I've always been a little mystified by this song so thanks for this detailed dive. In return, a long-winded story/question about another song. We recently bought a house on Cape Cod. The previous owner, a 92 year old woman, died there, following a morning nap which seems as good a way to go as any. But moving on...the family asked if we wanted them to leave her books in the house so we said sure. She had an eclectic library to say the least. Once I saw a Joan Didion title and a hardcover of Franny and Zooey, I felt we were in a good place. Recently, while scanning her (now our) shelves, I stumbled upon a copy of Liars and Saints by one Maile Meloy. This is a very good, very fast read and I highly recommend. Now, here the question. On page 87 a French Canadian is gutshot running liquor just like the uncle in July, July. This is either the most amazing coincidence ever or there is a story. I'm guessing the latter. I'm waiting...
This song has one of my favorite lines you’ve written.
“But the angles and the corners, though my work was unparalleled, they never seemed to meet, the structure fell about our feet and we were free to go…”
It is so sneakily clever. Unparalleled as in skilled beyond compare, but also in mathematic terms of parallel lines never meeting/crossing. It’s just so simple, so easy to miss, and yet there it is.
I have similar feelings for the second verse of Leslie Anne Levine. But I’ll save that comment for another day.
I always found the lines “we travel without seatbelts on/we live this close to death” to be moving, like how such a simple thing could put you so much closer to mortality
I think marionettes is much more evocative imagery-wise. Our Spaniard is an eccentric who maybe is too into his stringed dolls. It’s creepy… and I love it!
This was the first Decemberists song I ever heard, back in my days of "just downloading anything with a cool title off Limewire and seeing if it was good." (I swear I've paid for it since, heh.) I probably wouldn't have downloaded it if it had just been called Architect, so I'm all for the wordy title ;-)
Honestly, Colin, the title of this song is one of my absolute favorites. I adore how wordy it is. For me, it’s second only to My Mother Was A Chinese Trapeze Artist, which makes me smile inside every time I see the text of it across my phone.
Did your sister also debate with you about “laid” versus “lay” in Cutting Stone? 😉
one of my favourite songs of all time. always thought it was so poetic and must have some deeply entrenched meaning, absolutely love when artists are just like yup even i don’t know what this part means!! lol. love getting this perspective, song is beautiful.
I always interpreted the chorus as sort of an argument. “Try one, try two,” but I also thought it could be “try to” as if he’s trying to express something.
“I won, so you lose” and “guess it’s better to turn this way” sort of feel like something someone would say in some petty argument.
Am I the only one who finds the entire last verse to be funny? I like the contrast to the melody and the other verses that are kind of sad. I did always wonder if marionettes was just used because it was sillier than castanets (and is a French word and not Spanish....) but the seatbelt line really tickles my brain - I mean really, if the most dangerous thing you do is to not wear a seat belt - whew, that's life in the fast lane (without a seatbelt!!). Looking forward to seeing the band tonight in Syracuse
Colin, off topic: there’s a story called “Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather,” by Sarah Pinsker. It is told through annotations to the lyrics of the song of the same name, on a site called Lyricsplainer. There’s a list of available versions, by bands such as the Kingston Trio, the Grateful Dead, Joan Baez, Metallica, Jack White… and The Decemberists. Pinsker is in a band called The Stalking Horses, and they recorded the song, and it’s available on YouTube. You should check it out, because it would be awesome if y’all made your fictional version a reality.
Well. My headcanon for that chorus is much more complex than it need be.
I've always been a little mystified by this song so thanks for this detailed dive. In return, a long-winded story/question about another song. We recently bought a house on Cape Cod. The previous owner, a 92 year old woman, died there, following a morning nap which seems as good a way to go as any. But moving on...the family asked if we wanted them to leave her books in the house so we said sure. She had an eclectic library to say the least. Once I saw a Joan Didion title and a hardcover of Franny and Zooey, I felt we were in a good place. Recently, while scanning her (now our) shelves, I stumbled upon a copy of Liars and Saints by one Maile Meloy. This is a very good, very fast read and I highly recommend. Now, here the question. On page 87 a French Canadian is gutshot running liquor just like the uncle in July, July. This is either the most amazing coincidence ever or there is a story. I'm guessing the latter. I'm waiting...
This song has one of my favorite lines you’ve written.
“But the angles and the corners, though my work was unparalleled, they never seemed to meet, the structure fell about our feet and we were free to go…”
It is so sneakily clever. Unparalleled as in skilled beyond compare, but also in mathematic terms of parallel lines never meeting/crossing. It’s just so simple, so easy to miss, and yet there it is.
I have similar feelings for the second verse of Leslie Anne Levine. But I’ll save that comment for another day.
Thank you for sharing this Colin!
I always found the lines “we travel without seatbelts on/we live this close to death” to be moving, like how such a simple thing could put you so much closer to mortality
I think marionettes is much more evocative imagery-wise. Our Spaniard is an eccentric who maybe is too into his stringed dolls. It’s creepy… and I love it!
This was the first Decemberists song I ever heard, back in my days of "just downloading anything with a cool title off Limewire and seeing if it was good." (I swear I've paid for it since, heh.) I probably wouldn't have downloaded it if it had just been called Architect, so I'm all for the wordy title ;-)
Honestly, Colin, the title of this song is one of my absolute favorites. I adore how wordy it is. For me, it’s second only to My Mother Was A Chinese Trapeze Artist, which makes me smile inside every time I see the text of it across my phone.
Did your sister also debate with you about “laid” versus “lay” in Cutting Stone? 😉
one of my favourite songs of all time. always thought it was so poetic and must have some deeply entrenched meaning, absolutely love when artists are just like yup even i don’t know what this part means!! lol. love getting this perspective, song is beautiful.
My household has decided we prefer the assonance of "buried with my marionettes." Don't beat yourself up, Colin.
It’s funny how differently you view the song as the songwriter. I think it is the perfect song, including the title.
I really love these posts and reading about what was going on in your head and life as you wrote these songs we all love!
I always interpreted the chorus as sort of an argument. “Try one, try two,” but I also thought it could be “try to” as if he’s trying to express something.
“I won, so you lose” and “guess it’s better to turn this way” sort of feel like something someone would say in some petty argument.
Great annotation, really digging these.
I always thought of the almost-meaning in a lot of the lines gives the song a very dreamlike quality.
Am I the only one who finds the entire last verse to be funny? I like the contrast to the melody and the other verses that are kind of sad. I did always wonder if marionettes was just used because it was sillier than castanets (and is a French word and not Spanish....) but the seatbelt line really tickles my brain - I mean really, if the most dangerous thing you do is to not wear a seat belt - whew, that's life in the fast lane (without a seatbelt!!). Looking forward to seeing the band tonight in Syracuse
Colin, off topic: there’s a story called “Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather,” by Sarah Pinsker. It is told through annotations to the lyrics of the song of the same name, on a site called Lyricsplainer. There’s a list of available versions, by bands such as the Kingston Trio, the Grateful Dead, Joan Baez, Metallica, Jack White… and The Decemberists. Pinsker is in a band called The Stalking Horses, and they recorded the song, and it’s available on YouTube. You should check it out, because it would be awesome if y’all made your fictional version a reality.
I absolutely love these. Thank you Colin