Sufjan Stevens’ song title, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” is complex and full of common grace insight. To begin, the lyrics, “Once in the back yard,” in my opinion refers to the Misfit trying to recall his childhood and how innocent children are initially. Furthermore, the Grandmother calls the Misfit one of her own children, implying that she viewed him as one of her own innocent children. The next lines, “she was once like me, she was like me,” reflects the Misfits realization that the Grandmother was just as jaded as he was; only he had a full understanding of his capacity to sin. Whereas, the Grandmother had believed that because she was a good southern “Lady”, she was blinded from the truth of her own sins. “Twice when I killed them,” …show more content…
“Put off all the beast, paid a full of these, I wait for it,” refers to the Misfits belief that because Jesus died and paid for our sins, that he can just put off all his sins and know that they are paid in full by our Lord, therefor the Misfit awaits death. “But someone 's once like me, She was once like me,” refers to the fact that anyone can sin, but sometimes it takes another sinner for us to realize our own sins. “I once was better,” signifies the Misfits own realization that his capacity to sin has grown out of control, and that he can no longer seek help. In other words, he has lost hope for himself. “I put off all my grief. I put off all my grief,” shows that the Misfit disregards worrying about the consequences of his actions, both spiritually and mentally. “So I go to hell, I wait for it” shows that the Misfit realizes that he is in fact not going to go to heaven, but all he can do is wait and continue to sin while he awaits his judgment. “But someone 's left me creased, someone 's left me creased,” the crease refers to the mental and spiritual tear in the Misfits psyche. It is a gaping chasm caused when the grandmother comes to the realization of her own sins, and reaches out and touches the Misfit, changing his course of thinking of life and