The U.P. has a mostly rural, conservative population. Sufjan’s songs are often narrated from the perspective of a fictional character, and the narrator of this song seems to be a rural lower class husband and father who has become isolated and separated from his wife and son by “strange ideas” (you could interpret this phrase countless ways, but it seems to me like it means a more urban/liberal lifestyle and worldview, which can be very individualistic and isolating).

Rural, conservative men are often painted in a negative light in media, but here Sufjan paints this man as a sympathetic character, one who tries to find his son who’s been reviled by people for his strange ideas (possibly an LGBTQ lifestyle or just a generally more liberal worldview). He’s a good man who just wants a family and a good, happy life.

In the haunting last stanza the character is confused and lost in a changing culture. This encroachment of these “strange ideas” has taken all certainty out of his life. He’s lost his mind, his job, and his family to them. This is a tragic but beautiful song.