Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens, the American singer, gave a moving concert in Melbourne last weekend. He is a young man, or perhaps not so young now at thirty–nine, who has been profoundly affected by his mother’s mental health. She suffered from depression and schizophrenia, and Stevens lived mostly with his father, while always craving to see more of his mother. Over many years he has written songs about this. His latest album Carrie and Lowell is in part about his attempt to come to terms with the fact of her death.

Here are a few lines from his song Romulus from 2006:

 We saw her once last fall

Our Grandpa died in a hospital gown

She didn’t seem to care

She smoked in her room and coloured her hair

 

I was ashamed of her

Was ashamed of her I was ashamed

I was ashamed

Of her

And here is the whole song below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVkSdf_AMWM