happy:blissful!

A New Kind of Storytelling: The Decemberists

The band, The Decemberists, have quickly become one of my favorites. From Oregon, the lead singer’s-Colin Meloy- unique voice (I thought he was from Australia.) blends to an array of musical instruments (the accordion is a favorite), and splendid, imaginative lyrics.

Here is a glimpse of some of my favorites:

‘Eli, The Barrow Boy,’ from Picaresque
(For a quick listen, scroll down: http://www.amazon.com/Picaresque-Decemberists/dp/B0007M22S4/sr=1-1/qid=1159299987/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3195775-0508942?ie=UTF8&s=music)

Eli, the barrowboy, when they found him
Dressed all in corduroy, he had drowned in
The river down the way
They laid his body down in a church yard
But still when the moon is out
With his pushcart he calls down the day

"Would I could afford to buy my love a fine gown
Made of gold and silk Arabian thread
But I am dead and gone and lying in a church ground
But still I push my barrow all the day
Still I push my barrow all the day"

‘The Sporting Life,’ from Picaresque
(For a quick listen, same link as above.)

And father had had such hopes
For a son who would take the ropes
And fulfill all his old athletic aspirations
But apparently now there's some complications
But while I am lying here
Trying to fight the tears
I'll prove to the crowd that I come out stronger
Though I think I might lie here a little longer

There's my coach he's looking down
The disappointment in his knitted brow
"I should've known," he thinks again
"I never should have put him in"
He turns and loads the lemonade away
And breathes in deep
The sporting life
How he loves

‘The Bachelor and the Bride’ from Her Majesty
(For a quick listen, scroll down: http://www.amazon.com/Her-Majesty-Decemberists/dp/B0000BWVMJ/sr=1-3/qid=1159299987/ref=pd_bbs_3/102-3195775-0508942?ie=UTF8&s=music)

There's a wrinkle in the water
Where we laid our first daughter
And I think the wind blows so sweetly there
Over there
And the windows and the cinders
And the willows in the timbers
The infernal rattling of the rain Still remains
"But I," said the bachelor to the bride
"Am not waiting for tonight
No, I will box your ears And leave you here stripped bare"

‘Billy Liar’ from 5 song Billy Liar EP
(For a quick listen, same link as 'The Bachelor and the Bride.')

So the summer is eternity for you?
Sleeping in until your father's shaking you down
He's shaking you down
And the mailroom shift gets a real short shrift
As you dole out the packages, no one seems to want you around
All skulking around

Let you legs loll on the lino
Until your sinews spoil
Will you stay here for a while, dear
Until the radio plays something familiar?
Plays something familiar

Even more stories will be ready for a listen in 1 week- 10/3 (Jeffy’s b-day) when their new album, The Crane Wife, comes out. And, I can’t wait!

http://www.decemberists.com/