I hope Tonya hears this song. If I lived with a difficult and complex public past, I would find an empathetic, well-wishing song by Sufjan Stevens to be immensely healing. I can't imagine anyone else but Sufjan writing songs about polarizing public figures. This was beautiful and humane.
I feel like he was low key throwing the whole thing back in her face... "So you're not above cheating" "Well this world is a cold one, But it takes one to know one"
ndg43 that's how she was treated, long before the attack. The judges always looked at her like she was white trash, it was classism. I think that's what it's in reference to
I remember that time, and I know how she was treated. Still seems to me like Stevens wants to give Harding her due for living through all that, but at the same time is also acknowledging her less than stellar behaviour toward Kerrigan.
Key word "her husband". He was an abusive, controlling creep. He's now once again changing his story for the "I, Tonya" movie. Don't just believe the media black & white portrayal.
All the people who were involved admitted to it and all of them said Tonya knew. Decades later and with nothing to gain none of them has changed their story.
See "I, Tonya" Jeff changed his story placing most of the blame on the deceased Shawn Eckhardt. The hitman Shane Stant later admitted in an interview with Nanette Burstein (30 for 30) that he really wasn't sure what Tonya knew or didn't. They were originally trying to cash in on their notoriety and cut deals with prosecutors. Bloodsuckers. That's not to say Tonya absolutely had no clue, but their unreliable word is not evidence to convict her.
@jordyonpc figure skating is a very demanding and competitive sport, I've always been fascinated with it so I was familiar with the infamous Nancy Kerrigan attack but never thought much about what this woman (Tonya Harding)might have gone through and her background. In 94 Tonya's people hired a man to sabotage her main copetitor Nancy Kerrigan by breaking her leg. The man managed to hurt her but not much, Nancy recovered and managed to finish second in the Olympics while Tonya ended up 7th. The case became a huge media circus, as you can imagine. Sufjan lyrics are brutally honest and redeeming and compassionate, as always
@art garfunkel why so cynical listening to Sufjan though...sure the release date is not casual, but he'd been wanting to write a song about her for a long time, try and check out this piece he wrote about it asthmatickitty.com/tonya-harding/
Sufjan’s words: “Tonya shines bright in the pantheon of American history simply because she never stopped trying her hardest. She fought classism, sexism, physical abuse and public rebuke to become an incomparable American legend. I admit, early drafts of this song contained more than a few puns, punch lines and light-hearted jabs-sex tapes and celebrity boxing make for an entertaining narrative arc. But the more I edited, and the more I meditated, and the more I considered the wholeness of the person of Tonya Harding, I began to feel a conviction to write something with dignity and grace, to pull back the ridiculous tabloid fodder and take stock of the real story of this strange and magnificent America hero. At the end of the day, Tonya Harding was just an ordinary woman with extraordinary talent and a tireless work ethic who set out to do her very best. She did that and more. I hope the same can be said of us all...”
Thank you for posting that. This is only the second song I've heard by him and reading such a compassionate quote makes me want to learn more about this artist.
I TOTALLY AGREE, didn't she attack another girl tho? Edit:Oof sorry i just watched an interview and feel bad, damn her performance is absolutely hypnotizing though!
Her mother thought that if she made her strong, she would have no choice but to succeed and be happy... what she didn’t know is that some people just can’t have a great life, no matter how hard they try. Shoutout to Tonya, who never stopped trying, even when there was no purpose anymore
Amazing song! When all the stuff was going on with Nancy Kerrigan and it was in the news constantly, my bf looked at me and said "I'm getting so tired of hearing about what a princess Nancy Kerrigan is" and I totally saw the situation for what it was. Classism!!! I'm not saying that hitting NK with a crow bar was in any way acceptable, but the whole thing really turned into a way of vilifying Harding's background. It's so easy for people to get self-righteous. Thanks, Sufjan, for this incredible tribute to an American legend!!
“I’ve been trying to write a Tonya Harding song since I first saw her skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1991. She’s a complicated subject for a song partly because the hard facts of her life are so strange, disputable, heroic, unprecedented, and indelibly American. She was one of the greatest figure skaters of her time, and the first American woman to perform a triple axle in an international competition. She was an unlikely skating star, having been raised working class in Portland, Oregon. Being a poor outsider, her rise to fame in the skating rink was seen, by some, as a blemish on a sport that favored sophistication and style. Tonya’s skating technique was feisty, fierce, and full of athleticism, and her flamboyant outfits were often hand-made by her mother (who was abusive and overbearing). (They couldn’t afford Vera Wang.) And then there was the Nancy Kerrigan incident. In January 1994, Tonya’s then-boyfriend Jeff Gillooly hired an assailant, Shane Stant, to break fellow figure skater Nancy Kerrigan’s leg at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Cobo Arena in Detroit, so that she would be unable to compete at the upcoming Winter Olympics. The after-math of the attack was recorded on camera and ultimately set off a media frenzy (and an FBI investigation). Gillooly and Stan were eventually found guilty, and Tonya pleaded guilty to hindering the prosecution, and was subsequently banned for life from the U.S. Figure Skating Association. Nancy Kerrigan recovered from her injury and won a silver medal at the Winter Olympics. Tonya Harding finished eighth. But that’s not even half the story. When Tonya and Gillooly got married, they filmed themselves having sex on their wedding night and produced one of the first-ever celebrity sex tapes (which they sold to Penthouse for $200,000 each). Tonya also had a brief career as a boxer, and is most famous for her bout with former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones (whose sexual harassment suit against Bill Clinton precipitated his impeachment in 1998). Tonya was also (very briefly) in a band called the Golden Blades (they were allegedly booed off the stage during their first and only performance). She also raced vintage automobiles (setting a record by driving a Ford Model A over 97 miles per hours on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah). And in 1996 Tonya used mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to revive an 81-year-old woman who collapsed at a bar in Portland while playing video poker. That’s a lot to accomplish before the age of 30! Tonya Harding’s dramatic rise and fall was fiercely followed by the media, and she very quickly became the brunt of jokes, the subject of tabloid headlines and public outcry. She was a reality TV star before such a thing even existed. But she was also simply un-categorical: American’s sweetheart with a dark twist. But I believe this is what made her so interesting, and a true American hero. In the face of outrage and defeat, Tonya bolstered shameless resolve and succeeded again and again with all manners of re-invention and self-determination. Tonya shines bright in the pantheon of American history simply because she never stopped trying her hardest. She fought classism, sexism, physical abuse and public rebuke to become an incomparable American legend. I admit, early drafts of this song contained more than a few puns, punch lines and light-hearted jabs-sex tapes and celebrity boxing make for an entertaining narrative arc. But the more I edited, and the more I meditated, and the more I considered the wholeness of the person of Tonya Harding, I began to feel a conviction to write something with dignity and grace, to pull back the ridiculous tabloid fodder and take stock of the real story of this strange and magnificent America hero. At the end of the day, Tonya Harding was just an ordinary woman with extraordinary talent and a tireless work ethic who set out to do her very best. She did that and more. I hope the same can be said of us all.“ -Sufjan Stevens
If I'll ever make it to the Olympics I will skate to this. Tonya is the one who inspired me to start figure skating. Idc what people say about her, she's a legend
well, seeing that you were at earliest about 6 when you wrote this, that makes you 10 now. And by Olympic standards, that may be too late so you probably missed your window. (this is a joke)
One thing I've always loved about Sufjan is how he never attempts to rebuke anyone. He never chastises or makes a scathing tune about someone's wickedness. He instead sets out to find humanity in those who have been disgraced, and who have committed atrocious acts. He looks at Harding with admiration, he says that he's no better than John Wayne Gacy Jr. He shows us his wildest emotions, yet hatred is not one of them. He shows what it is to be a kind, loving, caring man. A truly good Christian to look up to.
Quadruple jumps are pretty standard in men's skating competitions. But before Tonya Harding, women did only triples. She was the first woman to nail a quadruple in a major competition -- hence, her reaction.
Faith Haynes no, it was a triple not a quad. Tonya landed 2 triple Axels that night. No woman had ever landed two in a competition. Midori Ito was the first woman to land the triple axel, Tonya was the first to do it two times in one performance and the first to land one with a double toe loop.
Sufjan this is why I love you. This is art. To see a person for more than the joke the world has made them out to be, and help us to see their beauty in its complexity.
Gotti Wilkinson I didn’t. In fact, I was agreeing with you and the OP that Sufjan Stevens could make any subject sound gorgeous. I was just injecting a bit of humor into it.
This song is a beautiful and very moving tribute to Tonya. Her story is so tragic, the deck was stacked against her from the beginning, having to fight all alone to overcome the hurdles of a poor background, an abusive mother, an abusive boyfriend, class snobbery and elitism from the skating community, and yet she shone like a diamond in the rough.
“Has it ever struck you that life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quick you hardly catch it going?”― Tennessee Williams
Thank you, Sufjan Stevens , for articulating what I've been trying to say for years, but you did so beautifully. Long before Nancy Kerrigan, people had it out for Tonya. She wasn't rich, she wasn't model pretty, she didn't have designer clothes, she drove a truck, her mother made her outfits. The snide remarks were everywhere but she fought her way into the "club" anyway and shined. For the mistakes she made, she paid a heavy price and, for the bullies of the world, they will continue to make her pay. Let it go. It was almost 25 years ago, for God's sake. I wish her well and hope she can, one day, stop having to fight back. At long last.
"Has the world had its fun? Yeah they’ll make such a hassle And they’ll build you a castle Then destroy it when they’re done" Dang Sufjan you always know exactly know what to say. Don't ever change.
i have synesthesia - this song is the sight of snowflakes falling and an aurora borealis refracting on ice; it’s the smell of night winter air. it’s glistening.
Ahh lucky you have the cool type lol. Tonya’s name to me looks mostly white and yellow with some pink and red too because of the “n” and the “a”. Sort of reminds me of gold and blood.
Sufjan treats Tanya Harding with the pure honesty and compassion that her skating career (and the controversy it generated) deserves -- the greatness, the irony, the tragedy, and madness. Beautiful, haunting, twisted, messed up, sad, and absurd. It could apply to anyone of note who has crashed and burned.
2:08 is one of the most incredible jumps you'll ever see ('Yamaguchi in red..."). What a performance. And an incredibly haunting song. My fave of Sufjan's catalog!
Well, to be fair to Tonya, she wasn't the one who actually attacked Nancy Kerrigan; it was her "idiot ex-husband" to hear her tell it. What's been in question is whether or not she had any part in the planning in the assault on Kerrigan.
My favorite part of this video is 4:30, when it cuts to Kristi Yamaguchi who pretends to be proud of Tonya for all of a second before giving in to a jealous glare. This sport was so. fucking. competitive. These girls lived and breathed skating.
I was an ice skater for about 7 years. I wasn't in the international scene as I quit the sport at 15. I'm Turkish and I was training in a random city in Turkey. Even *there* it was incredibly, deterrently competitive. No one made friends, not even the coaches. I would train every day, both on land and ice, with different athletes and it was always so stressful. This sport is unforgiving. It takes a lot from you and gives very little in return. In this little career, I have seen blood shed on the ice right in front of me as people fought using the blades on their skates, I have seen so many arguments, several child abuse reports and one court case. It was constant drama, gossip, envy and conflict. Even though now at 20, I have lost pretty much all the muscle I had and am ten kilos heavier, quitting it was the best decision of my life.
I used to watch this young lady skate at Lloyd Center when she was 15 and 16. Even then when you talk to her you could tell that things weren't right at home. You could tell that her zest for life was being squashed by something. Something kept hidden. So sad.
Even when you watch footage of her when she was 15 (portions of the "Sharp Edges" documentary in various Videos here on UA-cam, e.g. in the "Truth & Lies" documentary) you can see literally in her eyes that something was very wrong at home :(
@mplo do you think her fear of repercussions by her abuser might have something to do with that? Being abused is a heavy burden to carry. I know that from my own experiences of being abused. Fortunately, I never felt the need or felt forced to do anything criminal because of the abuse. I don't disagree with your comment, just an observation of carrying the burden of being abused. It's scary and it's real.
Thank you Sufjan Stevens and Asthmatic Kitty for this mesmerising, moving and strangely liberating song. Every time I listen to it, I am just transported.
AGREE. Who else could write a song about JWG...and NOT serve as his judge? It's because Sufjan understands kindness and grace...and that on his 'worst days'...he's essentially no better. Wow.
Ha Sufjan is such a great artist. I saw the title and was like, "well this is an odd choice and kinda dumb." And then I remembered he wrote a beatiful and tender song about John Wayne Gacy and am unsurprised at how good this is and how much I like it.
comparing Tonya to gacy is garbage. Tonya may have made some poor choices but was also the victim of abuse from both her mother and her husband (who arranged the attack she's famous for and put a gun to tonyas head at at least one time. Gacy on the other hand was a psycho killer.
I get so many goosebumps throughout this. Look how happy she is when she nails each jump. Her performance, combined with the song, conveys so, so much.
This song brought back memories of watching Tonya's story as a kid. Sufjan is a genius, this song made me cry. What song about a contemporary sports figure will make you cry? I challenge anyone to come up with another one.
Anything by Australian folk icon Paul Kelly, actually. He has more than one song about famous Cricketers. Not his strongest, to my ear, but his catalog overall is devastatingly strong storytelling. Enjoy.
My mother recently said this about Tonya Harding. I find it appropriate, and expressed in a form in this song: ""Jeff Gillooly and his pack of idiots were for sure dim and Tonya was scrappy from all of that-but talented. She reminds me of the Gillis' family dog, Happy. Fights. Hit by a car. Never was given a bath. One eye blind. Shredded ear. But he patrolled Sargent Ave every day and lived a long and for him apparently a happy life. We dubbed him The Immortal. Tonya has done crazy and maybe demeaning things to survive. She’s immortal."
The brilliance of Sufjan is that although we're responsible for our actions, society has a big factor in how people are created and moulded, and consequently teaches us how we define our actions.
This style is a perfect marriage of Age of Adz and Carrie and Lowell, as well as a return to the Americana subject matter of his older work. Absolutely brilliant.
I have no love for religion but Sufjan's capacity to empathize with monsters and create such beautiful music about them brings me to tears, God bless him.
I'm not into skating but seeing her do this routine makes me about as emotional as I was when I watched Rudy. So a wreck. Except this was real life. She deserved all the triumph she felt.
Cody Porter I don’t think she listened to it before she spoke. She’s had issues with her name being used without permission. Like there was/is actually a Tonya Harding Hot Sauce.
Isn't amazing how some see the beauty in humanity and not the dark side. Stevens is so kind and sees the grit, determination she had to overcome her mistakes. No one is perfect, she has more minuses than pluses but the pluses are exceptional. A wonderful song.
Anytime I hear a Sufjan Stevens song I am taken back to our self-catering cottage in Kent, England when I heard him for the first time. It was the first song from "Come on Feel the Illinois" What beautiful music he has created. Everything is beautiful.
phoenixrise1989 she was a talented skater that messed up her life by our own stupid decisions. Her boyfriend hit her competition Nancy Kerrigan , I believe it was with a bat. Then she lied said she didn't have any to do with it. She really was a talented skater that came from a family with no money.
Merri Cat She wasn't just talented she was set to be the best. I mean at this performance at its time was record breaking and truly incredible. And in all fairness just like the song describes, Nancy, though a fantastic skater but arguably not as good as Tonya, was picked as the favorite not because she had the passion and the skill but because she was very charming and sweet.
I can't express how much I love this song - the lyrics, music and vocals are perfect. Regardless of what people think of Tonya Harding nothing can change the fact that this particular performance was absolutely stunning on all levels.
i can understand why sufjan would feel a sort of kinship with tonya. from what i can gather from his other music, he had quite the difficult childhood and a complex relationship with his mother, much like tonya did. and he has such a talent for writing sensitive yet honest songs involving difficult subjects. if anyone can write such a brilliant and humane ode to tonya, it makes sense that it would be him.
I can already envisage this person, sitting in an old folks home, wondering how life was back in those good ol’ days. I can’t fathom the depths to which my sadness would go if I forged my happiness in the strength of my body, only to watch as one day my body is stripped until only my will remained.
This is my first-ever comment on a video song. I just watched I, Tonya, and checked out this video. I am speechless. I never felt something this eternally beautiful. This video, this music, and this girl just became an inspiration for me. God bless!
I can't stop watching this. I just saw Call Me By Your Name and fell in love with Sufian Steven's music in the movie. Then I saw I, Tonya. I searched for "Tonya Harding triple axel" and stumbled upon this video. So cool.
What a phenomenal pairing of sufjans atmosphere and this video. Its a completely surreal yet powerfully emotionally mix. I think this is one of the most beautiful things I've seen in a long time.
I love the way this song is arranged. It sounds like a doomed march but there are quiet beautiful bits in it. All of it tells her horrible, unfortunate truth.
I remember the first time that I ever heard Sufjan was when 'Should have known better' came up on my Spotify recommended list a few years back, and to see his music in two major films has been wonderful. He just keeps getting better and better
I hope Tonya hears this song. If I lived with a difficult and complex public past, I would find an empathetic, well-wishing song by Sufjan Stevens to be immensely healing. I can't imagine anyone else but Sufjan writing songs about polarizing public figures. This was beautiful and humane.
I feel like he was low key throwing the whole thing back in her face... "So you're not above cheating" "Well this world is a cold one, But it takes one to know one"
ndg43 that's how she was treated, long before the attack. The judges always looked at her like she was white trash, it was classism. I think that's what it's in reference to
I remember that time, and I know how she was treated. Still seems to me like Stevens wants to give Harding her due for living through all that, but at the same time is also acknowledging her less than stellar behaviour toward Kerrigan.
Tania hates this guy
Damn imagine someone making a beautiful song about you. Even after all the misunderstanding and misfitting in. That's such a sweet treat.
Do u realize she actually did it... She may not have been charged but her husband hired someone to assault that other girl
Fack Off you’re kidding right? She’s a criminal. It’s honestly shocking to me you’re lessening the impact of what she did in any way
Key word "her husband". He was an abusive, controlling creep. He's now once again changing his story for the "I, Tonya" movie. Don't just believe the media black & white portrayal.
All the people who were involved admitted to it and all of them said Tonya knew. Decades later and with nothing to gain none of them has changed their story.
See "I, Tonya" Jeff changed his story placing most of the blame on the deceased Shawn Eckhardt. The hitman Shane Stant later admitted in an interview with Nanette Burstein (30 for 30) that he really wasn't sure what Tonya knew or didn't. They were originally trying to cash in on their notoriety and cut deals with prosecutors. Bloodsuckers. That's not to say Tonya absolutely had no clue, but their unreliable word is not evidence to convict her.
It is a tragic and fascinating and complex human story, I'm not surprised Sufjan found interest in it
same
Could you elaborate? I've never heard of her.
@jordyonpc figure skating is a very demanding and competitive sport, I've always been fascinated with it so I was familiar with the infamous Nancy Kerrigan attack but never thought much about what this woman (Tonya Harding)might have gone through and her background. In 94 Tonya's people hired a man to sabotage her main copetitor Nancy Kerrigan by breaking her leg. The man managed to hurt her but not much, Nancy recovered and managed to finish second in the Olympics while Tonya ended up 7th. The case became a huge media circus, as you can imagine. Sufjan lyrics are brutally honest and redeeming and compassionate, as always
^^^ and this is why this exists. Sufjan likes money as much as the rest of us. Thankfully, he likes a good story even better :)
@art garfunkel why so cynical listening to Sufjan though...sure the release date is not casual, but he'd been wanting to write a song about her for a long time, try and check out this piece he wrote about it asthmatickitty.com/tonya-harding/
Sufjan’s words: “Tonya shines bright in the pantheon of American history simply because she never stopped trying her hardest. She fought classism, sexism, physical abuse and public rebuke to become an incomparable American legend.
I admit, early drafts of this song contained more than a few puns, punch lines and light-hearted jabs-sex tapes and celebrity boxing make for an entertaining narrative arc. But the more I edited, and the more I meditated, and the more I considered the wholeness of the person of Tonya Harding, I began to feel a conviction to write something with dignity and grace, to pull back the ridiculous tabloid fodder and take stock of the real story of this strange and magnificent America hero. At the end of the day, Tonya Harding was just an ordinary woman with extraordinary talent and a tireless work ethic who set out to do her very best. She did that and more. I hope the same can be said of us all...”
Thank you for posting that. This is only the second song I've heard by him and reading such a compassionate quote makes me want to learn more about this artist.
I TOTALLY AGREE, didn't she attack another girl tho?
Edit:Oof sorry i just watched an interview and feel bad, damn her performance is absolutely hypnotizing though!
BelleFlower15 hes amazing - listen to more of his older stuff too.
Her mother thought that if she made her strong, she would have no choice but to succeed and be happy... what she didn’t know is that some people just can’t have a great life, no matter how hard they try.
Shoutout to Tonya, who never stopped trying, even when there was no purpose anymore
Amazing song! When all the stuff was going on with Nancy Kerrigan and it was in the news constantly, my bf looked at me and said "I'm getting so tired of hearing about what a princess Nancy Kerrigan is" and I totally saw the situation for what it was. Classism!!! I'm not saying that hitting NK with a crow bar was in any way acceptable, but the whole thing really turned into a way of vilifying Harding's background. It's so easy for people to get self-righteous. Thanks, Sufjan, for this incredible tribute to an American legend!!
I think every new Sufjan Stevens song is the most beautiful song I've ever heard until I hear the next new Sufjans Steven song
Scruffy McNuggets he's the best song writer of the last 20 years in my opinion.
I'd agree, though I'd say he's the best male songwriter whereas Lana Del Rey is best female
Scruffy McNuggets this is the best comment ever
I wholly agree.
@@scruffymcnuggets2561 agree agree!
damn. sufjan owned 2017. it's been an amazing year for him, musically.
a m a z o n yeah call me by your name and i tonya both from him... This is his year
a m a z o n i called JUSTICE
and without a new studio album out!
are we not going to count 'the greatest gift' ??
it's not technically a new studio album, it's made mostly of outtakes and B sides from 'Carrie and Lowell'
This is one of Sufjan’s most beautiful pieces. ✨
“I’ve been trying to write a Tonya Harding song since I first saw her skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1991. She’s a complicated subject for a song partly because the hard facts of her life are so strange, disputable, heroic, unprecedented, and indelibly American. She was one of the greatest figure skaters of her time, and the first American woman to perform a triple axle in an international competition. She was an unlikely skating star, having been raised working class in Portland, Oregon. Being a poor outsider, her rise to fame in the skating rink was seen, by some, as a blemish on a sport that favored sophistication and style. Tonya’s skating technique was feisty, fierce, and full of athleticism, and her flamboyant outfits were often hand-made by her mother (who was abusive and overbearing). (They couldn’t afford Vera Wang.) And then there was the Nancy Kerrigan incident. In January 1994, Tonya’s then-boyfriend Jeff Gillooly hired an assailant, Shane Stant, to break fellow figure skater Nancy Kerrigan’s leg at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Cobo Arena in Detroit, so that she would be unable to compete at the upcoming Winter Olympics. The after-math of the attack was recorded on camera and ultimately set off a media frenzy (and an FBI investigation). Gillooly and Stan were eventually found guilty, and Tonya pleaded guilty to hindering the prosecution, and was subsequently banned for life from the U.S. Figure Skating Association. Nancy Kerrigan recovered from her injury and won a silver medal at the Winter Olympics. Tonya Harding finished eighth.
But that’s not even half the story. When Tonya and Gillooly got married, they filmed themselves having sex on their wedding night and produced one of the first-ever celebrity sex tapes (which they sold to Penthouse for $200,000 each). Tonya also had a brief career as a boxer, and is most famous for her bout with former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones (whose sexual harassment suit against Bill Clinton precipitated his impeachment in 1998). Tonya was also (very briefly) in a band called the Golden Blades (they were allegedly booed off the stage during their first and only performance). She also raced vintage automobiles (setting a record by driving a Ford Model A over 97 miles per hours on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah). And in 1996 Tonya used mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to revive an 81-year-old woman who collapsed at a bar in Portland while playing video poker. That’s a lot to accomplish before the age of 30!
Tonya Harding’s dramatic rise and fall was fiercely followed by the media, and she very quickly became the brunt of jokes, the subject of tabloid headlines and public outcry. She was a reality TV star before such a thing even existed. But she was also simply un-categorical: American’s sweetheart with a dark twist. But I believe this is what made her so interesting, and a true American hero. In the face of outrage and defeat, Tonya bolstered shameless resolve and succeeded again and again with all manners of re-invention and self-determination. Tonya shines bright in the pantheon of American history simply because she never stopped trying her hardest. She fought classism, sexism, physical abuse and public rebuke to become an incomparable American legend.
I admit, early drafts of this song contained more than a few puns, punch lines and light-hearted jabs-sex tapes and celebrity boxing make for an entertaining narrative arc. But the more I edited, and the more I meditated, and the more I considered the wholeness of the person of Tonya Harding, I began to feel a conviction to write something with dignity and grace, to pull back the ridiculous tabloid fodder and take stock of the real story of this strange and magnificent America hero. At the end of the day, Tonya Harding was just an ordinary woman with extraordinary talent and a tireless work ethic who set out to do her very best. She did that and more. I hope the same can be said of us all.“
-Sufjan Stevens
If I'll ever make it to the Olympics I will skate to this. Tonya is the one who inspired me to start figure skating. Idc what people say about her, she's a legend
I'll be rooting for you! And if you skate to this, I'll weep with joy! Go, Ann go!!!
2 years later but still, good luck
any updates?
well, seeing that you were at earliest about 6 when you wrote this, that makes you 10 now. And by Olympic standards, that may be too late so you probably missed your window.
(this is a joke)
updates?
One thing I've always loved about Sufjan is how he never attempts to rebuke anyone. He never chastises or makes a scathing tune about someone's wickedness. He instead sets out to find humanity in those who have been disgraced, and who have committed atrocious acts. He looks at Harding with admiration, he says that he's no better than John Wayne Gacy Jr. He shows us his wildest emotions, yet hatred is not one of them. He shows what it is to be a kind, loving, caring man. A truly good Christian to look up to.
So true.
I think that's why his music is so amazing.
This is amazing, her reaction to her own performance is priceless.
why not . . .
hyrnova not sure if you’re being sarcastic but I loved that. It’s just great to see people who are being real and showing their true emotions.
Quadruple jumps are pretty standard in men's skating competitions. But before Tonya Harding, women did only triples. She was the first woman to nail a quadruple in a major competition -- hence, her reaction.
Faith Haynes no, it was a triple not a quad. Tonya landed 2 triple Axels that night. No woman had ever landed two in a competition. Midori Ito was the first woman to land the triple axel, Tonya was the first to do it two times in one performance and the first to land one with a double toe loop.
Thank you, Candleblaise.
Sufjan this is why I love you. This is art. To see a person for more than the joke the world has made them out to be, and help us to see their beauty in its complexity.
wow, true dat. this is one of my favorite youtube comments ever. 😍
Why is your name outlined in black
Auva Stratos no idea
Holding my newborn on my chest in the hospital and praying she grows up in a kinder world-- thank you Sufjan
Just get her the new Glong
Sufjan can sing about anything at all and make it beautiful.
Chef Assassin Easily
He could sing about taking a shit and it would still sound gorgeous.
TheAndrewj96 Why did you have to come here and ruin something beautiful?
Gotti Wilkinson I didn’t. In fact, I was agreeing with you and the OP that Sufjan Stevens could make any subject sound gorgeous. I was just injecting a bit of humor into it.
TheAndrewj96 No humor in shit jokes. She is a medal winner. No context.
This song is a beautiful and very moving tribute to Tonya. Her story is so tragic, the deck was stacked against her from the beginning, having to fight all alone to overcome the hurdles of a poor background, an abusive mother, an abusive boyfriend, class snobbery and elitism from the skating community, and yet she shone like a diamond in the rough.
“Has it ever struck you that life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quick you hardly catch it going?”― Tennessee Williams
Thank you, Sufjan Stevens , for articulating what I've been trying to say for years, but you did so beautifully. Long before Nancy Kerrigan, people had it out for Tonya. She wasn't rich, she wasn't model pretty, she didn't have designer clothes, she drove a truck, her mother made her outfits. The snide remarks were everywhere but she fought her way into the "club" anyway and shined. For the mistakes she made, she paid a heavy price and, for the bullies of the world, they will continue to make her pay. Let it go. It was almost 25 years ago, for God's sake. I wish her well and hope she can, one day, stop having to fight back. At long last.
"Has the world had its fun?
Yeah they’ll make such a hassle
And they’ll build you a castle
Then destroy it when they’re done"
Dang Sufjan you always know exactly know what to say. Don't ever change.
tbh i never really *watched* her skate, and to see her smiles and exuberance and excitement on that ice, so full of passion and life.
Tanya probably doesn’t see it this way, but sufjan is admiring her, she was good and doesn’t deny that.
i have synesthesia - this song is the sight of snowflakes falling and an aurora borealis refracting on ice; it’s the smell of night winter air. it’s glistening.
this comment visualises that image so well, beautiful ❤
Ahh lucky you have the cool type lol. Tonya’s name to me looks mostly white and yellow with some pink and red too because of the “n” and the “a”. Sort of reminds me of gold and blood.
Sufjan treats Tanya Harding with the pure honesty and compassion that her skating career (and the controversy it generated) deserves -- the greatness, the irony, the tragedy, and madness. Beautiful, haunting, twisted, messed up, sad, and absurd. It could apply to anyone of note who has crashed and burned.
2:08 is one of the most incredible jumps you'll ever see ('Yamaguchi in red..."). What a performance. And an incredibly haunting song. My fave of Sufjan's catalog!
I don’t think “Has the world had its fun?” will ever fail to give me chills, ha.
Who knew ice skating would make me cry. Thanks sufjan.
renats Yes watching and listening this performance of a disgraced iceskater after breaking someone's kneecap madee cry too
Well, to be fair to Tonya, she wasn't the one who actually attacked Nancy Kerrigan; it was her "idiot ex-husband" to hear her tell it. What's been in question is whether or not she had any part in the planning in the assault on Kerrigan.
i m ice skater ..just a inspirational song,,the way he build up about game and wanna make us listen to this amazing beautiful music..
You should try Yuri on Ice next
You dont have a heart if ice skating has never made you cry
My favorite part of this video is 4:30, when it cuts to Kristi Yamaguchi who pretends to be proud of Tonya for all of a second before giving in to a jealous glare. This sport was so. fucking. competitive. These girls lived and breathed skating.
I lied, it's the sick dance moves at 3:32
I was an ice skater for about 7 years. I wasn't in the international scene as I quit the sport at 15. I'm Turkish and I was training in a random city in Turkey. Even *there* it was incredibly, deterrently competitive. No one made friends, not even the coaches. I would train every day, both on land and ice, with different athletes and it was always so stressful. This sport is unforgiving. It takes a lot from you and gives very little in return. In this little career, I have seen blood shed on the ice right in front of me as people fought using the blades on their skates, I have seen so many arguments, several child abuse reports and one court case. It was constant drama, gossip, envy and conflict. Even though now at 20, I have lost pretty much all the muscle I had and am ten kilos heavier, quitting it was the best decision of my life.
Thank you for being such an influence to sufjan
looks more like she sniffs to hold back a tear
So glad to see Sufjan trending, this guy deserves all the recognition he can get.
I'm proud of him too. He may well be the best artist of his generation.
I've been obsessed with both Sufjan Stevens and Tonya Harding lately.... and then this comes out.
Same..
I used to watch this young lady skate at Lloyd Center when she was 15 and 16. Even then when you talk to her you could tell that things weren't right at home. You could tell that her zest for life was being squashed by something. Something kept hidden. So sad.
Even when you watch footage of her when she was 15 (portions of the "Sharp Edges" documentary in various Videos here on UA-cam, e.g. in the "Truth & Lies" documentary) you can see literally in her eyes that something was very wrong at home :(
@@gisazurnieden9058 i dont know her before, what actually happened with her ?
@@canmyfavescomebacktosavekp4665 She grew up in an abusive household and then married the man (also an abuser) who destroyed her career.
@mplo do you think her fear of repercussions by her abuser might have something to do with that? Being abused is a heavy burden to carry. I know that from my own experiences of being abused. Fortunately, I never felt the need or felt forced to do anything criminal because of the abuse. I don't disagree with your comment, just an observation of carrying the burden of being abused. It's scary and it's real.
I dunno why it feels so good to watch her skating
she is like a fairy
I have never been to Portland, but I’m Portland white trash. PURE JOY thank you. Miss u boys RIP love always Uncle Tyler
Thank you Sufjan Stevens and Asthmatic Kitty for this mesmerising, moving and strangely liberating song. Every time I listen to it, I am just transported.
Sufjan needs to keep doing portrait songs. This and John Wayne Gacy prove it.
AGREE. Who else could write a song about JWG...and NOT serve as his judge? It's because Sufjan understands kindness and grace...and that on his 'worst days'...he's essentially no better. Wow.
Oof
After hearing this song a few people been like: "Man, Sufjan writes about weird things...." And I'm like "have you even LISTENED to Sufjan before...?"
are you genuinely posting this not realizing that is a direct lyrical quote from sufjan's song about john wayne gacy?
and adlai stevenson !
If I ever write a book that gets adapted into a film, I want Sufjan and only Sufjan to compose all of its music. Sigh.
You may came here for Tonya, or You may came for Sufjan,
but you'll stay for them both.
Perfection.
Subaru sedans does it again
Hahahhaa
Jajajajajjajaka
Ha Sufjan is such a great artist. I saw the title and was like, "well this is an odd choice and kinda dumb." And then I remembered he wrote a beatiful and tender song about John Wayne Gacy and am unsurprised at how good this is and how much I like it.
Do you know if he made any other songs similar to this one and John Wayne Gacey Jr? I love them so much I want to hear more
He did what
comparing Tonya to gacy is garbage. Tonya may have made some poor choices but was also the victim of abuse from both her mother and her husband (who arranged the attack she's famous for and put a gun to tonyas head at at least one time. Gacy on the other hand was a psycho killer.
I get so many goosebumps throughout this. Look how happy she is when she nails each jump. Her performance, combined with the song, conveys so, so much.
Amazing skating! It's incredible to think that what all she overcame to skate like this at the age of 20!
trials and tribulations make you
genius
"Well this world is a cold one But it takes one to know one." Beautiful line.
Are you lonely at night?//Do you miss all the glory//And the mythical story//Of the Olympian life?.
wow. pure poetry
“It is not those who can inflict the most, but those that can suffer the most who will conquer.”
but that it can be true
Yes.
This song brought back memories of watching Tonya's story as a kid. Sufjan is a genius, this song made me cry. What song about a contemporary sports figure will make you cry? I challenge anyone to come up with another one.
Anything by Australian folk icon Paul Kelly, actually. He has more than one song about famous Cricketers. Not his strongest, to my ear, but his catalog overall is devastatingly strong storytelling. Enjoy.
that moment when the crowd gives her a standing ovation, her arms way up to sky, it always makes me cry
My mother recently said this about Tonya Harding. I find it appropriate, and expressed in a form in this song: ""Jeff Gillooly and his pack of idiots were for sure dim and Tonya was scrappy from all of that-but talented. She reminds me of the Gillis' family dog, Happy. Fights. Hit by a car. Never was given a bath. One eye blind. Shredded ear. But he patrolled Sargent Ave every day and lived a long and for him apparently a happy life. We dubbed him The Immortal. Tonya has done crazy and maybe demeaning things to survive. She’s immortal."
every sufjan song gives me that light airy feeling after you've had a good cry
the little keyboard riff, makes me hear wonderful lavendar sparkles dance around my mind, such a gorgeous song
The Greatest Gift and now this. Sufan fans are blessed this season.
The brilliance of Sufjan is that although we're responsible for our actions, society has a big factor in how people are created and moulded, and consequently teaches us how we define our actions.
This song, coupled with this amazing skating, is absolutely bewitching. Beautiful.
This song would have been perf for the credits of I, Tonya
True!
He actually submitted it to them when he heard about the biopic being made, but then decided not to use it
What a shame not to use it!
Initially I agreed, but I think it'd be too on the nose.
honestly watched the movie to see were it was placed and was disappointed
woaw that skating performance was also impressive
This style is a perfect marriage of Age of Adz and Carrie and Lowell, as well as a return to the Americana subject matter of his older work. Absolutely brilliant.
This breaks my heart and uplifts me more than any of you will ever know.
I have no love for religion but Sufjan's capacity to empathize with monsters and create such beautiful music about them brings me to tears, God bless him.
I'm not into skating but seeing her do this routine makes me about as emotional as I was when I watched Rudy. So a wreck. Except this was real life. She deserved all the triumph she felt.
Mankind cann't judge anybody, except God! What we ever did as alive is written, but ordinary people cannot read it! Thanks both of you, Tonya, Steven!
she's so captivating never was so glued to my screen
I understand that Tonya isn't a fan of this. Why? It's absolutely beautiful and makes me like Tonya more. She is my American princess.
Cody Porter I don’t think she listened to it before she spoke. She’s had issues with her name being used without permission. Like there was/is actually a Tonya Harding Hot Sauce.
I've never heard about Tonya Harding but damn. This song captivated me the whole time that I want to start tearing up.
she was iconic in her prime...
Isn't amazing how some see the beauty in humanity and not the dark side. Stevens is so kind and sees the grit, determination she had to overcome her mistakes. No one is perfect, she has more minuses than pluses but the pluses are exceptional. A wonderful song.
Sufjan Stevens been blessing us like crazy this year.
Anytime I hear a Sufjan Stevens song I am taken back to our self-catering cottage in Kent, England when I heard him for the first time. It was the first song from "Come on Feel the Illinois" What beautiful music he has created. Everything is beautiful.
I really don't know Tonya Harding but with this music and her passion i admire her.
WELL THATS A BIG MISTAKE
BETTER READ UP ON HER
heh
phoenixrise1989 she was a talented skater that messed up her life by our own stupid decisions. Her boyfriend hit her competition Nancy Kerrigan , I believe it was with a bat. Then she lied said she didn't have any to do with it. She really was a talented skater that came from a family with no money.
Merri Cat She wasn't just talented she was set to be the best. I mean at this performance at its time was record breaking and truly incredible. And in all fairness just like the song describes, Nancy, though a fantastic skater but arguably not as good as Tonya, was picked as the favorite not because she had the passion and the skill but because she was very charming and sweet.
I've listened to this so many times since it was posted. Absolutely beautiful.
same here. what a beautiful song and mix. beautiful!
I can't express how much I love this song - the lyrics, music and vocals are perfect. Regardless of what people think of Tonya Harding nothing can change the fact that this particular performance was absolutely stunning on all levels.
My grandfather died last week at it makes me come back to this song
rest in peace my dearest grandfather ❤
i can understand why sufjan would feel a sort of kinship with tonya. from what i can gather from his other music, he had quite the difficult childhood and a complex relationship with his mother, much like tonya did. and he has such a talent for writing sensitive yet honest songs involving difficult subjects. if anyone can write such a brilliant and humane ode to tonya, it makes sense that it would be him.
I can already envisage this person, sitting in an old folks home, wondering how life was back in those good ol’ days. I can’t fathom the depths to which my sadness would go if I forged my happiness in the strength of my body, only to watch as one day my body is stripped until only my will remained.
She was truly beautiful out on that ice. Like she was born to be right there in that moment.
its crazy her life....I hope God will enjoy her courageous soul.🙏
Tonya Harding was a powerful terrific skater and it's a dam shame what happened to her . The wrong people in your life can make all the difference .
She was one hell of a good skater.
This is my first-ever comment on a video song. I just watched I, Tonya, and checked out this video. I am speechless. I never felt something this eternally beautiful. This video, this music, and this girl just became an inspiration for me. God bless!
I came back, as I needed another inspiration. Much love! ❤
I can't stop watching this. I just saw Call Me By Your Name and fell in love with Sufian Steven's music in the movie. Then I saw I, Tonya. I searched for "Tonya Harding triple axel" and stumbled upon this video. So cool.
I love that she has something so beautiful that will be forever.
This is the greatest song about an athlete of all time
One of the best songs never heard
It’s hard to believe the producers of I Tonya rejected this song. It perfectly captures Tonya Harding.
By now Tonya has most likely stumbled upon this song... trying to imagine what she must have felt listening to it
The music seems so graceful and swaying, like a person on ice.
Such a beautiful haunting song! I now have heard of Tonya Harding...
How could you do that, Sufjan? Everything you touch, it turns gold.
This song is one of the most beautiful songs that i ever listen. 🌬️🖤
What a phenomenal pairing of sufjans atmosphere and this video. Its a completely surreal yet powerfully emotionally mix. I think this is one of the most beautiful things I've seen in a long time.
She's phenomenal! Thrilling! I don't believe how she do that she has asthma and chain smoked!
I love the way this song is arranged. It sounds like a doomed march but there are quiet beautiful bits in it. All of it tells her horrible, unfortunate truth.
Sufjan is one of those people who you don't just like one of his songs, you like all of them.
Très très beau. Absolument unique... merci Sufjan..
“ well this world is a bitch girl, don’t end up in a ditch girl” bless you Sufjan
I love that one line🔥🔥❤
I remember the first time that I ever heard Sufjan was when 'Should have known better' came up on my Spotify recommended list a few years back, and to see his music in two major films has been wonderful. He just keeps getting better and better
i just finished watching CMBYN and I, TONYA and searched for this artist, and BOOM! i am wigless
Watch the Tonya Harding ESPN 30 for 30.
Ok, I won't cry this time while listening to this.
.
.
.
I couldn't help it.
Easily the best song of the year
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.”
“I don't know what's worse: to not know what you are and be happy, or to become what you've always wanted to be,and feel alone.”
Wow, such a beautiful song. Loved seeing Harding's shining moment in 1991. Can't wait to see the film.
Shit, I actaully teared up a bit while watching this. I didn't even know I still had emotions left.
Same
Imagine how happy this makes Nancy Kerrigan.
Nobody has emotions left
All the Yes’s
Me too! even though i'm not American, i felt that talent and cried )
Wow, Sufjan Stevens music is everywhere, especially in movies. I freaking love it!