"Mystery of Love"-Sufjan Stevens
It’s truly unbelievable the effect that music can have on a person. I say this because my new favorite song just ripped my fucking heart out.
"Oh, oh whoa whoa is me..."
When I write about a particular tune I'm currently enamored with, I try to separate it from anything else it may be tied to, like a music video. But in this case, that was almost impossible.
The song is "Mystery of Love" which was written and recorded by Sufjan (pronounced SOOF-yahn) Stevens for the Academy Award nominated film "Call Me By Your Name," a coming-of-age story of a roller-coaster romance between Elio and Oliver set in 1980's Italy. This intimate recording -- paired with an emotional backdrop of innocence and a youthful summer love -- has the power to move through you in waves from deliriously happy to intensely sad and yet unapologetically hopeful. So much feels in just four-minutes.
In an interview with Olivia Dennis of Lindsay magazine, CMBYN director Luca Guadagnino revealed why he invited Stevens onto the project: "I wanted to have a narration that was not the banal usual literary narration," he said. "I wanted it to be more about something that really came from the soul. I wanted his epiphany in the movie and I had the privilege that he said 'yes'."
"Mystery of Love" (up for a "Best Song" Oscar next month) was recorded splendidly simple... a banjo, a guitar, a piano mixed with subtle strings and delicate vocals that are almost whispers, make this ballad all the more personal and agonizingly beautiful. Steven's lyrics -- which are full of symbolism -- are hopeful ("The first time that you touched me") yet hopeless ("The last time that you touched me.") But overall, the message ("Blessed by the mystery of love") seems to hint that going all-in with your heart is worth the pain that all too often supervenes.
No matter your gender or sexual orientation, I'm positive those with hearts that have been there will find Sufjan's intimation nostalgically familiar.
No matter your gender or sexual orientation, I'm positive those with hearts that have been there will find Sufjan's intimation nostalgically familiar.
"Oh, will wonders ever cease?"
Yes, I'll admit it... "Mystery of Love" breaks my heart in all the right ways.
