Sufjan Stevens - Casimir Pulaski Day Demo

Earlier Version of Casimir Pulaski Day

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
With the light pressed up against your shoulderblade
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 your mother's house
In the living room when you touched my neck
And I 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 at the top of the stairs
If he raised his hand, I could pull his hair
And kick him in the face

Sunday night when I cleaned the house
I found the card where you wrote it out
With the pictures of you mother

On the floor at the great divide
With my shirt untucked 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 held low
And the cardinal hits the window

In the morning in the winter shade
On the first of March, on the holiday
I thought that you were 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

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Sufjan
• Stevens
• Casimir
• Pulaski
• Day
• Demo
• Rare
• Folk
• Acoustic

[bibsly]

where did you find this version?

I'd love to have this as an mp3

[TheBoss2332]

I forget where I got it from. I'll put a download link in the description by tomorrow though.

[nubbs]

i prefer the less violent album version. but still, if ever there was a song to get one all choked up...

[TheBoss2332]

I agree, so much so that I don't really ever listen to this version but it is still interesting.

[TheGeneralSoreness]

Wow....I like this version. Sufjan is a brilliant songwriter, just like Sam Beam. I wish the two of them could get together with a couple more amazing musicians.....we'd have a modern day Crosby,Stills,Nash & Young.

[MattyC555]

this song is by far one of the most beautifully sad songs ever IMO

[imjohnandyouare]

Demo version of songs are always more vulnerable. I like the change in lyrics about kicking the girl's father in the face, and I agree with the person who said that it only shows him wanting to be powerful in a time where he felt powerless. I don't think Sufjan meant for the lyric to seem violent.

[TBBTV1]

love sufjan

such an amazing song, off to see him in newcastle august :D

youtube.com/watch?v=_QCmLHA15j­c

[NearTheBarnDoors]

i like this version more because the banjo is more true to it's sound. I tear up almost every time I here this song..I like sufjan's new album, but I hope he continues to write more works like this as well. :) He truly is amazing..

[sullivan328]

@meistershark12:

?

try-hard troll tries really hard?

(and there's no way this could be a sonnet, even though it has fourteen units - but they're stanzas, not lines.)

[daniproteau]

DOUBLE RAINBOW

[brendanrhys]

@jakeo102 For sure. I don't have to buy into any of the parts of religion to really understand and enjoy the products of it. I adore this song! That being said, I still think it would mean a lot more to me if I was religious. Just like watching alien movies would mean a lot more to me if I was into UFOs and alien abductions. I may seem like I'm using that anecdote facetiously, but it's the first thing that came to mind.

[jakeo102]

@brendanrhys I am, and have always been an atheist, but still appreciate the beauty and questioning in this song. I think that I can respect a person who believes in God, only if they question themselves and their religion. I believe blind unwavering faith, or a lack there of, is wrong and simple minded. No one knows everything, we should all take it upon ourselves to gather the evidence, and confront our own thoughts and mindsets without preconditions. We would all be better off.

[Arendbelle]

Type in "cover casimir pulaski" and see the one posted by arendbelle. It will be candy to your ears.

[meistershark12]

i hate this. i am very invested in the version on the album. i have dissected it, i understand everything in that song- every allusion, symbol, hidden meaning, the rhyme scheme, that it is not a song, that it is a sonnet. he replaced "when you ran outside with your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied..." in this version with "i could pull your hair and kick you in the face"