Sufjan Stevens, 'Blue Bucket Of Gold' (Official Audio)

From the album CARRIE & LOWELL

Available on Asthmatic Kitty Records

LYRICS:
My blue bucket of gold
Friend, why don’t you love me?
Once the myth has been told
The lens deforms it as lightning

Raise your right hand
Tell me you want me in your life
Or raise your red flag
Just when I want you in my life

Search for things to extol
Friend, the fables delight me
My blue bucket of gold
Lord, touch me with lightning

Raise your right hand
Tell me you want me in your life
Or raise your red flag
Just when I want you in my life

[brianjosephestanislao]

The end literally sounds like a ghost being released into eternity.

[DriftwoodScarecrow]

"Tell me you want me in your life." so perfect. My favorite track on the album.

[ZimmerSquash]

Here's what Sufjan Stevens said about this song : “I didn’t know (my mom) well in a lot of ways and I didn’t know how to say goodbye on the last track with articulation. So I quit playing piano and vocals and just stopped. I wanted to surrender her to the beyond with noises that sound bigger than just me.”

[MorbidLovely]

I was about 13 or so when my dad and I had a falling out. Mostly over issues about visitation, me not being able to really express myself to him in fear of disappointing him should we disagree. A giant miscommunication. Two years went by and every day I wanted to call him or write him and fix things. But I was too scared. He never contacted me, either. When I was 15 he killed himself. All chance of fixing things gone.

"Raise your right hand, tell me you want me in your life" totally destroys me. It's really apparent that he had that same desperation to connect with his mother that I did with my father, but a strong sense of distrust built on past events.

It couldn't just be stated and believed. It had to be sworn to, under oath, raise your right hand and prove you mean it before I can trust you enough to admit I want you in my life, too.

[cristhianserna]

Sufjan didn't make an album this time, he created a piece of art.

[srilankanflyer]

The ending of this song gives me goosebumps. It's almost as if he's letting go of the burden of his story about his mother, which he's told through the whole album. Wow.

[TimeLadyClaire]

holy shit.
this album is an experience.

[adassai]

This album is so special to me. My mother suffered from bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder, and like him, I struggled with the periods of love and the periods of abandonment, wondering whether you were truly loved or not. Like him, my mother was taken from me while I was young, and it is something that I struggle with even today. This whole album captures all of this so beautiful. Thank you so much Sufjan.

[babypickle]

Had sugery yesterday to remove cancer from my abdomen. Sufjan has kept me fighting. ..now i lay here in agony but find peace in his voice. ....and the dilaudid lol

[Sumtinrandom]

I saw him live on his tour of this album.

I am now a different person.

[ben-tyjo]

This is the last song I am listening to in my grandmother's house after she passed a few months ago. I practically grew up here and will probably never see the place again, let alone be inside it. Something about this song just feels right for the occasion

[leamaltar.e]

"friend, why don't you love me?"

[lucastarg]

Thanks for being alive, Sufjan. You make my life much more bearable. You are the brightest star in my universe... Last month I found out my mom has cancer. I cried a lot, but on the same day I listened to "Should have wrote a letter", and it made me smile... The only smile on that horrible day. Thank you.

[leafloev]

"Raise your right hand. Tell me you want me in your life. Or raise your red flag, just when I want you in my life."

[pt]

Something special bout this album, itself is a total masterpiece, but every time I scroll down the comment section, seeing all the stories down here, about anxiety, about sadness, about loss, about letting go and forgiveness.
It always gives me urge to cry.
Thank you Sufjan, and thank you, whoever you are.
Sorry for your loss, happy that we all find peace in the music.

[nikiboicool]

Songs like this always give me a feeling of assurance that in the end, everything will eventually be okay.

[kathrynspoerl]

Sufjan. I just discovered and really listened to his music this year. I feel like I missed out on so much. Years ago, when my siblings loved him, I could've cared less and boy did I miss out. My best friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer out of the blue. We threw her a last birthday party. I was one of her only friends because she had special needs. We live in such a shallow world. At first  I brushed off her death and tried to ignore grief...and now 3 years later it's catching up to me. Thank God for Carrie and Lowell. Thank God for Sufjan. I don't know how else I'd cope. He seems to be the only person who understands. The only person who would never say anything like It's been 3 years. Get over it.

[calvinchandra]

Someone dear to me cannot accept my mental illness and left me. “I’m sorry” she said tearfully.

The line “friend, why don’t you love me?” will haunt me forever as I yearn for her touch

[kareve]

been listening to this album on repeat all day
I went from a really bad place to total serenity
thanks Sufjan

[bleaky]

One, two, three
My blue bucket of gold
Friend, why don’t you love me?
Once the myth has been told
The lens deforms it as lightning
Raise your right hand
Tell me you want me in your life
Or raise your red flag
Just when I want you in my life
Search for things to extol
Friend, the fables delight me
My blue bucket of gold
Lord, touch me with lightning
Raise your right hand
Tell me you want me in your life
Or raise your red flag
Just when I want you in my life