Band
The Decemberists

The Decemberists are an indie folk rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, fronted by singer/songwriter Colin Meloy. The other members of the band are Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (Hammond organ, accordion, melodica, piano, keyboards, harmonica), Nate Query (bass guitar, string bass), and John Moen (drums, backing vocals, melodica, guitar). In addition to their lyrics, which often focus on historical incidents ... and/or folklore, The Decemberists are also well known for their eclectic live shows. Audience participation is often a part of each performance, typically during encores. The band stages whimsical reenactments of sea battles and other centuries-old events, typically of regional interest, or acts out songs with members of the crowd. During their European tour in the winter of 2010, the band performed "The Mariner's Revenge Song" at the conclusion of each date. The audience was encouraged to scream as if they were being consumed by a whale mentioned in the track's narrative while the band pretended to die on stage. In 2011, the track "Down by the Water" from the album The King is Dead was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 54th Grammy Awards. The group's songs range from upbeat pop to instrumentally lush ballads, and often employ instruments like the accordion, Hammond organ, Wurlitzer organ, and upright bass. In its lyrics, the band eschews the introspection common to modern rock, instead favoring a storytelling approach, as evidenced in songs such as "My Mother Was a Chinese Trapeze Artist" from the 5 Songs EP and "The Mariner's Revenge Song" on Picaresque. The band's songs convey tales ranging from whimsical ("The Sporting Life") to epic ("The Tain") to dark ("Odalisque", "The Rake's Song"), and often invoke historical events and themes from around the world ("Yankee Bayonet", "The Bagman's Gambit"). On their website, the group claim that their official drink is Orangina, that they love the video-game Bioshock and "adore" the bands Norfolk & Western, Explosions In The Sky, The Postal Service, The Long Winters, Death Cab for Cutie, Dokken, Ulrich Schnauss, El Ten Eleven, The Shins, The Octopus Project, Electrelane, Camera Obscura, Clearlake, The Thermals, Modest Mouse, Swords and Earlimart. The band's official biography, keeping up their reputation for grandiloquence, also describes how they met in a Turkish bath. A footnote following the biography claims, "The Decemberists travel exclusively by Dr. Herring's Brand Dirigible Balloons." Colin Meloy has listed Anne Briggs, Nic Jones, and Shirley Collins – who led the 1960s British folk revival – as major influences on The Hazards of Love. Meloy has also confessed a "slavish love" for Morrissey, one of his principal influences. The band has also cited their liking for Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the pop tunes of R.E.M. and XTC. The band also draws inspiration from British and Irish folk music. See more [+]

16 Military Wives |||||

Fourteen cannibal kings Wondering blithely what the dinner ...

Summersong |||||

Ramblin' where to begin I taste the summer on your peppery s...

Sons And Daughters |||||

When we arrive sons and daugthers We'll make our homes on th...

Rox In The Box |||||

We get the rocks in the box, get the water right down to you...

The Mariner's Revenge Song |||||

We are two mariners Our ship's sole survivors In this belly ...

Raincoat Song |||||

(verse) Caroline you're angry 'cause you sleep like a spinst...

The Crane Wife |||||

And under the boughs unbound All clothed in a snowy shroud S...

Once In My Life |||||

> > > > > > > > > verse 1 Oh for once in my, oh for once in...

Severed |||||

I alight like a whisper I alight with the lights out And i...

Black Mariah |||||

There in my memory Just on periphery Loose-knit like gauze o...

All Arise! |||||

Baby wants a new spin, baby wants a broken heart I hear you ...

Bandit Queen |||||

As the Sun is sinking low And the evening's tucked in tow On...

Clementine |||||

C=x32010 Em=022000 So we got in your car With our kickabout ...

Gymnast High Above The Ground |||||

chorus through the tarlatan holes you've been slipping been ...

O Valencia |||||

at the third fret, I just prefer it this way. So wait for t...

Soldiering Life |||||

e x x x x x x x x x A 12 11 7 6 4 2 0 x 2 E 10 9 5 4 2 0 x x...

The Tain |||||

Verse: (electric) Verse: (acoustic) Intro Riff x4 Intro Riff...

This Is Why We Fight |||||

Come the war, come the avarice Come the war, come how? Com...

Ben Franklins Song |||||

Electricity, yeah you can all thank me Took some lightning, ...

California One Youth And Beauty Brigade |||||

VERSE 1 Take a long drive with me On California one, On Cali...

Ill Be Your Girl |||||

When the summer days live to bore you, And the river lies l...

One Engine |||||

One engine barely makes it away, One engine barely makes it ...

Stateside |||||

Verse 1 You call, I was drowning, weary after the party And ...

The Harrowed And The Haunted |||||

Lay out the bowline Tether and belay Haul away There is ambe...

The Legionnaires Lament |||||

I'm a Legionnaire Camel in disrepair Hoping for a Frigidaire...

Tripping Along |||||

We were tripping tripping tripping tripping tripping along W...

After The Bombs |||||

"And after the bombs " "We meet in the streets " "We grip at...

As I Rise |||||

I have come a few miles. I got blisters on my slippered feet...

Crane Wife 2 |||||

my VERSE crane wife a - rrived at my door in the moon ligh...

Yankee Bayonet |||||

F * = {x03210} I'm sure it has a real name that escapes me a...

Youll Not Feel The Drowning |||||

I will dress your eyelids With dimes upon your eyes Laying c...

Grace Cathedral Hill |||||

Grace Cathedral hill, all wrapped in bones of a setting sun,...

Bagmans Gambit |||||

II (I I And from my ten floor tenement Where once our bodies...

Perfect Crime 2 |||||

For the G, rather than playing that fingering exactly like i...

Red Right Ankle |||||

REPEAT INTRO REPEAT VERSE REPEAT INTRO REPEAT VERSE FIN. ...

Rise To Me |||||

Big mountain, wide river, there's an ancient port These tree...

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