Rake (Greenpoint Version)

Sufjan Stevens

Another great love song from Sufjan. It’s on his first album called A SUN CAME — and I particularly love this version which I find stirring and vulnerable.

I never felt so safe
A line I once told her
Warm, resting place
Her arms on my shoulder

It could be a love song for a spouse, a mother, a deity. But this afternoon I’m thinking of Annie because it’s her birthday. She’s been my rock and rake for so long. When I meditate on these words, it’s easy to think of the past. Our history. But this morning I’m thinking of the present. Today. Because it’s really all we have. And this song also makes me dream of our future. Because when love is active and alive, it moves through us and draws us closer to each other. And it helps us travel this unpredictable road we find ourselves on.

We ran into a cave
When the wars came closer
She turned into a cave
Where it turned colder

You are the rock
You are the rake
You are the one when I watch myself