Greetings all. Here’s another one from The Decemberists who, as some of you well know, are holding down my ‘best band in the world’ top spot right now. I recently heard that they’ve gone into the studio to record their sixth album, but as far as I know, no definite release date is on the cards yet. They’ve also got REM guitarist Peter Buck on board for the album. Decemberist lead singer and song writer Colin Meloy posted this on his Twitter feed a while back: “First official day of #6 practice; made Peter Buck play my fake-REM riffs and he didn’t seem perturbed. Nor litigious.” Good job.
Castaways and Cutouts
So, today’s song is The Legionnairs’s Lament from their debut album Castways and Cutouts, released in 2002. This is a Decemberists classic, my favourite of the album, and is a perfect example of their music. It’s got a fun rhythm, carefully and poetically crafted lyrics (Meloy doesn’t use words by accident) and as is standard for Decemberists fare, tells a great story. The speaker is a French legionnaire far away from his home and his love, bumming out hard at being stuck in the desert remembering all the awesome waiting for him back in Paris.
Give this one a good listen, and try catch the lyrics (an important part of getting the most out of The Decemberists). The upbeat sound of the song, despite being a lament, displays a great awareness of fond rememberances and the joy that can come from taking yourself back to a good place or a better time – something we do when things aren’t all going too great, or we’re somewhere you really don’t want to be. So even though the Legionnaire in question is really not stoked with how things are right now, it’s all conveyed in a really positive way, with virtuoso use of imagery that immerses one in the sights and sounds of late 19th century Paris.
Enjoy the song.
Tags: Castaways and Cutouts, Colin Meloy, Decemberists, Peter Buck, REM, The Decemberists, The Legionnaire's Lament
