Flint (For the Unemployed and
Sufjan Stevens Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

It's the same outside,
Driving to the riverside.
I pretend to cry,
Even if I cried alone.
I forgot the start.
Use my hands to use my heart.
Even if I died alone.
Since the first of June,
Lost my job and lost my room.
I pretend to try,
Even if I tried alone.
I forgot the part.




Lose my hands to lose my heart.
Even if I died alone.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Sufjan Stevens's song "Flint" reflect the struggles of underemployed and underpaid individuals. The first stanza portrays a sense of isolation and desolation as the singer drives alone to the riverside and pretends to cry. The use of the phrase "even if I cried alone" emphasizes the loneliness of their situation. They acknowledge that they might have forgotten how to start over and use their hands and heart to feel emotions again. However, the fear of dying alone lingers in their thoughts.


In the second stanza, the singer shares their losses since June – their job and room. They continue to pretend to try, even though they might be trying alone. They might have forgotten an important aspect of themselves, represented by the part they forgot. Losing their hands and heart is a metaphor for feeling helpless and powerless. The fear of dying alone remains persistent, even if it seems like a distant possibility.


Overall, the song's lyrics reflect the struggles of underemployed and underpaid individuals, highlighting the loneliness, isolation, and fear that underpin their everyday existence.


Line by Line Meaning

It's the same outside,
No matter where I go, everything looks the same.


Driving to the riverside.
Going down to the river in order to escape my problems.


I pretend to cry,
I act like I'm crying, even though I'm not really feeling it.


Even if I cried alone.
Even though I'm alone, I'll still try to show emotion.


I forgot the start.
I've lost my way and don't know where to begin.


Use my hands to use my heart.
I'm trying to create something with my hands, using my creativity to help me through my struggles.


Even if I died alone.
Even though I'm going through this alone, I'll keep going.


Since the first of June,
Starting in June, things have been difficult for me.


Lost my job and lost my room.
I've lost my job and a place to live, making things even harder for me.


I pretend to try,
I try to keep going, even when it feels impossible.


Even if I tried alone.
Even though I'm doing this by myself, I'll still keep trying.


I forgot the part.
I've lost something important and can't seem to figure out what it is.


Lose my hands to lose my heart.
I've stopped creating with my hands, and as a result I feel like I've lost my passion.


Even if I died alone.
Even if I never fully recover from this, I'll keep going and try to make the best of what I have left.




Lyrics © NEW JERUSALEM MUSIC
Written by: SUFJAN STEVENS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found

More Versions