed at the beatitudes of a thousand lines
We were asked at the attitudes, they reminded us of death
Even with the rest belated, everything is antiquated
Are you writing from the heart, are you writing from the heart?
Even in his heart, the Devil has to know the water level
Are you writing from the heart, are you writing from the heart?
And I cried myself to sleep last night
For the Earth, and materials, they may sound just right to me
Even with the rest belated, everything is antiquated
Are you writing from the heart, are you writing from the heart?
Even in his heart, the Devil has to know the water level
Are you writing from the heart, are you writing from the heart?
The song "Come on! Feel the Illinoise!" by Sufjan Stevens is divided into two parts: World's Columbian Exposition and Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream. The first part is about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, which was held in Chicago to celebrate 400 years since Columbus first landed in the New World. The singer reflects on the great intentions of the Exposition, with the hope to unite nations and celebrate creation. However, he becomes conflicted by the commercialization of the event, with the appeal of advertisements distracting from the unity it was meant to promote. He questions the progress that has been made since the Exposition, wondering if it has brought degradation rather than advancement. The reference to Chicago's iconic Ferris wheel illustrates the Exposition's innovative spirit and advances in technology.
In the second part, the singer becomes introspective, reflecting on his own state of mind. He recounts crying himself to sleep and dreaming of the ghost of poet Carl Sandburg, who asks him to improvise on the regret of the past millennium. The singer reflects on the inherent terror and superstition present throughout history, but also on the importance of writing from the heart. The repetition of "Are you writing from the heart?" emphasizes the significance of authenticity in self-expression. The final lines draw attention to the state of the world and the need for empathy and connection.
Overall, the song explores themes of progress, commercialization, and personal authenticity, woven together with references to historical events and figures.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, great intentions
Despite having good intentions, there are still obstacles to overcome.
I've got the best of interventions
I believe that my actions are for the betterment of society.
But when the ads come
However, when advertisements are thrown into the mix, it changes the game.
I think about it now
I reflect on the decisions I've made and the consequences they may bring.
In my infliction
In my desire to succeed and make a difference, I become obsessed.
Entrepreneurial condition
My mindset is focused on creating something new and revolutionary.
Take us to glory
I am determined to achieve great success and bring others with me.
Cannot conversations cull united nations?
Is it possible for conversations to bring people and nations together?
If you've got the patience, celebrate the ancients
By being patient and acknowledging the past, we can celebrate the accomplishments of those who came before us.
Cannot all creation call it celebration?
Can't we all come together to celebrate the beauty of creation?
Or united nation, put it to your head
We must come together as a united nation to bring positive change and progress to the world.
Oh, great white city
Chicago was known as the great white city for its grandeur and beauty.
I've got the adequate committee
I have the resources and people necessary to achieve my goals.
Where have your walls gone?
What happened to the grandeur and beauty of the city's buildings and architecture?
Chicago, in fashion
Chicago was at the forefront of fashion and design during this time period.
The soft drinks, expansion
The soft drink industry in the United States was expanding rapidly during this time period.
From Paris, incentive
Inspiration for the city's architecture and design came from the 1900 Paris World's Fair.
Like Cream of Wheat invented
The Cream of Wheat brand was invented and marketed during this time period.
The Ferris wheel
The Ferris wheel was a major attraction at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Covenant with the imitation
Making a promise or agreement to strive for a specific type of imitation or improvement.
Have you no conscience?
Do you not feel any moral or ethical responsibility in your actions?
Oh, God of Progress
A plea to the idea of progress and moving forward towards a better future.
Have you degraded or forgot us?
Has the idea of progress left some people behind or forgotten about their struggles?
Where have your laws gone?
What happened to the laws and regulations that were meant to protect and benefit society?
Ancient hieroglyphic or the South Pacific
Referencing different cultures and histories from across the world.
Typically terrific, busy and prolific
Acknowledging the impressive and abundant works of art and culture throughout history.
Classical devotion, architect promotion
Recognizing the dedication to classical styles and praising architects for their achievements.
Lacking in emotion
Despite the beauty and grandeur of past works, they may lack emotional depth.
I cried myself to sleep last night
A personal expression of sadness and despair over the state of the world.
And the ghost of Carl
A symbolic representation of history and the past.
He approached my window
The past is always present and can appear at any moment.
I was hypnotized
Feeling captivated and entranced by the past.
I was asked to improvise
Being forced to confront the past and make decisions in the present moment.
On the attitude, the regret
Reflecting on past attitudes and regrets and how they've impacted the present.
Of a thousand centuries of death
Mortality and death are universal themes throughout history.
Even with the heart of terror and the superstitious wearer
Even when confronted with fear and superstition, one must continue moving forward.
I am riding all alone, I am writing all alone
Despite the isolation and loneliness that can come with grappling with the past, one must continue to create and express themselves.
Even in my best condition, counting all the superstition
Even when feeling confident and in control, one cannot ignore the impact of superstition and the unknown.
And we laughed at the beatitudes of a thousand lines
Poking fun at cultural norms and societal expectations throughout history.
We were asked at the attitudes, they reminded us of death
Being forced to confront the reality of mortality and the impact of one's actions on the world.
Even with the rest belated, everything is antiquated
Even when one feels like they're catching up with the times, everything can feel outdated and behind the times.
Are you writing from the heart, are you writing from the heart?
Questioning whether creation and expression are truly authentic and heartfelt.
Even in his heart, the Devil has to know the water level
Even those who seem entirely dishonest or immoral must eventually confront reality.
For the Earth, and materials, they may sound just right to me
Appreciating the beauty and significance of the natural world and material possessions.
Contributed by Parker P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.