Impossible Soul Lyrics

[Break]

[Verse 2: Sufjan Stevens & Cat Martino]
Seems I got it wrong
I was chasing after something that was gone
To the black of night
Now, I know it's not what I wanted at all

And you said something like
"All you want is all the world for yourself"
But all I want is the perfect love
Though I know it's small, I want love for us all

[Refrain: Sufjan Stevens & Cat Martino]
And all I couldn't sing
I would say it all my life to you
If I could get you at all

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
Trying to be something that I wasn't at all

Part 2

[Verse 1: Shara Nova]
Do you want to be afraid?
Do, ooh-ooh, you want to be afraid?
For life in the cage
Where courage's mate
Runs deep in the wake
For the scariest things
Are not half as enslaved
[Refrain: Shara Nova]
Don't be distracted
Don't be distracted

[Verse 2: Shara Nova]
Do you want to be alone?
Do you want to be alone?

For life isn't stained
Of righteousness pain
The seed and the hail
All impossible flights
For an interesting light

[Refrain: Shara Nova]
Don't be distracted
Don't be distracted

[Verse 3: Shara Nova & Sufjan Stevens]
Do you want to love me more?
Do you want to love me more?
For love is the breath
If water and wave
Is cursed by the same thing
That nurtured its shame
Is it worth all the work?
[Refrain: Shara Nova & Sufjan Stevens]
Don't be distracted
Don't be distracted

[Verse 4: Shara Nova, Sufjan Stevens & Cat Martino]
Have you failed to feel delight?
No, I don't want to feel pain
Have you failed to feel delight?
No, I don't want to feel pain
Instead of the life
Lived tired and lost
Have you left it at last?
Where it floundered its death
With the language of ghosts

[Refrain: Shara Nova & Sufjan Stevens]
Don't be distracted
Don't be distracted

[Verse 5: Shara Nova, Sufjan Stevens & Cat Martino]
Do you want to be afraid?
No, I don't want to feel pain
Do, ooh-ooh-ooh, you want to be afraid?
No, I don't want to feel pain
For life in the cage (For life in the cage)
Where courage's mate (Where courage's mate)
Runs deep in the wake (Runs deep in the wake)
For the scariest things (For the scariest things)
Are not half as enslaved (Are not half as enslaved)

[Refrain: Shara Nova & Sufjan Stevens]
Don't be distracted (don't be distracted)
Don't be distracted
Now

[Break]

[Refrain: Shara Nova & Sufjan Stevens]
Don't be distracted (don't be distracted)
Don't be distracted
Now

[Outro: Sufjan Stevens]
No, don't be distracted
No, don't be distracted
No, don't be distracted
No, don't be distracted
No, don't be distracted
No, don't be distracted
No, don't be distracted
No, don't be distracted
No, don't be distracted
No, don't be distracted
No, don't be distracted
No, don't be distracted
No, don't be distracted

[Break]

Part 3

[Verse 1: Sufjan Stevens]
Stupid man
In the window
I couldn't be at rest
All my delight
All that mattered
I couldn't be at rest
From what I liked
From what I gathered
I couldn't be at rest
Stupid man
In the window
I couldn't be at rest


[Break]

[Verse 2: Sufjan Stevens]
And don't be shy
In the window
Come down and give your best
Oh, delight
In the window
I couldn't be at rest
Stupid man
In the window
I couldn't be at rest
From what I liked
From what I gathered
I couldn't give my best

[Break]

[Refrain: Sufjan Stevens & Choir]
Oh, I know it wasn't safe
It wasn't safe to breathe at all
Oh, I know it wasn't safe (It wasn't safe, it wasn't safe)
It wasn't safe to breathe at all (It wasn't safe, it wasn't safe)
Oh, I know it wasn't safe (It wasn't safe, it wasn't safe)
It wasn't safe to breathe at all (It wasn't safe, it wasn't safe)
Oh, I know it wasn't safe (It wasn't safe, it wasn't safe)
It wasn't safe to speak at all (It wasn't safe, it wasn't safe)

[Break]

[Part 4]

[Intro: Choir & Sufjan Stevens]
Hold on, Suf, hold on, Suf, hold on, Sufjan (Ah, ah, ah, ah)
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Hold on, Suf, hold on, Suf, hold on, Sufjan (Ah, ah, ah, ah)
Hold on, Suf, hold on, Suf, hold on, Sufjan (Ah, ah, ah, ah)
1, 2, 3, 4!

[Verse 1: Sufjan Stevens & Choir]
It's a long life, better pinch yourself
Put your face together, better get it right
It's a long life, better hit yourself
Put your face together, better stand up straight

It's a long life, only one last chance
Couldn't get much better, do you wanna dance?
It's a long life, better pinch yourself
Get your face together, better stand up straight

[Bridge: Sufjan Stevens & Choir]
Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get a life, get a life, get a life, get a life)
Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get a love, get a love, get a love, get a love)
Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get it right, get it right, get it right, get it right)
Boy, we can do much more together

[Chorus: Sufjan Stevens & Choir]
It's not so impossible
It's not so impossible
It's not so impossible
It's not so impossible

[Verse 2: Sufjan Stevens & Choir]
It's a long life, better pinch yourself
Get your face together, better roll along
It's a long life, better pinch yourself
Put your face together, better stand up straight
It's a long life, only one last chance
Couldn't get much better, do you wanna dance?
It's a good life, better pinch yourself
Is it possible? Is it possible?

[Bridge: Sufjan Stevens & Choir]
Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get a life, get a life, get a life, get a life)
Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get a love, get a love, get a love, get a love)
Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get it right, get it right, get it right, get it right)
Boy, we can do much more together

[Chorus: Sufjan Stevens & Choir]
It's not so impossible
It's not so impossible
It's not so impossible
It's not so impossible

[Verse 3: Sufjan Stevens & Choir]
It's a long life (It's a long life)
Better pinch yourself (Better pinch yourself)
Put your face together (Put your face together)
Better get it right (Better get it right)
It's a long life (It's a long life)
Better hit yourself (Better hit yourself)
Put your face together (Put your face together)
Better stand up straight (Better stand up straight)
In the wrong life (In the wrong life)
Everything is chance (Everything is chance)
Does it register? (Does it register?)
Do you wanna dance? (Do you wanna dance?)
In the right light (In the right light)
It's a miracle (it's a miracle)
Possibility (possibility)
Do you wanna dance?

[Bridge: Sufjan Stevens & Choir]
Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get a life, get a life, get a life, get a life)
Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get a love, get a love, get a love, get a love)
Boy, we can do much more together
(Better get it right, get it right, get it right, get it right)
Boy, we can do much more together

[Chorus: Sufjan Stevens & Choir]
It's not so impossible
It's not so impossible
It's not so impossible
It's not so impossible

[Break: Sufjan Stevens & Choir]
Hold on, Suf, hold on, Suf, hold on, Sufjan
Do you want to dance?

[Bridge: Choir, Vocoder & Cat Martino]
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible


[Break]

[Bridge: Sufjan Stevens & Cat Martino]
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy, we can do much more together
It's not so impossible
Boy...

[Break]

Part 5

[Verse 1: Sufjan Stevens]
I never meant to cause you pain
My burden is the weight of a feather
I never meant to lead you on
I only meant to please me, however


[Refrain: Sufjan Stevens & Cat Martino]
And then you tell me, "Boy, we can do much more
Boy, we can do much more
Boy, we can do much more together
Boy, we can do much more together"


[Verse 2: Sufjan Stevens & Cat Martino]
I'm nothing but a selfish man
I'm nothing but a privileged peddler
And did you think I'd stay the night?
And did you think I'd love you forever?


[Refrain: Sufjan Stevens & Cat Martino]
And then you tell me, "Boy, we can do much more
Boy, we can do much more
Boy, we can do much more together
Boy, we can do much more together"

I got to tell you, girl, I want nothing less
Girl, I want nothing less
Girl, I want nothing less than pleasure
Girl, I want nothing less than pleasure
I got to tell you, boy, we made such a mess
Boy, we made such a mess
Boy, we made such a mess together
Boy, we made such a mess together
Boy, we made such a mess together
Boy, we made such a mess together
Boy, we made such a mess together
Boy, we made such a mess together

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About

Genius Annotation

Impossible Soul, Sufjan’s 25 minute epic, is the capstone of his introspective and emotion-oriented album, The Age of Adz.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Sufjan Stevens say about "Impossible Soul"?
Genius Answer

In 2010, Sufjan said in an interview:

It’s like a Woody Allen film, you know, where there’s the slapstick on the surface that everyone can appreciate, but then, deeper, there’s all these original details. Maybe at the heart of a good Woody Allen film there’s some kind of universal tragedy of humanity that he’s speaking about; a much bigger thing. ‘Impossible Soul’ is really about a very primitive object. I want to get with a girl, and there’s all these obstacles, and shortcomings, and miscommunication… and this is a basic fundamental of life, between two human beings.

But then very quickly – through an expository detour – it becomes something else. It’s all about personal happiness, or the state of mankind, or the cosmos – the cosmos is drawn into it. And then it becomes about… what is at the heart of our inability to really connect? Is it fear, or is it self-consciousness? And then it becomes a kind of therapeutic discourse that becomes the centrepiece of the song. But it’s no longer about, just like, “girl, I want to get with you.” It’s more like… what’s wrong with civilisation (laughs).

In an interview with The New York Times in the same year, Sufjan said that the song “took nearly four years to complete.”

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