My mom passed March 2018 of cancer. It was so hard to watch her go. My dad showed up on their first date with sunflowers in his hand. They were her favorite. A month after she passed my dad and I were pulling weeds in the garden, but there was one that was taller than the others, so I convinced him to leave it alone. A couple weeks later it bloomed into a beautiful sunflower. Our yard hadn’t been watered or tended to in years, and I am certain it was her. Time after time I revisit this song. It makes me feel less alone in this process. Every now and then I spot a sunflower growing in an unusual spot- it’s just mom, saying hello.

Terribly sad and yet beautiful song. The line that always chokes me up is: "Tuesday night at the bible study, we lift our hands and pray over your body but nothing ever happens." Man, that feeling of being absolutely powerless. Such a strong line.

My mother died of bone cancer. It was my father crying on the telephone. Now he's passed too. There are no words to tell how much this song has helped me. Thank you so much Sufjan.

I can only listen to this once a year now and todays the day

That "and he takes and he takes and he takes" just hits like a punch in the gut.

Not just one of Sufjan's best songs...but one of the best songs in the whole history of music.

This is one of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard, but the crescendo at 4:50 still feels oddly triumphant. Like pushing on and daring to live life in the face of unthinkable grief.

The end of this song just always gets me. "And he takes and he takes and he takes." Just the abrupt truth. It always hurts.

it kills me when he says, "and he takes, and he takes, and he takes..."

I’m playing this for my dog right now he has cancer he probably won’t make it though the night I love him so much

"I thought I saw you breathing" line fucks me UP

At first I listened to this song as back ground music while I studied, but after the first few words I found myself listening to it more instead of my homework and I started crying. This is such a powerful song, yet it's so calming and quiet. I'm obsessed.

What makes Sufjan's faith compelling is that he explores the complicated and painful parts, the doubts

I am crying in the bathroom.

I...can't even explain. Just...just.....HOW DOES A MORTAL MAN WRITE SUCH A HEAVENLY SONG!?!?!?!?!? This song has been a part of me since I was in third grade. It feels like home.

the line "i am crying in the bathroom" will always hit me like a brick, fucking beautiful.

Two, three, four Goldenrod and the four H stone The things I brought you When I found out you had cancer of the bone Your father cried on the telephone And he drove his car into the Navy yard Just to prove that he was sorry In the morning, through the window shade When the light pressed up against your shoulder blade I could see what you were reading All the glory that the Lord has made And the complications you could do without When I kissed you on the mouth Tuesday night at the Bible study We lift our hands and pray over your body But nothing ever happens I remember at Michael's house In the living room when you kissed my neck And I almost touched your blouse In the morning, at the top of the stairs When your father found out what we did that night And you told me you were scared All the glory when you ran outside With your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied And you told me not to follow you Sunday night when I cleaned the house I found the card where you wrote it out With the pictures of your mother On the floor at the great divide With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied I am crying in the bathroom In the morning when you finally go And the nurse runs in with her head hung low And the cardinal hits the window In the morning in the winter shade On the first of March, on the holiday I thought I saw you breathing All the glory that the Lord has made And the complications when I see his face In the morning in the window All the glory when he took our place But he took my shoulders and he shook my face And he takes and he takes and he takes

I've listened to this song so many times that the vinyl would be worn out. While I don't share Sufjan's Christian faith, he seems like a genuine Christian. As a non-American, I'm glad that there are guys like this to serve as positive, sensitive, thoughtful role models for young American males.

I first heard this song a couple of years ago and boy, no song I've heard since has been able to touch me as well as this one does. The development and unfortunate end of a relationship between the narrator and the dying girl was the first sad aspect that I noticed back when I first heard it. But now that I've come back to it, I can feel for more than just the loss. The father's one whom I also feel terrible for. The last thing you hear about the father in the song is how he made the girl scared when he figured out she and the narrator had shown their love for one another, and it kind of takes away from the sympathy I think we should feel for him. When he first hears about her bone cancer, he crashes his car because he's so distraught over it, and he tells her he's sorry even though she isn't there. There's no way the bone cancer was his fault. He's just sorry that he couldn't protect his little girl and he knows she'll die. I picture that scene and it instantly cripples me.

My best friend showed me this song almost two years ago. It reminded her of losing her mother to a neurological disease. Now shes inherited it is in hospice care and on life support herself. This song came on in a random playlist I didn't know would have it and well...crying in the bathroom before class. Hope you all and your loved ones are well :')

Even as a pretty hardline atheist I love his references to his faith and the doubts he has. They're still relatable feelings in other ways. "We pray over your body/but nothing ever happens". Such a simple but powerful statement.

The realest song I've ever heard about loss. The element of joy (to have known her in the first place, to have seen His face in the window while in the midst of doubt) is undeniable, as is the pain. Amazing.

The part in the song when he says "And I thought I saw you breathing" reminds me of when I saw my Dad in his coffin after he was killed in a motorcycle accident. I thought I saw him breathing...

This song is very nostalgically sad; it feels like you're alone late in the evening in the winter, blinkly slowly with flustered cheeks. Your skin is warm, so when the wind blows, it stings. Your chest aches and your limbs are weak. There is nothing to do about this situation. You've accepted it duly, but it still rings throughout you. You're not sure you'll ever be over it.

My 22 year-old son introduced me to this artist. The melody immediately seized me emotionally. Tears just stream every time,

This song is also about religion, it's about a man who loved a girl and she died, and he is struggling to maintain his faith because what kind of God would take away the one thing you love the most. He realizes that God will always take and he eventually learns to accept it

This song fills me. It completes me. Just the first few notes make me swell up inside. I don't know. It's just so perfect. I remember the first time I heard it I found this album in my grandmothers art studio and I put it on. I thought it was pretty good. And then _this_ song started to play and I just started crying and I played it over and over and over and over for about half an hour. It's been with me ever since and no matter how many times I play it I always want to hear it again. Music is a strange thing. It can make you feel so much.

seeing this live and having everyone sing that last a capella part nearly brought me to tears. I want to relive that concert again and again

Damn, I am a sucker for a good lyric - "All the glory, when He took our place / But he took my shoulders, and he shook my face / And he takes, and he takes, and he takes" ...damn...

This song will never leave me. I will always be deeply affected by it when I hear it. One of the best songs I've ever heard.

my grandmother died on october 1st, 2018. my brother and i left the hospital and walked up to the parking lot. not a word was spoken. it was around 6. the sun was setting. i hop into the car and stare at the sky, trying my hardest to choke back tears. he puts on this song. we start driving. that whole drive- the music, the lack of words, the beautiful golden light- never has a song impacted me like this. i remember choking up, soaking in every single word, remembering all she had done for my family. i loved her so much and i still do. i miss her incredibly. this was my introduction to sufjan. his music has helped me through countless depressive episodes and i am forever grateful that he took the opportunity to share his talent with us.

A little girl I knew from church just died of complications from sickle cell. She was seven. I haven't stopped crying, but this song helps somehow.

This never gets old. When the banjo kicks in... Beautiful.

This has got to be one of the best albums ever made

"In the morning when you finally go, and the nurse runs in with her head held low, and the cardinal hits window..." suckerpunch.... ooooh!

It's March 4, 2019, happy Casmir Pulaski Day. :(

I sometimes like to think he could be saying "in the mourning"... I like to think this possible interpretation was intended

I can't listen to this song in front of people. If I hear it I have to walk out of the room. It's too heart-wrenchingly sad. I don't know why it provokes such a strong emotional reaction from me- but it does. It just creates a set of images in my mind that just absolutely fucking pulverize my soul.

Such a beautifully sad song, and composed with pure poetry, with my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied, a metaphor for appearing alright on the surface, but falling apart underneath. Genius! I would compare this song to I will follow you into the dark by death cab for cutie, in terms of tone and content

A senior at my school died of bone cancer yesterday. This is the first song that played on the way there today.

This is a rare gem. It will never leave me.

Casimir Pulaski Day is celebrated on the first monday of March in Illinois. In the song he says "on the first of march, on the holiday i thought i saw you breathing" so I think it happened on Casimir Pulaski Day and thats why its called that

One of the most fucking heart-wrenching songs ever written. Something about the weirdly happy (even if bittersweet) tone of it makes it even more crushing.

We all are so mortal, so precious.

On this year's Casimir Pulaski Day, my father collapsed. For 40 minutes his heart stopped. He's alive and conscious now with mental impairment. Sufjan has always been beautiful, profound, etc. but I never thought his words would be prophetic to me.

"Tuesday night at the Bible Study, we lift our hands and pray over your body, but nothing ever happens." The existential futility of this line...elevates this song over 99.99999 percent of "sensitive indie boy" sounds.

the three silent minutes at the end is like the void left after someone dies

I can't believe i'm only just getting into Sufjan's work, this song in particular really hit me hard when I realized what it was about. Really reminds me of myself when I used to be quite religious as a kid, I'd always pray and ask god why my dad died when I was so young

Fucking invisible ninjas cutting onions around my eyes >.>

I'm seeing Sufjan in Boston tonight. "Casimir Pulaski Day" is the song that got me interested in him. So sad, so beautiful. His John Wayne Gacy song is also quite beautiful... quietly terrifying somehow. What a talent.

My sister died from leukemia and this song makes me feel a little closer to her. Odd isn't it?

im not the biggest fan of trumpet but the trumpet solo in this song gives me goosebumps

My grandmother died of cancer a couple months ago. I was with her near the end but for some reason I held back my tears at her funeral. I'm finally letting it all out. Thank you Sufjan, this song means more to me now than it ever has.

Thank you Sufjan for being here for me when no one else understands. Rest in peace Jack Rudolf McCall. I miss you, I love you.

Sufjan is so innocent, it makes me cry

Hopefully future generations remember this music

This is genius on several levels.. Sufjan quietly places you into each room as a witness ....the melancholy of this (unlikely) paring of instruments pulls you into it all... you have no choice but to "experience" these moments with him...on the surface, this song may sound simple enough, but it is so much more...it is truly a remarkable piece of work!

Such a crushingly sad but very spiritual song. I play this song just get my mind right about what's important in life.

Over summer my dad passed away from lung cancer, so I can completely relate with some of the aspects of this song. Of course I never kissed him on the mouth or anything, but stevens' expression of doubt in god is totally relatable. Its difficult to think of reasons why god would take certain people away, sometimes it just seems like "he takes and he takes and he takes." Those last words brought tears to my eyes because I have gone and am still going through the emotions that he is eminating

My grandson sang it to me one day, and I have been smitten with this ever since. He is a wonderful poet and brings to banal trite pop music a new level of meaning and depth.

This song is sad and sadder than most people think. Its not just about a girl dying of cancer. Its about that, a boy losing his best friend and first crush, and losing faith in his religion (which is a massive deal if you're a religious person.) And whats more, it seems to me that the mother had been dead awhile (hence the pictures of your mother line) and the father died when the girl was diagnosed with cancer because he was so distraught, driving his car into the navy yard, so also the girl is dying without her family around to be there for her. And all this through the lens of a young boy trying to make sense of it all as its in opposition to his whole world view about religion and God taking care of you. Finally the name of the song is Casimir Pulaski Day, a very small holiday mainly recognized in Chicago which will still forever overshadow the death of the girl. Saddest and most beautiful song I know.

This is my favorite song. Sufjan Stevens songs are so easy to imagine ourselves in that the song feels real

right deep in the feels... someone hold me

I play this song every day on my sad guitar. There's just something really powerful about this folkey song. To me, Sufjan is like the modern-day counterpart to Neil Young. I'm glad that folk music is still going strong. God bless.

Just found out my mother has cancer today. God have mercy. “And he takes, and he takes, and he takes...”.

Only Sufjan Stevens could write beautiful and haunting songs about Pulaski Day and John Wayne Gacy on the same album. This song sneaks up on you, the banjo plucking kind of tricks you into thinking this may be a happy song. Next thing you know you're crying.

my brother showed me this song while i was on my period. so take whatever you feel from this song and multiple it by like 20000. thats how i felt. i cried so much.

Didnt even know it was casimir pulaski day today. Just wanted to listen to this song again. What a surprise

This is probably the heaviest song I ever heard in my life, but delivered in an oddly light and slightly whimsical manner

god, this makes my heart ache. sO BEAUTIFUL.

When this song came out I was an 18 year old kid with the whole world ahead of him. The world was new and exciting and full of possibilities, but as I sit here and write this on April 27, 2024 I am now 36 years old and wondering if my best days are behind me. I come back to these old songs to reminisce of a different time in my life, and ponder what’s still in store for me. Unfortunately that great optimism I once felt has greatly diminished. If you’re a young person reading this, don’t be like me and take your youth for granted. It goes by so much faster than you could ever imagine. One day you’ll wake up pushing 40 and wondering what happened.

And he takes and he takes and he takes.....

This song hits me in the gut every time I listen to it. Can never make it all the way through without sobbing.

I never cry, but I cried through the entire Carrie and Lowell album. It's incredible how he can mess with your emotions.

Goldenrod and the 4H stone The things I brought you When I found out you had cancer of the bone Your father cried on the telephone And he drove his car into the navy yard Just to prove that he was sorry In the morning, through the window shade When the light pressed up against your shoulder blade I could see what you were reading All the glory that the Lord has made And the complications you could do without When I kissed you on the mouth Tuesday night at the Bible study We lift our hands and pray over your body But nothing ever happens I remember at Michael's house In the living room when you kissed my neck And I almost touched your blouse In the morning at the top of the stairs When your father found out what we did that night And you told me you were scared All the glory when you ran outside With your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied And you told me not to follow you Sunday night when I cleaned the house I find the card where you wrote it out With the pictures of you mother On the floor at the great divide With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied I am crying in the bathroom In the morning when you finally go And the nurse runs in with her head hung low And the cardinal hits the window In the morning in the winter shade On the 1st of March on the holiday I thought I saw you breathing All the glory that the Lord has made And the complications when I see His face In the morning in the window All the glory when he took our place But he took my shoulders and he shook my face And he takes and he takes and he takes

My dad has listened to sufjan Steven’s since before I was born so I never really had the experience of listening to this the first time but still a really good song

Reminds me of my mother passing too early from cancer . Bittersweet and beautiful. Bless.

It took me years to figure out what "and you told me not to follow you" meant.

One of the most gorgeous, heart-wrenching songs ever written. A masterpiece. Stevens is a genius - my feet was totally swept away under my feet and for a moment all of the rest of the world disappeared while I surrendered to the beautiful lyrics and music. If this song doesn’t make you emotional do you have see a doctor because you must have heart of stone.

Glad to make this the first song of 2016 I listen to

I didn't expect to cry so much :(

We pray over your body But nothing ever happens

The redemptive power of art, when music crosses over into the transcendent. The number of people Sufjan has helped with this one song alone... That's why artists play, that's why we listen.

And he takes and he takes and he takes

"Drove his car into the Navy Yard" That's just dark... Just so you all don't subjectively not notice it for a while like I did, a Navy Yard is a shipyard, which is full of water. He drove his car into the water of a Navy port. Not sure if it is suicide or just destroying the car out of emotion.

I love this piece because it's a whole novel in a song

Hey look! It’s March 1 and Casimir Pulaski Day and I’m in IL.

My sister died a few hours before the first of march. This song helped me through my grief and for that I am so grateful

I cry like a fuckin baby every time. Not my favourite song, but the one that moves me like nothing else ever has.

I think the silence at the end is there for a reason.. It allows you to just feel your sadness.. Be in the moment.. As tears roll down your face.

This has become one of my all time favourite songs and I've only been listening to Sufjan for a couple of weeks. The instrumentation (banjo, guitar, vocals, trumpet & organ) is glorious, the harmony, lyricism, vulnerable vocals and that coda. Just wow.

this song is so beautiful and truly art. It's one of those songs that I really do treat like an piece of art in a museum because I can only listen to it once or twice every month. It keeps its hurtful magic that way.

I really can't listen to this song without a bunch of emotions coming out.

that time of year again

Fun fact: 'cancer of the bone' in German is 'knochenkrebs'. Retraction: that fact wasn't actually fun.

That last 2:40 is soooo relaxing.....

I listened to Illinois in full today for the first time. While I admire the songwriting and melodic beauty of many of the songs, I just wasn't feeling much of an emotional connection to the album, but this song really got to me. So simple and honest yet very poetic and emotionally resonant. Even though I'm not fully on board with the album yet, I can definitely see it growing on me. Guess I'll keep listening

i left my family when i was 18 and went to live in new york alone. this song gives me so much nostalgia as i always played this when i went on the subway to work everyday 5 am in the morning

I'll always come back to this song. Thank you Sufjan. Michigan, the acoustic version of Chicago... The eco of Holland... you have so perfectly captured my feeling, and yours too.. Again. Thank you.

"all the glory that the Lord has made... And he takes, and he takes, and he takes..."