“Size Too Small” by Sufjan Stevens is about Loras Tyrell and Renly Baratheon and I can prove it

The end of 2017 saw me giving into the two greatest societal pressures a gay person faces today: listening to Sufjan Stevens and watching/reading Game of Thrones. I’ve finally jumped on the bandwagon and I hate to admit but I am thoroughly enjoying it. From the haunting and heartbreaking tunes of Sufjan Stevens to the terrifying and magical world of George R.R. Martin, it has been a great few months for me. And now that I have seen all 7 seasons of Game of Thrones and are almost finished reading all of the A Song Of Ice And Fire books (I will finish A Dance With Dragons I swear! I just need Dany, Jon, and Tyrion to go away and we can get back to my girlfriends, Asha and Arianne) as well as listened to majority of Sufjan Stevens’ discography, I can confidently say that Stevens’ song “Size Too Small” from his 2004 album “Seven Swans” is about the love story of Renly Baratheon and Loras Tyrell.

Renly and Loras are minor characters in the book and slightly more major characters in the show. They are currently the only (yep ONLY) characters in either the book or show to have engaged in a formal gay relationship (yes Ellaria fingered Asha/Yara in the show and Oberyn was fucking Olyvar for a bit but like those weren’t relationships, just sex). They also have one of the most tragic and beautiful love stories in the books, and one of the only three consummated love affairs that were unrelated to an arranged marriage or incest.

I’m not going to get into their portrayal in the show and how the writers turned them into homophobic stereotypes and then stripped Loras of all of his dignity and masculinity. No, no that is a rant for another day. I am just going to say that “Size Too Small” is LITERALLY the ultimate love song of Loras to Renly and here is the proof:

I was the best man in a size too small
You were my best friend, going at it all

Here Loras starts the song referring to the wedding of Margaery, his sister, to Renly. While, they don’t have best men at weddings in Westeros, Loras filled the traditional role of the best man, literally being the one to carry his naked sister to the wedding bed. Loras is also the commander of Renly’s Kingsguard (or Rainbowguard as Renly literally called it because George R.R. Martin doesn’t know how to subtly gay code) and was Renly’s former squire, meaning he is as close to a best man as Renly can have in Westeros. His reference to being in “a size too small” shows how he feels his role in the wedding doesn’t fit. He doesn’t wish to be there in his kingsguard cloak but instead would want to be wearing the maiden cloak and playing the role of the bride in the wedding. The second line is more literal to interpret, Renly and Loras have been best friends since teenage-hood when Loras was spent to be Renly’s squire on Storm’s End. The “going at it all” refers to Renly fighting all of Westeros for the crown. He is leading a rebellion against his brother, his “nephew,” and all accepted Westerosi traditions of inheritance and monarchy.

What if I put off my inheritance?
Where is the best man?
All arise us all in peace

Loras now discusses his choice to give up his claims to land, titles, and fortune by taking a place in the Kingsguard. He chooses to remain celibate and give up any claim he might have to Tyrell lands in deference to his older brothers, Garlan and Willas. He questions “where is the best man” as Renly has now died and Loras is alone. He makes the decision to remain celibate with this in mind. Loras has lost his purpose in life and (spoiler alert) ultimately goes on a semi-suicidal mission to Dragonstone. The line “all arise us all in peace” references Loras’ dream of the kingdom being at peace under Renly’s rule with himself by his side, something that will now never happen.

I still know you
And I still like you, the best man
I still owe you

Here Loras references his continued faithfulness to Renly even after his death. Loras claims that he will never betray Renly despite that he and his family have now aligned themselves with the Lannisters who view Renly’s claim to the throne as rebellious. In the book Loras is quoted saying “I will never betray Renly by word or deed. He was the king that should have been. He was the best of them.” Loras was squired by Renly and owes much of his rise to fame and power to Renly (as well as Loras’ own abilities let me be clear Loras Tyrell is a powerhouse in his own right). He accepts that and tells Renly he will always be his king.

Everything rises, going at it all
All the surprises in a size too small

Loras now comments on the war continuing around him with the many surviving kings (Tommen, Balon, Stannis, etc.) continuing their fight against each other and the odds. However, all of the plot twists of the rest of the War Of The Five Kings are meaningless to Loras and his stakes in them feel as false as the role he played at Renly’s wedding. Loras also references his attempt to wear Renly’s armor at the Battle of the Blackwater, which didn’t fit him and had to be worn by his brother Garlan,

And what if I told you
I was still in love with this?
Would you surprise us
In a size for all of me?

Loras now calls out to Renly again. He lets him how he still loves him despite his death and always will. In the book he states this (in one of the most tragically romantic lines George R.R. Martin has ever written) by saying “when the sun has set, no candle can replace it.” He asks Renly if he will “surprise us in a size for all of me.” This can be taken to mean either he is asking the past Renly to be open in his love for Loras and perhaps not marry Margaery but run off to the Free Cities instead, where they could live in peace. It could also be taken as Loras asking Renly’s ghost to come back for him as he is referenced coming back for Margaery in the song “Lord Renly’s Last Ride” which is sung at Margaery’s wedding. Perhaps Renly’s ghost would be a man capable of openly loving Loras and taking him away from the nightmare that is the Red Keep.

I still know you
And I still like you, the best man
I still know you, the best man
I still owe you

The song ends with Loras again reminding Renly of their private vows and intimacy. Loras is the one who buried Renly where no one would ever find him and “disturb his rest,” who went mad at his death and murdered two of their friends for not protecting him, who calls Renly “the best of them,” and is the only one besides Brienne who keeps his favorable memory alive. Loras recognizes that he comes out of The War Of The Five Kings on the winning side with a Kingsguard position and a queen for a sister but he is making it clear to Renly that his loyalties still lie with him and his heart is still broken. He still knows what they shared and how in love they were and how Renly was “the best man” (in Loras’ opinion).