The Decemberists>Pedro The Stupid Lion

I have come to think that the Decemberists are the greatest band in existence. This is a blog that will only have one post, and it is created for the sole purpose of being linked to Michael’s blog because Michael thinks “Pedro the Lion” in some way approaches the lyrical achievements of the Decemberists, which simply isn’t true.

I am going to put my Decemberists’ playlist on shuffle and the first song to come up, I will write about how awesome it is. Michael is welcome to select any Pedro the Lion song he wishes and try to argue that it is better than my randomly selected Decemberists’ song.

The Island

There's an island hidden in the sound
Lapping currents lay your boat to ground
Affix your barb and bayonet
The curlews carve their Arabesques
And sorrow fills the silence all around
Come and see

There's a harbor lost within the reeds
A jetty caught in over-hanging trees
Among the bones of cormorants
No boot mark here nor finger prints
The rivers roll down to a soundless sea
Come and see

The tides will come and go
With this bare waking eye
Who rose like the wind
Though we know for sure
Amidst this fading light
We'll not go home again
Come and see

In the lowlands, nestled in the heat
A briar cradle rocks it's babe to sleep
Its contents watched by Sycorax
And Patagons in parallax
A foretold rumbling sounds below the deep
Come and see

[The Landlord's Daughter]

As I was rambled
Down by the water
I spied in sable
The landlord's daughter
Produced my pistol, then my saber
To make no whistle or thou will be murdered

She cursed, she shivered
She cried for mercy,
"My gold and silver if thou will release me!"

I'll take no gold miss, I'll take no silver
I'll take those sweet lips, and Thou will deliver

[You'll Not Feel The Drowning]

I will dress your eyelids
With dimes upon your eyes
Lay you close to water
Green your grave will rise
Go to sleep little ugly
Go to sleep you little fool
Forty-winking in the belfry
You'll not feel the drowning

Forget you once had sweethearts
They've forgotten you
Think you not on parents
They've forgotten too
Go to sleep now little ugly
Go to sleep now you little fool
Forty-winking in the belfry
You'll not feel the drowning

Hear you now the captain
Heed his sorrowed cry
"Weight upon your eyelids
As dimes laid on your eyes"

This “song” by the Decemberists is over 12 minutes and is broken up into three sections, making it more of a three song series. It is Colin Meloy’s musical commentary, in a sense, on “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare.

Let’s start this way: I defy anyone to show me any other songwriter who can demonstrate this sort of mastery over the text of “the Tempest.” (Hint: don’t bother looking. There are a lot of English teachers who don’t even approach Colin’s level of understanding of the themes and dynamics of this play.)

A step further: Let’s assume that in some sort of alternate history Edmond Malone had also been a songwriter, and therefore Colin didn’t have unsurpassed knowledge of Shakespearean drama: What I see as an easily defensible position is this: the wordplay, the craft of lyric writing, as demonstrated in this song, is not to be outdone by anyone. The demonstration of vocabulary is amazing. I had to look up at least four of the words from this song, but I am certain that Colin Meloy has full command of these words’ meanings and uses. These are not words that one finds in a rhyming dictionary. They are seamlessly worked into the song; the ideas and connotations of each phrase are too cohesive for any part of this composition to be haphazard.


For those who haven’t read the Tempest or have read it and are still confused by this song because you’re dumb, here is what is going on: “The Island” is describing the setting of the play, which takes place on…an island. An astute listener may pick up on the Shakespearean themes by some of the language similarities between the song and the play (I certainly didn’t…but looking back, it’s definitely there,) but it becomes clear that this is Prospero’s Island with the mention of “Sycorax” who is Caliban’s mother.

The next part of the song circuit, “The Landlord's Daughter” is undoubtedly a description of Caliban’s attempted rape of Miranda, the daughter of Prospero. Consider the lyrics “make no whistle or thou will be murdered, She cursed, she shivered, She cried for mercy…” For those familiar with the play, or for anyone investing the time to consider the words, it is a clear description of a forced sexual encounter, but I think Colin shows consideration for the listener by not forcing them to think about this unpleasant theme. He doesn’t say “rape.” His vocabulary, is important here again, but in the opposite way, that it is unremarkable. He uses perfectly ordinary words to describe this event subtly and tastefully. Undoubtedly, many have enjoyed the beauty of this song without knowing it is about an attempted rape. In this, the Decemberists are set apart from almost any other band: their words and music are enjoyable and pleasant to a casual listener…smoothly rhythmic with unforced rhyme and soaring, catchy melodies (Read through the lyrics. You know how sometimes a song can sound great but when you speak the words without music, the rhyme and rhythm sound awful? That is because the singer is pushing and pulling on the words to make them fit into the meter of the song. Good lyrics do not have to be manipulated like this. The words to “The Island” song circuit can work as stand-alone poetry as well.) However, it is also true that the repeat listener will be rewarded with additional subtlety and nuanced meaning with each successive hearing.
The third part of the song, “You'll Not Feel the Drowning” is a description of the death of Caliban. The epithet “little ugly” is extracted from Shakespeare’s description of the character.

Colin Meloy is a great storyteller, but this song is hardly just a retelling of the Tempest. Colin uses that story as a backdrop against which he combines a variety of other literary and historical allusions into his own unique commentary. The amalgamation of literary and historical sources, fused with creation of Colin’s imagination makes this song very characteristic of the Decemberists.

I think that’s probably enough. If anyone isn’t convinced, I can do another post that starts diving into the nuances.