When Sufjan Stevens announced a new album earlier this week, a return to his “folk roots”, I was overjoyed. He’s one of my all-time favorite artists and I’m unapologetic in my love / near-obsession with his music. So after listening to the gorgeous album trailer and pre-ordering Carrie & Lowell on vinyl, I noticed that the lyrics sheet for the album was available on the Asthmatic Kitty site (it’s since been removed which is why I’m not posting it here).

While skimming through the lyrics, one line from upcoming single “No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross" I found interesting was "Drag me to hell in the valley of The Dalles”. I looked up The Dalles to find out it is a city in Oregon. Further scanning lead me to notice references throughout the album to the “Oregon breeze”, “Spencer’s Butte” (an Oregon landmark), the city of “Tillamook”, and multiple mentions of the meadowlark, Oregon state bird. Then there’s “Euguene”, a song which recounts time Sufjan spent with his mom and stepdad (the eponymous Carrie & Lowell) in Euguene, OR during his childhood.

The fact that there’s so many references to Oregon throughout the album piqued my interest that this may be somehow connected to his former 50 states project (which he’s since called a “promotional gimmick”). I did a little internet research and found a 2005 interview from The Guardian which claimed that Oregon was a “likely contender” for his next state album and “has so far inspired some very simple guitar-based songs.” Further on, it states that Sufjan “began the Oregon songs at the same time as he started writing compositions for Illinois”. Also within, Sufjan talks with reverence about the state and his time spent in Euguene (read it all here).

So all this leads to my theory that Sufjan initially planned to follow up his Illinois album with an Oregon album that he then abandoned between 2006-2009, perhaps because of the debilitating illness and nervous breakdown he experienced which led to the wonderful excursion that was Age of Adz. This leads me to speculate that in the past year or so, Sufjan decided to revisit his Oregon songs, and with the 50 States project firmly behind him, repurposed them into the more personal Carrie & Lowell.

Whether or not the initial plan with these songs was to be a part of an Oregon state album, I’m eager to hear any new music Sufjan shares with the world. The idea, though, that at least some of these songs were initially conceived during the same fruitful period that produced Illinois (an all-time classic album, in my opinion) makes me even more excited to listen.