The Upper Peninsula Lyrics

Sufjan Stevens on "The Upper Peninsula" : There is the strange kid in seventh grade who is two years older than everyone else. He can grow a mustache. He wears shoes without laces, his back pocket stuffed with Skoal, and a sleeveless T-shirt, even in the winter. His name might be Mike Wiggleshorts or Judd Zilowski or R.C. Cole. He smokes between classes. He grows a tail and braids it. One summer he sketches his girlfriend’s profile on the back of his hand with a nail file. It bleeds and scabs over. This is what he does for fun. He throws rocks at the swing bridge. He makes dirty jokes about the gym teacher, who is overweight. He says she is a lesbian. He says her left boob is fake. By tenth grade he is a father, gets married to Andrea Stillwater, quits school, moves to the U.P., buys a trailer, starts working at the bait shop, counting worms, or later, at the gas station, counting out change. If anything, he can count. Later, he steals from the register, just a few bucks for beer or lottery tickets. He buys biking magazines and leaves them around the toilet. His wife likes to party. She goes out to the ski resort to make eyes at the tourists in their ski boots. One night, he is left home alone with his kid, a boy. (They named him Terrence. They call him Mr. T because he was born with a mohawk and a harelip, and this gives him a hard look. He is not easy on the eyes, this kid.) Now this time, his father looks at his son. He gets a real good look for the first time. He sees himself in his son, his own pointed ears, his short forehead, his long nose, his double chin. I made this! He says to himself. I had a part in this! This is my son! Just then, his wife comes in. She smells of hot cocoa and a sport deodorant. She is drunk. She stumbles with her purse. She is wearing snow boots and a hat with earflaps. She has a lighter in each pocket. What are you looking at? she says. What are you looking at Mr. T for? What is it? He pulls away the pillows and the baby’s blanket and the terry towels and the baby wipes. He makes room for her on the couch, so she can get a good look at their son. But she doesn’t see it. She looks and shrugs and says she thinks she is starting her period. Two years later, in the middle of the night, she will leave him, she will drive all night to her mother’s house in Cadillac. Mr. T can talk and walk. He knows a few cuss words. He has ADD. He is put on medication. He goes to speech therapy. She will start working at K-mart, doing stock for women’s clothing. She might steal a tank top or a pair of sandals once in a while. She likes nice things: nail polish and lip-gloss and doilies for the table. She might change her hair color. She might take a trip to Florida. She is tired of these long winters.