Seven Swans

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Seven Swans
Studio album by Sufjan Stevens
Released	March 16, 2004
Recorded	???
Genre	Folk rock
Length	46:19
Label	Sounds Familyre
Producer(s)	Daniel Smith
Professional reviews
AllMusicGuide link Pitchfork Media (8.1/10) link Robert Christgau (**) link Sputnik Music link
Sufjan Stevens chronology
Michigan (2003)	Seven Swans (2004)	Illinois (2005)

Seven Swans is a folk rock music album by Sufjan Stevens. Although Stevens often has religious themes in his albums, Seven Swans is almost dominated by them. It includes songs about Abraham and Christ's Transfiguration.

The album is softer and sparser than Stevens's others, relying more heavily on his trademark banjo and melodramatic voice.

Seven Swans was received well by critics. The Guardian called it "a record of remarkable delicacy" [1] and Spin magazine said it sounded "like Elliott Smith after ten years of Sunday school".

Released on Compact Disc and Vinyl LP

[edit] Biblical connections

Many of the songs on Seven Swans tell stories directly from the Bible.

In The Devil's Territory is probably a reference to Matthew 4:1, where Jesus spends forty days and forty nights fasting in the desert in order to face the temptation of the devil.

To Be Alone With You discusses Christ's atonement and how it has made him intimately connected with us ("You gave your body to the lonely, they took your clothes. You gave up a wife and a family, you gave your ghost; to be alone with me...to be alone with me you went up on a tree.") The beginning could also be a lament of Judas Iscariot; "I'd give my body to be back again, in the rest of the room [upper chamber where the Last Supper was held]," or Sufjan himself lamenting past sins, comparing himself to Judas.

Abraham references Genesis 22:1-19, wherein Abraham is tested by God and told to sacrifice his only son Isaac. Abraham is, at the last moment, stopped by an angel and instead sacrifices a ram to God.

Seven Swans references the Book of Revelation, though cloaked as a strange personal account. Though there are not seven swans in the Book of Revelation, there are seven angels (Revelations 8:2), and there is certainly a mention of seven horns, either the seven trumpets of the angels (Revelation 8:2) or the seven horns of the Lamb of God (Revelation 5:6). There is also Revelation 19:17: "...to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God". The fire in the yard may refer to the "hail and fire mixed with blood" cast upon the earth (Revelation 8:7). Also mentioned is a dragon (Satan) who tries to attack a woman who flees (Revelation 12:3-6)

The Transfiguration references the transfiguration of Jesus witnessed by the disciples Peter, James, and John found in Matthew 17:1-12. The song tells this story in a rather straightforward manner.

[edit] Track listing

1. "All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands"
2. "The Dress Looks Nice on You"
3. "In the Devil's Territory"
4. "To Be Alone with You"
5. "Abraham"
6. "Sister"
7. "Size Too Small"
8. "We Won't Need Legs to Stand"
9. "A Good Man is Hard to Find"
10. "He Woke Me Up Again"
11. "Seven Swans"
12. "The Transfiguration"

			Albums by Sufjan Stevens
A Sun Came (2000) · Enjoy Your Rabbit (2001) · Michigan (2003) · Seven Swans (2004) Illinois (2005) · The Avalanche (2006) · Songs for Christmas (2006)