Sufjan Stevens

[FishWiz97]

Um.... What does flowers and sunshine and that girl have to do with Campephilius principalis?

[mayabelle1107]

thank you again... senor stevens.

[BlaiseChesterton]

Terrific song. Terrible video.

[seleniumthorium]

Such a beautiful song. And although that girl is beautiful, this music video is ridiculous.. Oh well, it's a good thing the song is so good

[omglolahh]

Sufjan Stevens makes such honest music.

[masterexploder112255]

kickass song

i cant get the song and video to fit together in my mind though, maybe its just me but the only sufjan videos that seem to work with his music are the ones he does himself

[Broodling1]

I hate when people make overly intricate comments about sociopolitical connotations or how our world is full of immature people who can't enjoy beautiful music. Grow up, will you? What are you after, the green thumbs of strangers? You all make me kind of sick, just as I make myself sick posting this. Great job, college students of the internet.

[BobDylansPet]

love it, though i never head it before...which album is this on?

[megatonydeath]

Fuck politics.

We only live once.

Sufjan rules. And makes me happy :)

[clara55555able]

my dad was one of the people who rediscovered this bird, he pretty much led the expedition to go find it. i like to think that without him this beautiful song would have never been written.

[zimmy81]

@clara55555able Then we have your dad to thank for his role that inspired this song, on behalf of all that admire this sublime connection : Thanks Claras Dad .

[mayabelle1107]

Beautiful.... And the girl in the video was stunning...

[mannonc]

The song was featured in NPR's All Songs Considered episode 88. The MP3 can be downloaded (legally) for free from the NPR website. (dotorg or dotcom both work) Just search for "Lord God Bird". The first thing that pops up should be "Brinkley, Ark., Embraces 'The Lord God Bird'" and there's a link to the MP3 on the left. I'd post the link to the episode's page, but youtube is ghey...

[Ajohn13]

Stevens has a beautiful voice, reminds me much of Ian Matthews. Another guys that has a beautiful voice. Matthews is not a song writer but good singer.

[sptfgpn]

He's highly regarded in Nelson, Lancashire.

[netforce0]

well fuck me running

[SPRSC15]

great transition at 2:08

[Sforeczka]

This song make me weep, in a good way. I love it so much I don't listen to it often, lest it lose its magic for me.

"And the watcher beware, lest they see it fall, and paradise might laugh when at last it falls."

It's the Great God Bird through it all.

[IAINoodle]

great song, shame about the retarded fans

[simplemetepachita]

esto me haria sentir bonito..., es una partecita de lo que siempre he querido... alli siempre alli.....DESCALZA!

[pedromilanezi]

guys, how can you argue listening to such lovely piece of art?

[DrenthMaurice]

I NEED THIS ON MP3 SO BAD :(

[BasilRulesMe]

Beautiful beautiful video, beautiful beautiful song. But that comment by sixthlife.... All those big words being used to appear and high and mighty. Looks pretty pathetic to me. No beauty there.

[sixthlife]

@BasilRulesMe i really use words to express my point of view, not to appear a certain way to other people.

[Takemetotheriot9]

Sufjan is amaaazzinnng! I'm seeing live in occtober :D

[mayabelle1107]

Monet at work..... A genius amongst us... Shhhhh..... Let's keep him for ourselves..... Sufjan, you make us quasi=musicians so envious. Thanks. For once I'm wordless. Just, thanks......

[herrrob14]

Andy, mmmmm... your video is so dreamy. Lovely!

[howlovely33]

I love this song so much!

[biorhythms]

Great God Bird refers to the supposedly sighted Ivory-billed woodpecker (some authorities debate that it was truly sighted after 50+ years without a sighting and presumed extinction). It was so much bigger than other woodpeckers (except the pileated) that people would exclaim "good god!!" when they saw it.

This song was actually written for an NPR All Things Considered series on songwriting but I think this is a re-recorded version from what I have.

Nice video. Love Sufjan's music!

[o0caatje0o]

very very beautiful, it brings back memories..

[nadineryland]

This video kills me.

I miss summer, and my dad's farm.

I used to go through the fields and climb barns/run-down architecture and take pictures.......

I need summer back.

[trisarahtoppz]

incredible. no words

[ellenheart]

absolutely gorgeous :)

[elauadeinsf]

Andy De Young - you are in touch with beauty . visual poetry like this in film and it is hard to do .

[elauadeinsf]

Radiant Song - what album is The Lord God Bird on ? or is it a single ?

[amr725]

I heard it on NPR. So, it's not really on an album. He just wrote it for them.

[rbh1138]

@amr725 He doesn't make the songs he does for some radiow show. He makes them for others to enjoy and to express himself musically. Its Art.

[vivipara]

hermosa

[ierogamos]

very nice!

[anoukBFL]

I Love those flowers....

[Johabri]

anyone know the name of this song?

[FriskyPossum]

"Lord God Bird"

It's about the presumed extinct Ivory Billed Woodpecker which had not been seen since the 40's till someone reported seeing one in 2004. Birdwatchers call it The Lord God Bird.

[FishWiz97]

@FriskyPossum It's called the The Lord God Bird because when people saw one the exclaimed "Lord God, what a bird!" because of their size. Likewise, Pileateds are "Good God birds".

[anulusan]

The Lord God Bird

[tux0ofunk]

i loved the video

very good camera work

kudos

[eillie4eva]

omg...y do i feel like being there with her! ...listening to this song...man i just hate myself for this gay comment. But eff it! dats how i feel!

[Isiod]

Beautiful song. The video is nice but I think its a bit cheesy. Are there any official videos by Stevens?

[plumdogmillionaire]

Arkansas!

[xVagete]

i could cry when i hear this song, and i do when i watch this video going along with it. it's enchanting and makes me feel like i have wasted my whole lifetime. i'm so longing.

[Michellebell14]

what state does this music video take place in? any ideas?

[olearyp]

probably a combination of the three, solid, liquid and gas. :)

[antediluvianbaby]

you're my physics hero.

[olearyp]

yeah, that's what all the ladies say.

[paulfromberlin]

I still say that this is a unbelievable beautiful song, like from othere world.. thanxx Sufjan Stevens and thanks for user here, thank you for upload. Paul in Berlin :)

[AMORANGELES]

GOLD GOLD AND MORE GOLD.....

[wylloughbye]

This song is one of his most beautiful and simple. I don't agree with you on Predatory wasps though. He has said it's about a best friend and himself. I can completely relate. I had a friend who was closer than a brother, but less than a lover.

[OperaNotes]

i agree. i have one of those. it's like a platonic in-love-ness.

[ChicMusic101]

Beautiful.

[itsjustally]

This is primary beauty, stripped to the bone. Raw, unassuming, naked poetry.

[illuminatustm]

great song. i cant stop thinking "wow, if that girl dies, her loved ones will cry so hard while watching this video"...

[harrytheblurfan]

wasn't he seeing joanna newsom?

[alyspoonrandles]

he has a wife and a child

[aguyfromthewest]

Hot girl

[jchanks02]

um it doesnt matter about the girl

isnt sufjan stevens gay?

[AidsTube]

hes got a wife :) i think anyway

[philphie]

where'd you here that?

[Jeffreylmcentire]

I don't think he's gay, however that song on Illinoise "predatory wasps" I've heard is about homosexuality.

[vergiggles]

I don't care if he's a transvestite. His lyrics are more compelling than anything I've ever heard before  =].

I'm pretty sure you're right about Predatory Wasps, though.

[OperaNotes]

more like childish innocence and lost childhoods friends.

[GrahamGilmore20]

I love this man

[dondempezar]

Ouch! it burns!

[jesserubberkip]

nice video... and song :)

[johnirishhere]

loving this so much of late, his songs seem to flood with imagery and tail, lovely, so mellow.

[johnirishhere]

but now that you mention it shes not an unattractive girl.

[johnirishhere]

the song is magnificent, and if it be relevant to the below discussion weather she was their or not would change nothing for me in my appreciation of the song but lust away the dreamers.

[Nee898]

wow i don't know what is more beautiful, the song or the girl

[ceraines]

Well, considering how blurry she is, I'd have to say the song.

[MountEisor]

Beautiful man and music.

[LaughingCityy]

This is gorgeous. Applause for you!

[PuritanBaby]

I see

[lillimarleennight]

want to have that dress..lovely music.

[billybag43]

Very clever. Funny how I recall reading this identical remark by you for other songs on YouTube - like The Smiths.

Strange how you care to make it a point to seek out songs just post the same, pathetic remark everytime. Talk about ignorance...you are merely a coward hiding behind the words of some fake screenname lacking any accountability for your actions.

Here a simple message to those who find people like "ruleoforder" amusing: IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE CHANNEL - CHANGE IT!!!

[dummblonde345]

ya... i remember this exact remark on for the widows in paradise too.

you were the one who clicked on not one but two Sufjan songs and decided to diss both of them? whats up?

[sixthlife]

You'd like to talk simplicity? Want to talk about identity politics and the world you imagine yourself in? Want to talk about hegemony and how reductionist systems of capitalism have led us as a species to the end of the most magnificently complex ecosystems in the universe? Want to fight amongst ourselves and reduce ideals of civility and compassion to shameful acts of hate and ignorance. You, kind sir, have some work to do - I suggest ceasing the remarks that cast shame on your aura and face.

[yellowman88]

You talk as if you've seen the "light." Your arrogance will lead to your own ignorance.

[PrefixToEpiphany]

@yellowman88 If you are talking about silly Sufjan fans who are also Emergant church members, I totally agree with you !!!!! The Emergant Church is yet another false lie infecting the Church.

What is more, is it always nessessarly wrong to have strong opinions and to express rightous indignation? If it is, well, then Christ himself has sinned. No, sin isn't what we always think it is. Don't let these little hipster Sufjan fans shame you good sir!

[spilledinsanity]

@sixthlife

<3

[NeonPandaCrumbs]

@sixthlife But-- your videos are harsh and ugly. I'm sorry, I just can't take this kind of pretentious commentary seriously from someone who pushes the "minimalistic nostalgia" look to an exhausting point of disgust and annoyance. Your "aura" is fake and passively judgemental.

[sixthlife]

@NeonPandaCrumbs i was responding to someone who was hating on this SS song. I wasn't being "passive" in my judgment at all. I was quite forwardly judgmental I believe. If you want to judge what ever aura you can glean from 50 words i wrote a year ago, be my guest. You think the use of the words "identity," or "Capitalism" , or "civility" is pretentious? Do you often try to make people feel bad for using descriptive words? I can think of something else that likes to cage expression.

[artfella28]

@sixthlife: Amen, brother

[Broodling1]

@sixthlife What a loser, trying to sound so philisophical. What are you, a college student? Heard it a million times buddy, go ahead and take your fancy cap off.

[sixthlife]

@Broodling1 sup fellow earthling. i recall writing that years ago and feeling angry that someone was bashing this song because they analyzed it with their tastes - probably clashed with my tastes and I felt pretty validated. silly world sometimes. Just thought I should report i'm feeling pretty chill today. maybe going for a springtime walk. yep. hope you're doing well.

[Broodling1]

@sixthlife Respect for the chill reply. Far more down to earth than the SixthLife I grew to hate.

[Broodling1]

@sixthlife Respect for the chill reply. Far more down to earth than the SixthLife I grew to hate. Still hate you using the word aura, but I'll forgive it for you forgiving me.

[MusclesRUS56]

well if you listen his songs you will realize that his songs are complex beyond his voice and tempo.....

[TimothyJames23]

beautiful

[msprout]

Good lord. Sufjan Stevens is so incredible at the banjo that it's blowing my mind.

[yourethebeesknees]

Very nice. I wish the weather in this video was like this now.

[superineficaz]

Well, you're very good at pulling focus, and it's a lovely song, but after watching it feel vaguely like someone's been trying to sell me a department store fragrance set.

[paulfromberlin]

I love this song and is it beautiful videoclip I think, for me is this song one from best.. :)

[ahoybobby]

This song is actually called "Lord God Bird"

[queek89]

this video is lovely

[greenplanet2400]

Great song! I see from the comments below that there are contending views with regard to the video. I like the video for its simplicity, evocation of the spirit of the song through color and motion, and sensitive attention to shot duration. I think it works quite well.

[technoromeo]

Amazing videoclip, simple, sweet, the minimal expression of a sunrise. Love Sufjan!

[treesharkslayer]

song is sweet but it looks like some kind of shampoo commercial

[mart2k6]

great song, terrible video

[SOWFIE1]

how is this song called?

[MorlaTheNothing]

The Great God Bird.

[DownWithTheOwl]

Sufjan is the real...

[MaliceInWonderland69]

this is beautiful

[skillsnathan]

but thats, the thing, ive travelled the world over, almost, and ive never found any place as amazing as this, but ill keep looking, i have hope

[yashasan]

Go to a place called Cooper's Cove, near Capon Bridge, West Virginia. You'll find more beauty than you could ever imagine.

[Olivia83093]

Or even Highway 1 in CA.

[skillsnathan]

i want to be there, and one day i will, but where is it, how can i get to it

[wildlandfirewolf]

There are millions of places that are as cool as this place you just have to find your place. you should explore a park and find a cool tree or something im sure if u keep an open mind ur find a place twice as cool as this place

[pasta296]

there once was a cat who sat on a fat hat and then wrote a bunch of youtube comments nobody cares about

[Olivia83093]

This song is most definitely NOT about a girl taking pictures of herself in a field. Sorry, but I just watched a very long and detailed video on this subject. It was about the rediscovery of a bird (the Ivory Billed Woodpecker which was supposedly extinct for over 60 years) by a "crazy" man after his 30 yr search. Sufjan Steven created this song especially for it's "return from the dead."

This video is sweet, but sort of pointless and shallow compared to its cause. Good work though.

[xSirkencutionerx]

what album is this off of i don't think i have it

[SarahJajaDOTcom]

I must walk in that field. Where was this shot?

[OperaNotes]

beautiful. well done, andy!

[SiriusBlack1975]

très belle chanson

comme un parfum de romantisme dans cette vidéo

[RosalindEdith]

This is the most beautiful song ever. No arguments.

[Jumbojetpresdent]

Sujan is the most talented musician of this generation, period.

[rhb999]

just wondering, what was this shot using? =]

fantastic btw =D

[andydeyoung]

Thanks. It was shot on the Panasonic Varicam.

[OperaNotes]

i love it how you completely captured the song.

[Baldini61]

molto bello! l'ho conosciuto da poco...ma mi ricorda un mix di Neil Young, David Silvyan...e atmosfere simili..

[mariamariaa]

His voice is unreal. Seriously.

[campfirestring]

haha, this is just like my friend lauren!!!

[jemmahatty]

both the girl and the song = beautiful

[Swingset3]

This song made me cry.

I love it.

[CassieMeder]

simply beautiful.

[weins17]

what song is this

[lifeinacndyswrl]

Really pretty. I love Sufjan.

[guitaoist]

great video- love all his music

[cinestar2]

how do you pronounce sufjan stevens name?

[applepai23]

Sewfyawn

[Jesse4986]

soof-yon

[masteretienne]

Très beau vidéo. J'aime beaucoup Sufjan. POURQUOI LES BLONDES SONT SI BELLE?

[smendes2004]

les femmes brunnes sont plus jollie

[masteretienne]

Je ne sais plus.

[COWLICKPATTIES]

je sais ^-^

[cubetube232]

he always has great lyrics but man his songs would still be great even if he would sing the biggest crap he has a great voice and can make everything sound great. reallllly love all of his work

[mad4music7]

Golden

[javantgarde]

gorgeous

[cheerupemokid333]

brillant!

[addie435618]

Amazing man! genius in every sense! love his songs. all of em. absolute beauty and innovation! in awe...

[jam5301]

I don't want to spam and stuff, and I always hate people that say,, Hey Come watch my videos,, but I put together a video of This song to footage of LA and the Ivory Billed woodpecker. and I thought it fits the song a bit better than this video.. Come check it out if you want.

[jam5301]

I meant Arkansas not Louisana,,

[ConRad2202]

Lord God Bird is the name of the song... + Sufjan is a Legend!!!

[MRadford55]

What's the name of the song? Love the vid.

[Jobundah]

i love this so much

[slyfoxywoman189]

this is one of the most beautiful songs Ive ever heard..and the footage of this video really captures the peace of the Lord. I love this song, but I can't find it on itunes. has Sufjan Stevens not released it yet?

[cleborptheretard]

The peace of the Lord??? The song isn't necessarily about the supernatural God, it's using God as a metaphor, such as "the sewing machine, the industrial God" which may be subtle exploitation of underpaid textile workers in third world countries

[BesosnotBombs]

Chill. I totally understand what you mean and quite honestly I agree with you about Sufjan using God as a metaphor only.

But...you can't tell someone their interpretation of a song is wrong. Songs are meant to be interpreted freely, without right or wrong standards.

[LeAmuseurPublic]

Your video is very beautiful. I really do think you have captured the purity of the music with equally pure images. Sixthlife said, "ect. ect." :)

[mrlandby]

Actually the video is really cool and artistically shot. Sufjan's music is beautiful too.

[semiretarded]

In other news, this video is really boring.

[sixthlife]

more news today - people who have small attention spans and don't appreciate calm are three times as likely to divorce within the first two years of marriage.... and be abusive.

[ayazyam]

better if she was naked right? haha how come everybody with stupid comments has stupid names....

[dragonflygirl12]

who is singing this anyways??

[semiretarded]

You know how the title of this video is Sufjan Stevens?

Pretty safe to bet that this song is performed by Sufjan Stevens.

[youcantkillnick]

LOL

[Maffblaster]

Maybe the world would be a better place if people paid for the music they download illegally.

[zoney99]

I'm missing something. What does downloading music have to do with this song?

[Maffblaster]

No, it has nothing to do with downloading music illegally. I was just wondering in my head so I left a comment.

Do comments have to be directly about the videos are they placed under?

[industrialbirds]

But still it's kind of funny you place this comment by this particular song, since this song is legally free downloadable

[pnutbuttercrackers]

where is it free to download?

[BTickell]

There are programs to convert youtube videos to mp3. Just google it, or try googling the song title, it should come up.

[sixthlife]

if record companies put a percentage of their profits towards the major issues; food shortages, innoculations ect. ect.