"Mystery of Love" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens and produced by Thomas Bartlett. It was self-released digitally, under license to Madison Gate Records and Sony Classical, on December 1, 2017. Luca Guadagnino, director of the 2017 film Call Me by Your Name, approached the singer to contribute to the film as a narrator, but Stevens declined and agreed to record an original song instead. Stevens was granted full creative control during the songwriting process and received inspiration from the film's script and André Aciman's novel of the same name. An acoustic song, the lyrics describe romance and allude to the relationship between film characters Elio and Oliver. They also make several references to the state of Oregon, birds, and Christianity.
A music video for the track was released on January 4, 2018, on Pitchfork's YouTube channel. It contains clips from the film and footage of artwork recorded at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. The song was featured in the trailer for the movie and during a scene in the film where Elio and Oliver go hiking in Bergamo. It was featured on the film's official soundtrack in addition to two other Stevens-penned songs ("Futile Devices" and "Visions of Gideon"). Critical response to the song was generally positive.
"Mystery of Love" was nominated for awards at several ceremonies, including the Critics' Choice Movie Awards, Georgia Film Critics Association, and Guild of Music Supervisors Awards. It was also nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 61st ceremony. Commercially, "Mystery of Love" entered Billboard's Hot Rock Songs chart in the United States and reached the main record charts in France, Hungary, Portugal, and Scotland.
Last Updated: June 12, 2021
