sufjan stevens - decatur 

I took an American history exam last week and got stuck on the question, "what senator was Lincoln's opponent in the Kansas-Nebraska debates prior to the 1860 election. Well, randomly i began singing "Stephen A. Douglas was the great debater, Abraham Lincoln was the great emancipator!" under my breath, and there it was! Thank you Sufjan, you are a study failsafe.

This song and video, reminds me so much of being a kid, just so care free, I miss those times so much. Its amazing how songs can make you feel. I love this song.

sufjan stevens is one of musics most mind blowing artists out there. everything he sings or plays is real and good. even if you don't like it you have to respect it. koodos to sufjan!

I keep rewatching this - it's just fantastic.

this is really such an incredible work of art, you can tell how much effort you put into it. especially when you drew the most amazing picture just for abraham lincoln being a "great emancipator" and only showing the image for a second. seriously impressed :)

every time I have a bad day this video lifts me up

If this video only got runner up the video that won must have been nothing short of amazing. Great video!!

Great job! very sweet too! thank you for sharing your talent with us.

wonderful. simply wonderful.

This was so hypnotive! I absolutely love this video, just like I love Sufjan's music!

I lived 30 minutes from Decatur. You wouldn't believe how much of this song makes sense.

Simply Beautiful!

Amazing, great Idea. One of the best videos I've seen. Thanks

this is nothing short of wonderful and put a very large smile on my face; you did sufjan justice. :)

Very sweet and clever work. Loved all of it!

altogether, its adorable

Yeah I've lived in Decatur my whole life and it was so fun to listen to this song and pick out the little things that only people from the area would catch at first.

I live in central Illinois- I remember the chicken mobile at the ice cream shop in Decatur. It's a shame; now Decatur is all crime and factories.

why does this not have like 60000000000000 views?

wow. this is one of the best videos i've ever seen. this is actually incredible. you are very talented!

I love this - beautifully drawn and interpreted.

loved this.

Absolutely lovely video! Well done!

This was the most adorable video ever. I love how you got the Chickenmobile right and everything. lol That must've taken so long to do! But it's definitely a wonderful video!

love this song...its sooo nostalgic it reminds me of my childhood

I really enjoyed the ending part with the moving words.

Oh my lord, that was truly beautiful. You've inspired me Ainsley!

I really like this. But I super mega adored the train part. :]

I love this a lot

I love the chickenmobile with the rooster tail

wow thats so cool! I loved it and what a great song!

Awesome tune!!!

This made me smile SO wide!

I really enjoyed this video. Well done.

Amazing Job. Five Stars

This is Fantastic!

One word: BRILLIANT. Absolutely gorgeous song. Amazingly original and creative video!

This is sooooo fantastic, keep up the good work!

I think this video is really great. Creative.

This is a great video! You did an excellent job!

Wow this is great! Really true to the style of Sufjan Stevens, too. Love it!

That was wonderful!

such a beautiful song, great video btw! :D

this is a good song and the video is good too

This is what youtube is for.

This is pretty amazing.

good video

that was so cool. you're awesome at drawing and the timing was perfect. amazing job!

This vid is freaking amazing! Props for having the patience and skill to complete it.

you did a fantastic job! i love this!!

Yay, another crowning moment for Decatur, rivals when we were mentioned in Ferris. Great song.

Enjoyed it, would watch again.

this is really cool! good drawing

this is really nice! Well done!

awesome video! =) really enjoyed it!

this is spectacular I love it so much thank you :D!

this is amazing! nice one dude!!

That's really good. I like it!

that must have been a shitload of work..but it was worth it, a great song like this deserves no less than a great video

Great job on the music video Ainsley!! I love it!

Sweet animation, there!

THAT WAS AMAZING!

You can still see the Chicken Mobile patrolling the streets of Decatur, perhaps cruising Eldorado Street

That is so cool! I would love to know what Sufjan thinks of it.

Really neat, well done. You're a great artist!

Sooo cool, I love this!! And such a nice song :D

my ten year old wants to try doing some animation i've wanted to think of something that is not so time consuming he'll get put off for life. this is excellent its so simple but brilliant i love this song to great choice. keep it up

This is amazing

Awesome!

nice vid !

oh believe me, i know. i can't get through watching it anymore because I get a headache

O and congrats on the contest

Very, very cute.

Awesome video, Ainsley! :D Too cute, and looks like it must've taken you a long time to make it! :D What a lot of hard work, thought process, and creativity! :D I applaud you! :D

I make sure that I come to this video for this song

AWESOME

He he, I like it.

Me encanta, me encanta!!! :D

awesome! this must have taken a long time!

basically awesome :]

great video :) i like that it's all shaky, no tripod, gives it more personality cheers

Very good!'

Sweet!

oh um hi this is wonderful

AMAZING. I hope Sufjan saw this and purchased your drawings of Lincoln and Douglas...

you are talanted.

great job

very very cool ^_^

Anybody else swaying while listening to this?

No, it's various members of his band singing backup.

Charming video!

I think its appreciate her

your such a boss

so cute :D ♥

Real cool!!!

wow, very cool video, i bet it took a while to do, thats pretty cool

I give this 9 thumbs up ...all I need now is 7 more thumbs...

I adoooooooooooooooore your chicken mobile! xD

Eep. :') I enjoyed this a lot.

That was prety cool! Ever thought about sending it to Sufjan Stevens?