Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: singer-songwriter
Song Meaning of “The Midnight Clear” by Sufjan Stevens
The Midnight Clear is a Christmas song by Sufjan Stevens that captures the bittersweet feeling of the holidays. The song speaks to the loneliness and longing that can arise in Christmas time, when the world is illuminated in beauty and cheer. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a night “where stillness and peace were entwined,” and express the pain of knowing that hope and love are potentialities, if only for a brief moment.
The lyrics conjure a sense of nostalgia and anticipation, expressing the comfort of faith and love amidst a “world of broken souls.” The “silent night” speaks to the solitude and quietness of the time, when tension and troubles seem to be relieved in a shared bond of humanity. At the same time, it also encapsulates the knowledge that this peace and solace may never last.
The Midnight Clear suggest that in a world that is so full of darkness and despair, moments of hope and beauty are all the more precious. The image of the “starlit sky” evokes the promise of something greater, and the reminder that no matter how dark and lonely the season may seem, we always have the power to find the silver lining within.