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This song details the events that surround the death of the narrator’s female friend, and the crisis of faith that it triggers for the narrator.
Some read this as chronological narration of events, others as a “stream of consciousness” narration of past events that also includes more recent occurrences.
Sufjan Steven’s songs often elicit religious undertones that only strengthen the messages, without becoming consumed with biblical references. Sufjan told Adequacy that the correlation between his faith and his music exist because he believes faith does not influence us, rather it lives within us.
Casimir Pulaski Day is a holiday in Illinois that honors a Polish cavalry soldier in the American Revolutionary War.
The lyrics in the song show Steven’s serious questioning of his religion, however the music at the end of the song shows that this experience with death only brought Sufjan closer to God.
The song describes a friend, or a girlfriend, who died on Casimir Pulaski Day. In Illinois, if a loved one dies, you get the day off from work or school on said day, but since she died on a holiday, he has to suffer without a break.
"This absolves me from ever making the embarrassing effort to gratify God (and the church) by imposing religious content on anything I do."
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