“Sufjan Stevens’ 10 Best Spiritual Songs”

by Jesse Carey
Via http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/sufjan-stevens-10-best-spiritual-songs#VkR8tc7hZeEpkeY4.99

 

Singer-songwriter/sound scientist/lover of long song titles Sufjan Stevens recently released the first track off his upcoming album Carrie & Lowell, due out on March 31. “No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross” is the indie-folk star at his darkest, with lyrics that reflect on the complexity of faith, forgiveness and sacrifice.

In a lead up to Stevens’ first new album in nearly five years, here’s a look back at some of his best songs of faith, spiritual devotion and worship.

1) “To Be Alone with You” – Seven Swans

From Seven Swans, Stevens’ most overtly spiritual album, “To Be Alone with You” is a haunting ode to sacrifice and devotion with lines like “You gave your body to the lonely / They took your clothes” and “To be alone with me / You went up on a tree”.

2) “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” – Hark!

Part of his massive Christmas collection, Stevens’ take on the classic hymn builds from a quiet, banjo-strumming request to “Come thou fount of every blessing / tune my heart to sing thy grace” into joyous collective that proclaims, “Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.”

3) “Holy, Holy, Holy” – Peace

Another re-imagining of a church staple, Stevens’ folky “Holy, Holy, Holy” arrangement is a wonderfully tender worship song.

4) “He Woke Me Again” – Seven Swans

One of the dreamy faith narratives from Seven Swans, Stevens swoons “He came, he came to my bedroom / But I was asleep / He woke me up again to say: Halle Halle Halleluiah / Holy Holy is the sound”

5) “Abraham” – Seven Swans

Stevens’ ode to the Biblical forefather, the song recounts the moment an angel spared Isaac’s life from Abraham’s sacrifice in obedience to God.

6) “Casimir Pulaski Day – Illinois

One of the songwriter’s most heartbreaking stories, “Casimir Pulaski Day” is about when prayers for healing aren’t answered, and the complicated faith questions that come in times of tragedy. “We lift our hands and pray over your body, but nothing ever happens,” is as sad a line as you’re likely to hear in contemporary music.

7) “The Transfiguration” – Seven Swans

In “Transfiguration,” Stevens imagines what the disciples witnessed in Matthew 17: “Then there came a word of what he should accomplish on the day / Then Peter spoke, to make of them a tabernacle place / A cloud appeared in glory as an accolade / They fell on the ground / A voice arrived, the voice of God / The face of God covered in a cloud”

8) “Amazing Grace” – Noel

Even though it’s part of his collection of Christmas songs, Stevens’ “Amazing Grace” is a timeless take on faith’s most well-known hymn.

9) “The Seer’s Tower” – Illinois

With its allusions to the Old Testament’s Babel and the book of Revelation, “The Seer’s Tower” is an ominous look at biblical prophecy.

10) “Ah Holy Jesus” – Silver and Gold

Probably his most stripped down hymn, “Ah, Holy Jesus” is a church sing-along, as unpolished and authentic as anything on Silver & Gold.

Photo by Wendy Redfern/Redferns
Via http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/sufjan-stevens-10-best-spiritual-songs#VkR8tc7hZeEpkeY4.99