Lyrics for Decatur, or Round of Applause for Your S... as interpreted by infranippies

Decatur, or Round of Applause for Your S... Lyrics
Our stepmom, we did everything to hate her
She took us down to the edge of Decatur
We saw the lion and the kangaroo take her
Down to the river where they caught a wild alligator

Sangamon River, it overflowed
It caused a mudslide on the banks of the operator
Civil War skeletons in their graves
They came up clapping in the spirit of the aviator

The sound of the engines and the smell of the grain
We go riding on the abolition grain train
Steven A. Douglas was a great debater
But Abraham Lincoln was the great emancipator

Chickenmobile with your rooster tail
I had my fill and I know how bad it feels
Stay awake and watch for the data
No small caterpillar, go congratulate her

Denominator, go Decatur, go Decatur
It's the great I Am
Abominate her, go Decatur, why did we hate her?
It's the great I Am

Denominator, go Decatur, anticipate her
It's the great I Am
Appreciate her, appreciate her
Stand up and thank her

Stand up and thank her
It's the great I Am
Stand up and thank her
It's the great I Am
Stand up and thank her
It's the great I Am
Stand up and thank her

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  • 52 Comments
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slickpoetry
05-27-2005

Rated 0 
a love the history of the region described in this song, the river flooding the cemetery and sending the dead bodies everywhere...that really happened in Decatur. I also like the reference to Caterpiller, which makes farming equipment and is the leading employer in the region

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Lightblueness
07-07-2005

Rated 0 
How could he seriously use that rhyme scheme and so slickly pull together all of those events. It really just blows my mind how incredible he is at just about everything.

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floz2323
07-17-2005

Rated 0 
I am from Connecticut, and I love how when I research the lyrics I understand them better. This means he is using factual events that are well known locally (in Ill.). I think that is very unique.

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knitting
09-09-2005

Rated 0 
i love the zoo referance.

i miss illinois when i here this song...

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slowhands
09-11-2005

Rated 0 
of all the songs on the album, i dont know, this one just stands out. being a huge history buff and being fascinated with american history especially, i found this song to be so beautifully crafted to portray a region and its characteristics and history. he is able to not only teach you something but entertain you with beautiful sounds and superb songwriting. the line 'Steven A. Douglas was a great debater,
But Abraham Lincoln was the great emancipator', is absolutely classic.

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youvandal
09-29-2005

Rated 0 
I love this song. I'm from Decatur, and I used to work for Caterpillar! I think it's so funny how he added the Chickenmobile in there. There's a fast food place that has a car that looks like a rooster. They don't drive it anymore, but every high school senior asks them if they can take it for prom.

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Sputnik22
10-13-2005

Rated 0 
No one has yet to address the "great I Am" reference and how it fits into the history of Decatur. "I Am" is a biblical term used by the god of the Old Testament and by Jesus Christ to reference themselves (hisself).
Without chewing on it too much, I guess it can mean how the move to Decatur was inspired by God, or the role that God has played in the molding of Decatur and its history.

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casie
11-07-2005

Rated +1 
I think I fell in love with this song, simply because of:

"Steven A. Douglas was a great debater,
But Abraham Lincoln was the great emancipator"

I had been listening to it on the radio and not really paying attention and then that line came out of NOWHERE; it was a done-deal, it became my new favorite song. Then I bought the album and now I am in love with Mr. Stevens. The song just WORKS because it's descriptive and informative without being dry. Plus, the glockenspiel (sp??)...well, nuff said bout that.

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ilikestuffandyou
12-13-2005

Rated 0 
Ah, central Illinois, how I love thee. At least in song.

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catnamedzane
01-02-2006

Rated +1 
"Steven A. Douglas was a great debater,
But Abraham Lincoln was the great emancipator"

is my favorite line as well.

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_ellie
01-03-2006

Rated 0 
Responding to you, Sputnik 22:
maybe the great I Am is what inspired the stepmother to be so loving while the children 'did everything to hate her'? I know that I wouldn't be so loving if I didn't have so much love to inspire me and spur me on.

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midnitevultures
01-09-2006

Rated 0 
Only Catholics can love. Okay.

Maybe he's refering to the religiousness of the people in Decatur. I really don't know anything about it, but it sounds small.

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bethunit
01-09-2006

Rated 0 
"We saw the lion and the kangeroo take her
Down to the river where they caught a wild alligator"

At first I thought this was about the Scovill Zoo in Decatur, but it's really about the history of spotting a lioness, black kangaroo and wild alligator (repeatedly) near or on the Sangamon.

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hello_alena
01-16-2006

Rated 0 
I love the sound of this song. I also think it is the most interesting song, lyric wise, on the Illinois album. Decatur has a most colorful history.

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MorphineColin
01-31-2006

Rated 0 
Don't want to...act like a know it all...but isn't Decaturs town motto 'I Am Decatur'

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MorphineColin
02-01-2006

Rated 0 
Nope, I was wrong. 'Decatur, We Like It Here' which is actually far better.

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bwoody1
02-20-2006

Rated 0 
The third verse is one of my favorites of all time. The understated harmony during the line, "but Abraham Lincoln was the great emancipator", is incredible.

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meem4
03-06-2006

Rated +1 
when i first listened to this song, certain lines jumped out at me. Just little things about decatur that i had forgotten. Especially the reference to the alligators... i remember thinking i've heard about that before, way back in elementary school.

In response to the "I am" line comments:
Decatur doesn't strike me as being an overly religous city, even in the history of it. Maybe because many decatur residents claim that the city is haunted. Once or twice i've heard it refered to as having 'more bars than churches'. Every fall 'haunted decatur' tours are available with books written of the same name. The civil war skeletons mentioned in the song have many stories about how they got to the cemetary, and that part of greenwood cemetary is known to be extremely haunted.

About Sputnik22's speculation that the move to decatur had to do with God- i'm leafing through a short history of the area and it just seems that settlers moving west happened to settle along the Sangamon River and had no significance. The city itself is supposidly built on ancient indian burial grounds and during a harsh winter a group of settlers was rumored or have resorted to cannibolism.

I always figured that the last lines were merely rhymes. I now doubt it, though.

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jans0n
03-16-2006

Rated 0 
This song's lyrics are absolutlely beautiful. Think about the time Sufjan must have taken in every place in Illinois in order to write songs like these, and yet this is the one that made it onto the album. Not only is the song and album pleasing on a musical level, but I've never been to Illinois and I have fallen in love with the entire state because of this cd.
And, of cource, my heart wanes everytime I hear "steven a douglas is the great debator but abraham lincoln is the great emancipator"

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jonnyt101
03-17-2006

Rated +1 
I've lived in Illinois my whole life. Born in Peoria, grew up in Normal, going to school in Champaign, family and friends in Decatur, . I always thought that all the other states had it was better than us, we just had corn and Chicago. I'm proud of it now. I love Illinois and where I'm from and what we have here. This song sort of sums it up, somehow.

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Sweet_Amity
03-27-2006

Rated 0 
I love this album, but I come from Aussie and half the time I have no idea where he's sining about. I'm not sure
if that means I miss out on a heap of crucial importance in his songs, except I didn't know Decatur was a place... :)
Well, I just need to study up on my American geography.

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Dustin Echo
03-27-2006

Rated +1 
To throw some background into what bethunit said:
There is a website that explains the mystery sightings of the lion, kangaroo, and alligator.
http://www.prairieghosts.com/gators.html

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thefooligan5
04-01-2006

Rated 0 
Someone further up mentioned their amazement about how much time Sufjan must have spent in each of the areas he has written about. If I am not mistaken, however, I don't think he has ever visited Illinois. I am not sure about Michigan

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whateverlolawants
04-06-2006

Rated 0 
Don't worry, Sweet_Amity, America is full of towns like the ones in the song- there are so many, it would take forever to learn all of them. I'm a pretty well-informed person, well-traveled person from the next state over, Indiana, and I'd never heard of a lot of the towns mentioned in this album. Half of the fun is learning about these new towns.

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ajknee
04-26-2006

Rated 0 
I was so inspired by this song and "Prarie Fire" that I decided to spend my spring break exploring the medium sized cities of central Illinois. Peoria, Springfield, Lincoln, Decatur, Bloomington-Normal, and Champaign-Urbana. All of them were beautiful and full of life EXCEPT Decatur. I was really disappointed because this song gives a wonderful impression of the city. In all actuallity the city is dying and dangerously close to dead. It is all run down factories and strip malls. There is one larger mall in the city but it is 80% empty. I felt really sorry for the people that live there and watch their city crumble.

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