Sufjan Stevens wrote a new song about ‘shining American star’ Tonya Harding
According to Stevens, the song has been in the making since he was 15 years old.
Sufjan Stevens, who’s spent a considerable portion of his career writing about historical figures in his music, released a new song about Tonya Harding. According to Stevens, the song has been in the making “since I first saw her skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1991.” He also says the song has nothing to do with the new movie I, Tonya, even though Stevens sent it to the film’s music supervisors, “but they couldn’t find a way to use it.”
The song itself covers a bit of her Portland upbringing and the talent that propelled her to stardom (“triple axel on high”) in the skating world. Of course, it also covers the infamous Nancy Kerrigan attack that led to the media circus surrounding both skaters, and the downfall of Harding’s figure skating career. Stevens even sympathizes with Kerrigan a bit, singing:
Nancy Kerrigan’s charm
Well she took quite a beating
So you’re not above cheating
Can you blame her for crying?
In an essay that went up with the song’s release, Stevens notes that earlier versions referenced Harding’s celebrity status after skating, including her sex tape and short-lived boxing career. “But the more I edited ... and the more I considered the wholeness of the person of Tonya Harding,” writes Stevens, “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.”
