I.

INFORMATION
1. The songwriter’s background information
- Sufjan Stevens (born July 1, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter.
- Music line: indie folk, baroque pop, acoustic…
- Albums: Illinois (2005), A Sun Came (1999), Call Me By Your Name
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2017)...
2. Context
The song is dedicated to the movie “Call Me By Your Name” (2017),
included in the trailer for the film and in a scene in which Elio and Oliver
go hiking in Bergamo.
3. Motivation
The film's director, Luca Guadagnino, approached Stevens to contribute
to Call Me by Your Name as a narrator, but the singer declined and
agreed to record an original song instead. Eventually, Stevens offered
Guadagnino two tunes. Stevens was granted full creative control during
the songwriting process and received inspiration from James Ivory's script
and André Aciman's novel of the same name. The lyrics to this airy ballad
are about romance and are not specific to the relationship between the
two main characters in the movie. Much of Stevens' material is based on
personal experience. He said that he barely changed his normal
songwriting process to write lyrics that would work in a fictional movie
setting. "It's always very personal for me," Stevens said. "I tend to
develop an approach that allows me to make myself complicit in the story
of the song. I need to feel like I've done due diligence, so to speak, which
is a matter of being really open and nonjudgmental and curious."

II. TRANSLATION

Original Translation

Oh, to see without my eyes Khép mắt lại trôi theo dòng hồi tưởng
The first time that you kissed me Lần đầu anh trao nụ hôn ấy
Boundless by the time I cried Em khóc trong miên man vô định
I built your walls around me Cuộc sống em trước kia coi anh là chấp niệm
White noise, what an awful sound
Fumbling by Rogue River
Feel my feet above the ground
Hand of God, deliver me
Oh, oh woe-oh-woah is me
The first time that you touched me
Oh, will wonders ever cease?
Blessed be the mystery of love
Lord, I no longer believe
Drowned in living waters
Cursed by the love that I received
From my brother's daughter
Like Hephaestion, who died
Alexander's lover
Now my riverbed has dried
Shall I find no other?
Oh, oh woe-oh-woah is me
I'm running like a plover
Now I'm prone to misery
The birthmark on your shoulder
reminds me
How much sorrow can I take?
Blackbird on my shoulder
And what difference does it make
When this love is over?
Shall I sleep within your bed
River of unhappiness
Hold your hands upon my head
Till I breathe my last breath
Oh, oh woe-oh-woah is me
The last time that you touched me
Oh, will wonders ever cease?
Blessed be the mystery of love
III. NEW WORDS
Tiếng nhiễu lòng, kí ức rợn nốt đau thương
Lẩn quất bên đôi bờ Rogue
Chân con lơ lửng rời khỏi mặt đất
Chúa hãy đưa tay kiệu lấy hồn con
Ôi, vương vấn lẫn vui sướng khổ đau nơi em
Khi người lần đầu mơn trớn da thịt em
Liệu những phép màu kia có tan biến
Dẫu sao vẫn cảm ơn cuộc tình đầy ẩn khuất
đẹp vô ngần
Thưa Chúa, giờ con chẳng còn tin
Sau bao ngụp lặn trong bể đời
Con bị nguyền rủa bởii chính tình yêu từ đứa
cháu gái
Tựa khi chàng Hephaestion rời khỏi trần thế
Mang danh người tình Alexander đại đế
Cõi lòng đôi bờ em giờ đã chết
Em giờ đây còn có thể tìm ai khác?
Liệu có thể tìm thấy ai khác k
Em vội vã như chú chim họa mi nhỏ
Giờ đây em chới với trong bốn bề thương khổ
Vết bớt trên vai người gợi nhớ em
Em còn có thể cáng thêm bao nỗi sầu nữa?
Nỗi nhớ cứ dai dẳng đeo đuổi
Thế thì cũng có gì khác đâu
Khi tình này chỉ còn là diễm xưa?
Em có thể chợp mắt trên giường của người
không?
Con sông cằn cỗi niềm vui
Bàn tay người xin mãi giữ trên mái đầu em
nhé
Cho tới khi em trút hết hơi thở tàn
Ôi, vương vấn lẫn vui sướng khổ đau nơi em
Khi hơi ấm từ người tới cuối cùng vẫn rời khỏi
em
Ôi, diệu kỳ ấy có nào đi mất?
Bí mật của cuộc tình đẹp vô ngần
 Words English meaning Vietnamese translation

1 fumble 1. use the hands clumsily 1. làm việc gì một cách

while doing or handling lóng ngóng, vụng về
something. (v) 2. sự lóng ngóng, vụng về
2. an act of using the hands
clumsily while doing or
handling something. (n)

2 birthmark a brownish or reddish mark Vết bớt

that is on a person's skin
from when they are born

3 cease bring or come to an end ngừng

4 boundless unlimited or immense Vô hạn

5 riverbed the bed or channel in which Lòng sông

a river flows

6 blackbird symbolizes the thoughts

and the consciousness of
the speaker

7 Hephaestion a general in the army of

Alexander the Great.
Brought up with
Alexander, sharing all his
secrets, he was described
as 'the dearest of all the
king's friends.' When
Hephaestion died,
Alexander asked the oracle
to grant him divine status,
thus making him a 'Divine
Hero.' Alexander passed
away 8 months later,
planning lasting
monuments in
 Hephaestion's honor with
his last breath.

IV. MESSAGE
“Mystery of Love” is a song written by Sufjan Stevens for the movie “ Call Me By Your
Name” which explores a young man’s first love. The tone of Mystery of Love is
enraptured by the miracle of love, yet it never forgets the misery of parting. Stevens
uses an oxymoron as the character recalls the tactile sensation of a first kiss.: ‘to see
without my eyes the first time that you kissed me.’ Later on, Stevens raises the
ambiguous question of ‘will wonders ever cease?’ This sentence can be understood as
expressing excitement about the plethora of delights love has to offer; it also conveys
dread about the end of a romance when love and its joys run dry. Although the
character is concerned about the uncertainty of love, he is also captivated by it and
cannot seem to pull himself away from it. Besides that, the parallels between ‘the first
time that you touched me’ and ‘the last time that you touched me.’ drawn by Stevens
illustrate how the character's astonishment and sadness are evoked by the memory of
his lover's touch. It's heartbreaking not only for the character but also for us, as we see
how he can't enjoy reminiscing about their relationship without regretting their
breakup. Stevens, on the other hand, does not condemn love. He argues that instead of
grieving their separation, lovers should delight in the fact that they once loved. Rather
than rejecting love in the hopes of escaping its affliction, we should embrace its beauty
and embrace the mystery of love.