been a crazy dream but one thing remains
true we want whatever music this artist
will grace us with welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’ll be
counting down the top 10 Sufjan Stevens
songs
before we begin we publish new videos
every day so be sure to subscribe for
more great content for this list we’re
looking at any song this gifted musician
has put out
number ten
futile devices an incredible love song
futile devices is an exploration of
figuring out how to determine what kind
of love you have for a person
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whether it’s romantic or familial it can
be hard to externalize and verbalize
what you feel inside his lyrics
ironically capture that dilemma calling
words futile devices the perfect
descriptor the limitations of words may
be the subject of the song but his words
resonate a remix of the song was later
used on the call me by your name
soundtrack in addition to his other
songs number 9 Flint for the unemployed
and underpaid not many of Stevens songs
are overly political but this song feels
like the closest he’s come the town of
Flint Michigan is the song subject as he
laments the hopelessness many of the
town’s residents feel written long
before the light in the water there
became a national crisis he describes a
dying town long removed from its glory
days during the boom of the automobile
the repetition of the line even if I
died alone makes him sound resigned to
his fate just as many in the town may
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number eight
should have known better written after
the death of his mother Carrie this song
explores his grief and his inability to
process it initially
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rather than creating a mournful lament
it is more upbeat than you’d expect
pastrami depict acoustic guitars
accentuates as vocals and makes the song
feel more buoyant than it might have
otherwise
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some of the details in the lyrics like
she left us at the video store create
more depth and backstory in one line
that most artists would be able to do
[Music]
number seven to be alone with you in
interviews Stevens has been careful not
to say too much about his Christianity
or any songs meaning leaving it up to
the audience to interpret whether you
interpret this song about being in love
with someone or about his relationship
with Jesus it’s one of Steven’s most
what’s readily apparent is that he’s
singing about the sacrifices a person
will make for love a universally
relatable message repeating the hook to
be alone with you drives home that
number six Chicago the centerpiece of
his Illinois album Chicago isn’t really
about the city but rather the narrator’s
journey of finding himself all things go
all things go drove to Chicago
one of Stephens more up-tempo songs in
it he explores the freedom of getting up
and leaving the place that is no longer
good for you
he’s jubilant as he sings about letting
go of possessions and letting go of past
mistakes the youth choir that
accompanies him tangibly adds the
feeling of freedom that his lyrics evoke
Stephens has said that it’s semi
autobiographical and that
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number five mystery of love Stephens
crafted two gorgeous songs for the call
me by your name soundtrack and while
visions of Gideon played an important
role in the film’s finale scene its
mystery of love that captured the
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the song isn’t directly about the film
characters with references to Oregon
making it fit in with the narratives on
his Carrie and Lowell album but by
making it personal to him the song
became a universal exclamation of the
exquisite details like birthmarks on
shoulders make the song intimate and
convey his amazement of being with his
lover
number four Casimir Pulaski day the song
takes its name from a holiday in
Illinois that was created in honor of
Casimir Pulaski a Polish born military
officer who helped the US Army during
the Revolutionary War goldenrod and the
4-h though the things I found but this
song isn’t about him but rather Stephens
friend who died of cancer on that day of
the year as always his lyrics are
powerful storytelling he recalls praying
over her that the cancer would go away
it’s an honest crisis of faith and
offers the safe space for listeners to
investigate their own relationship with
God with lines like I’m crying in the
bathroom it’s hard not to relate number
three impossible soul it’s
understandable to perhaps be put off by
a song that clocks in at around 25
minutes but from the start of this one
as the closing song on the album Stevens
wanted to make sure he left an
impression on the listener divided into
five different parts the song morphs and
twists from despair to hopeful about
Shara Worden accompanies him at various
points and her voice adds an
otherworldly counterpoint the whole
experience is an audio journey that
feels like falling down the rabbit hole
number two for the widows in paradise
for the fatherless in Ypsilanti inspired
by a trip to paradise Michigan where
Stevens noticed the town was seemingly
devoid of men he created a narrative
that the town was like something of a
paradise for the women who were all made
well there’s not a literal translation
of that idea in the song there is a
sense of both mourning and joy in the
lyrics that repetition of the line I’ll
do anything for brings to mind the
sacrifices people make in everyday life
to protect loved ones
[Music]
the lush female harmonies give the song
more depth and make that refrain even
more poignant
before we unveil our number one pick
and the people bowed and prayed
number one John Wayne Gacy jr. his
father was a drinker and his mother
right in
quite the unusual subject for a song
John Wayne Gacy jr. tells the story of
the infamous serial killer of Illinois
who dressed up like a clown to get
access to young boys 33 of whom he
sexually assaulted and murdered in the
1970s even more
in this soft and gentle song Sufjan
explores Casey’s backstory from
childhood to his status as a popular
performer in town he dressed up like a
clown
with his face paint white and
the lyrics are deeply haunting
particularly the last hook where he
compares his own hidden secrets to what
Gacy was capable of but it’s the anguish
in his voice as he sings oh my god
that’s so overwhelmingly arresting it
will stay with you long after a listen
in my best behavior just like him
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