After dropping 2020’s Ascension, which experimented with a more electronic sound, Sufjan Stevens has returned to his more acoustic roots with his latest single, “So You Are Tired.” The song is set to appear on his forthcoming follow-up album, Javelin, which is being billed as the Michigan-born artist’s first true “singer-songwriter record” since 2015’s Carrie & Lowell. Fans of Stevens seem excited about the return to form—since its release, “So You Are Tired” has climbed its way into the Top 20 on the Genius Top Songs chart.
Produced by Stevens himself, “So You Are Tired” features a lush yet somber piano instrumental. Lyrically, Stevens sings about a partner who’s lost the energy to fight for their relationship. As Stevens sings on the first verse, they’ve been together for over a decade, and he can’t help but pour over all of those years to figure out how they landed here.
So you are tired of us
So rest your head
Turning back fourteen years
Of what I did and said
On the second verse, his search gets more thorough. He wants to pinpoint the exact moment things took a turn for the worse.
I did what I was told
But I was a man born invisible
Was it something I said or some kind of joke?
Stevens feels like he’s been played for a fool on the fourth verse. Even when things got bad, he stuck around. It seems the same can’t be said for his partner.
Was it really all just a joke?
I was a man indivisible
When everything else was broke
On the sixth verse, he can feel his ex already looking forward to a future without him, while he remains unable to move on.
So you are dreaming of after
Was it really all just for fun?
I was the man still in love with you
When I already knew it was done
Spanning 10 tracks, Javelin is due out October 6 and will be accompanied by a 48-page book of art and essays by Stevens. While you wait for the LP to drop, you can read all the lyrics to “So You Are Tired” on Genius now.
