search


HOME | 0-9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

EP: "Traveling On" (2018)

Down On The Knuckle lyrics - The Decemberists

Avery said he's got a cold coming on
Climbed into bed, stayed all summer long
If I don't come out too soon
Maybe I'll hang on till June
Down on the knuckle

Sylvia knows a little hideaway
Scrawling out prose she couldn't give away
A life spent all indoors
Well, isn't that what doors are for?
Down on the knuckle

Down on the knuckle
Oh, the weather's dreary
Here down on the knuckle

Your relatives write their cheery monologues
Hoping you might find your only analogue
So make another list
Of the mandatory things you've missed
Down on the knuckle

Down on the knuckle
Oh, aren't we lucky
Stuck here on the knuckle

The pillory's full for the holidays
And it's achingly dull to watch the paint peel away
So I'll keep hid with mine
And I'm sure that we'll make out just fine
Down on the knuckle

Down on the knuckle
I'm finally riding
Shiny, on the knuckle

Down on the knuckle
Oh, aren't we lucky
Stuck here on the knuckle

I Will Not Say Your Name lyrics - The Decemberists

I will not say your name
Go back from where you came
Hope you enjoy your stay
We will not go away
Go away
Your time's gonna come

You plate your world in gold
To hide the rot of your soul
Yours is the mind of a child
All that you touch, you defile
You defile

Your time's gonna come
And when it comes
And when it comes
Oh, what a happy day

I will not say your name
Go back from where you came
Hope you enjoy your stay
We will not go away
Go away

Your time's gonna come
And when it comes
And when it comes
Oh, what a happy day
Oh, what a happy day!
Oh, what a happy day!

Tripping Along (Full Band Version) lyrics - The Decemberists

We were tripping tripping tripping tripping, tripping along
While you're orbiting, might I?
While you're orbiting, might I?
Lick you sticky sticky sticky sticky, sticky and sweet
They're all turning a blind eye
They're all turning a blind eye

But oh what I'd do just to lie with you die in your arms
What wouldn't I give just to live with that sense of alarm?
But your relatives gathered all clamber about for your mind
And they're tearing and swearing to leave you all naked and blind

So we keep a-ripping ripping ripping ripping, rips in the sheets
'Till it's all coming undone
'Till it's all coming undone
And we're drippy drippy drippy drippy, what messes are we?
And I'm due for a line out
And I'm due for a light out

But just as I'm cusping on slumber and dumbing my eyes
What spin-twisting vision comes listing and gently alights?
And bothering toddles all over this beautiful light
This fickle young sister's away in the dimming of night

La de da de da de da da da...

Midlist Author lyrics - The Decemberists

I fell upon a Tuesday
When I had just got down to work
And everything went grey
So I caught a bus Wednesday
Thought a vacation well deserved
And all my edges frayed

Address your letters to:
Midlist author (midlist author)
You're never the best but you're never the worst
Why even bother (even bother)
You'll never be last but you'll never be first

Have another taste of fame
When they mispronounce your name
When they mispronounce your name

Strolled along the seaside
Among all the vulgar cheering crowds
And a boy cries for his dog
Stolen by a riptide (stolen by a riptide)
His mother explains he's surely drowned
As he weeps upon a log

And all my readers sing, oh
Midlist author (midlist author)
You're never the best but you're never the worst
Why even bother (even bother)
You'll never be last but you'll never be first

Maybe one more glass of wine
Will make everything seem fine
Maybe everything will seem fine

And nobody's taking chances
Oh, but those, all those dwindling advances
Get you down
They get you down...

Shuffling homeward
I checked the receiver on the phone
No messages returned
So I started up a new thing (started up a new thing)
Something about the sea, a boy, and his dog
And these were the first words:
"Dedication TK"

Oh, midlist author (midlist author)
You're never the best but you're never the worst
Why even bother (even bother)
You'll never be last but you'll never be first

Maybe novel twenty-two
Will make them all remember you

Traveling On lyrics - The Decemberists

Boys in blazers
Union labor
The last on the life boat to get on
Leering drivers
Weary lifers
And I wanna know is when we go on

'Cause we're traveling on
Sold for a song
We're traveling on
And it won't be long
'Til we're traveling on

Street-side smokers
Holy rollers
Find me a toilet to die on
L.A., London
Barely funded
Give me a wheel and I'll ride on, ride on, ride on

'Cause we're traveling on
Sold for a song
We're traveling on
And it won't be long
'Til we're traveling on
We're traveling on

Fawning fanfare
Nearly nowhere
Meet the new dauphin in Duluth
No one knows you
Nations loathe you
Please let me know when I can recuse myself if I choose

But we're traveling on
Sold for a song
We're traveling on
And it won't be long
We're traveling on
Sold for a song
We're traveling on
And it won't be long
'Til we're traveling on

We're traveling on
We're traveling on, on

"I'll Be Your Girl" (2018)

Once In My Life lyrics - The Decemberists

Oh, for once in my
Oh, for once in my life
Could just something go
Could just something go right?

Oh, for once in my
Oh, for once in my life
Could just something go
Could just something go right?

I've been waiting all my life
I've been waiting all my life
All my life
My life
My life

Oh, for once in my
Oh, for once in my life
Could just something go
Could just something go right?

I've been waiting all my life
I've been waiting all my life
All my life
My life
All my life
All my life

I've been waiting all my life
I've been waiting all my life
All my life
My life
Oh, for once in my
Oh, for once in my life
All my life
All my life
Oh, for once in my
Oh, for once in my life
All my life
All my life
Oh, for once in my
Oh, for once in my life
All my life
All my life
Oh, for once in my
Oh, for once in my life

I could wait for hours
I could wait and never fall down
Never fall down
Never fall down

Lays down
Beside the river
Face down
Beside the river

Cutting Stone lyrics - The Decemberists

Dreamed I had a cutting stone
Dreamed I held it all my own
It cut through wire, wood, and bone
I'll cut you down, my cutting stone

Cutting stone oh fear me none
Whether wild or whether won
Though I travel far from home
I'll always have my cutting stone

Wandering, I chanced upon
A wayward child lost anon
And when he laid across my chest
My cutting stone it did the rest

Cutting stone oh fear me none
Whether wild or whether won
Though I travel far from home
I'll always have my cutting stone

In a valley green and wide
A suitor wept for a dying bride
And when he turned his eyes on me
A cutting stone did set him free

Cutting stone oh fear me none
Whether wild or whether won
Though I travel far from home
I'll always have my cutting stone

Cutting stone oh fear me none
Whether wild or whether won
Though I travel far from home
I'll always have my cutting stone

There upon a mountaintop
I looked down on to what I'd wrought
And when I saw my labors through
I cut my cutting stone in two

Cutting stone oh fear me none
Whether wild or whether won
Though I travel far from home
I'll always have my cutting stone
I'll always have my cutting stone
I'll cut you down, my cutting stone

Severed lyrics - The Decemberists

I alight like a whisper
I alight with the lights out
And it won't take me long just to find you
And it won't take me long just to find you

I'm allied to the winter
So don't you get clever
Don't you get clever
I'm allied to the landslide
Gonna leave you all severed
Gonna leave you all severed

I alone am the answer
I alone will make wrongs right
But in order to root out the cancer
It's got to be kept from the sunlight

I'm allied to the winter
So don't you get clever
Don't you get clever
I'm allied to the landslide
Gonna leave you all severed
Gonna leave you all severed

I was born to a jackal
I was born in a whiteout
Gonna smother you all till I choke you
Gonna smother you all till you kick out

I'm allied to the winter
So don't you get clever
Don't you get clever
I'm allied to the landslide
Gonna leave you all severed
Gonna leave you all severed

Starwatcher lyrics - The Decemberists

Starwatcher, starwatcher in the night
Starwatcher, starwatcher bend the light

There's a rider on the road
There's calamity a-waiting to unfold
There is poison in the well
There's the augur of a distant ringing bell
It says: hold, hold, hold your ground

Skywatcher, skywatcher rules the day
Skywatcher, skywatcher cruel and fey

There are figures on the shore
At the laundromat, they're whispering of war
There's a lady on the stair
All a-shambling with thistles in her hair
Singing: hold, hold, hold your ground
Hold, hold, hold your ground

Starwatcher, starwatcher in the night

Tripping Along lyrics - The Decemberists

We were tripping tripping tripping tripping tripping along
While you're orbiting, might I?
While you're orbiting, might I?
Lick you sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky and sweep
They're all turning a blind eye
They're all turning a blind eye

But oh what I'd do just to lie with you die in your arms
What wouldn't I give just to live with that sense of alarm?
But your relatives gathered all clamber about for your mind
And they're tearing and swearing to leave you all naked and blind

So we keep a-ripping ripping ripping ripping rips in the sheets
'Till it's all coming undone
'Till it's all coming undone
And we're drippy drippy drippy drippy, what messes are we?
And I'm due for a line out
And I'm due for a light out

But just as I'm cusping on slumber and dumbing my eyes
What spin-twisting vision comes listing and jelly alike?
And bothering toddles all over this beautiful light
This fickle young sister's away in the dimming of night

La de da de da de da da da
Da de da de da de da da da
Da de da de da de da da da
Da de da de da de da da da
Da de da de da de da da da
Da de da de da de da da da
Da de da de da de da da da da

Your Ghost lyrics - The Decemberists

Along the old sea wall
Inside the banquet hall
Below the cellar's stair, maybe you'll find me there
Your ghost, oh your ghost
Your ghost

And when you take your rest
My weight upon your breast
And should you close your eyes
I'll still materialize
Your ghost, oh your ghost
Your ghost

Na na na na na
Na na na na na

And at your final end
When you are free again
No longer long to be
You will be belong to me
Your ghost, oh your ghost
Oh your ghost, oh your ghost

Na na na na na
Na na na na na

Na na na na na
Na na na na na

Na na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Your ghost, oh your ghost
Ghost
Na na na na na
Na na na na na

Everything Is Awful lyrics - The Decemberists

Everything, everything, everything, everything, everything, thing
Everything, everything, everything, everything, everything is awful

Everything, everything, everything, everything, everything, thing
Everything, everything, everything, everything, everything is awful
Everything is awful, everything is...

What's that crashing sound
That follows us around?
That's the sound of all things good breaking

We'll put your fears to rest
You know it's for the best
As a choir of angels sing:

Everything, everything, everything, everything, everything, thing
Everything, everything, everything, everything, everything is awful

Everything, everything, everything, everything, everything, thing
Everything, everything, everything, everything, everything is awful
Everything is awful, everything is...

I know you've worked so hard
To hoist your own petard
Must be so nice; the point stuck in your side

Hang your heavy head
It's safer here in bed
As a choir of angels sing:

Everything, everything, everything, everything, everything, thing
Everything, everything, everything, everything, everything is awful

Everything, everything, everything, everything, everything, thing
Everything, everything, everything, everything, everything is awful
Everything is awful, everything is bad

(La la la la
La la la la)
Everything is...

(La la la la
La la la la)
Everything is...

(La la la la
La la la la)
Everything is...

(La la la la
La la la la)
Everything is...

Wake me from my sleep
Could you kindly keep it down?
Could you kindly keep it down, down?
You'll wake me from my sleep
Could you kindly keep it down?
Could you kindly keep it down, down?

Sucker's Prayer lyrics - The Decemberists

I was not ready for the road
I was so discontent to wear that heavy load
So I got down on my knees
Made a sucker's prayer
Like Rimbaud to Baudelaire before

And when nobody did respond
I took my glasses off and went to find a pond
Stuffing rocks into the pockets of my pants
And when I waded in
Those currents carried them away

I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I've been so long lonely and it's getting me down
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
I wanna love somebody but I don't know how

So if you're lost along the way
And if you're thinking that will always be the case
Won't you listen to my plea?
Don't make a sucker's prayer
Just go and leave it there, away

I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I've been so long lonely and it's getting me down
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I wanna love somebody but I don't know how

We All Die Young lyrics - The Decemberists

It was late one night, I was counting out my stitches
Waiting by the side of the road
I was a long time gone, slipping off my britches
Feeling like it's time to go home
Yeah, feeling like it's time to go home

And in this dream, Bill Tecumseh Sherman
Glowered at the foot of my bed
He was long and lean, he spoke in perfect German
And I recorded all that he said
Yeah, I recorded all that he said

He said:
"We all die young
We all die young
We all die young
We all die young"

When I woke next day, layered in the lashings
Feeling for the hole in my head
I was thinking 'bout my dad, thinking 'bout the nashings
Of all the bitter things that he said
Yeah, all the worrying things that he had said

And he said:
"We all die young
We all die young
We all die young
We all die young"

Son, he said:
"We all die young
We all die young!
We all die young
We all die young!
We all die young
We all die young!
We all die young"
We all die young!

And it came to pass when everything had ended
The world was just a grubby balloon
And I spoke up, said "sorry if I've offended"
This voice came from the back of the room
Oh, screaming from the back of the room

It said:
"We all die young
We all die young!
We all die young
We all die young!
We all die young
We all die, we all die young!
We all die young"

One more time!
"We all die young
Bill Tecumseh Sherman
We all die young!
We all die young
Sorry if I've offended
We all die young!
We all die young
We all die, we all die young!
We all die young"

We all die young!
We all die young!
We all die, we all die young!

We all die young!
We all die young!
We all die, we all die young!

Rusalka, Rusalka / The Wild Rushes lyrics - The Decemberists

Rusalka, Rusalka your arms out of water
Your hair like an alien bloom
Dark-eyed Rusalka, your brow tressed in flowers
Pale in a liminal moon
And all that you are is a star on the water

When first I went swimming, I heeded no warning
And dared breach your rippling pool
As I lulled and lingered, the ring slipped my finger
And drifted down the deepening cool
And all that I want is to fall in your shallows

And now we are wed, the water our bed
And bank to bank property lake
And you are my wild-eyed rusalka, my river bride
Drag me down, take me away
And here we will lie, you and I, 'neath the cold, dark sky

Beware the wild rushes, my mother told me
That grow on the bank side along the salt sea
But I being young, I heeded her none
So to the wild rushes the wind carried me

The summer was here and the sun it was high
And to the wild rushes I came by and by
And there took my seat and dipped in my feet
When through the wild rushes, a voice sweetly cried

Come down, my little darling, come closer to me
The water is warm; it is salty and free
I long for your touch but I won't ask too much
And I, being foolish, walked in to my knees

Come down, little darling, and lay at my breast
Oh come a little closer and I'll do the rest
I waited so long for a lover to come
And I, being foolish, walked in to my chest

Come down, my little darling, oh farther come in
For deeper the water, the sweeter the sin
My lily lies here, if you'd only draw near
And I, being foolish, went in to my chin

Oh come, my little darling, do you feel my cool breath
Do you feel my arms around you so warm and so wet?
Swept from my feet, she pulled me beneath
And in the wild rushes, I went to my death

I'll Be Your Girl lyrics - The Decemberists

When the summer days live to bore you
And the river lies long before you
And the one that you love ignores you
I'll be your girl

Like a senator works a full room
Like a lover undone by full moon
Like a lily alive in full bloom
I'll be your girl

And when the tempests rage
And all the oceans roar
At your door
I could be your man
But I'd be that much more
And more

So when everything soft upbraids you
When fortune has long betrayed you
And you're longing for an arm to stay you
I'll be your girl

And when the tempests rage
And all the oceans roar
At your door
I could be your man
But I'd be that much more
And more

So if you're ever feeling less your time due
Like someone bereft and lied to
And you never need a guy to guide you
I'll be your girl
I'll be your girl
I'll be your girl

EP: "Florasongs" (2015)

Why Would I Now? lyrics - The Decemberists

Have I ever lost your way?
Have I ever left you waylaid?
Have I ever called and stayed?
Why would I now?
There were times I load your name
There were times I laid on plain
There were times I brought on shame
Why would I now?
But I will never be your familiar soul
and I will never see your interior whole
But have I ever stood back and watched you fall?
Ditched your call? Cut you, bend around?
Why would I now?

Have I ever steered you wrong?
Have I ever strung you along?
Have I ever kept you long?
Why would I now?
There were times I broke through the walls
There were times I broke through it all
There were times it felt so hard,
Why would I now?
But I will never be your familiar soul
and I will never see your interior whole
But have I ever stood back and watched you fall?
Ditched your call? Cut you, bend around?
Why would I now?

Though the years they may upbraid you
How it all nearly unmade you laying down
Why would now?

Remember when it all went dark
Remember when it first ran apart
Remember how I held my marks
So wouldn't I now?
But I will never be your familiar soul
and I will never see your interior whole
But have I ever stood back and watched you fall?
Ditched your call? Cut you, bend around?
Why would I now?

Riverswim lyrics - The Decemberists

River run
And brother row
And the ease between us
The calm below
The rings, these twisted things, cast off in the arms of those long low-aways
The lights, the river's striped, and will we not belong to those long low laze
Surround us
Oh, drown us

A wailing whine, a Wendigo
A waltzing night
Oh bending road
Me, I couldn't sing, caught in some long unseen long it all the sun
Here, we riverswim, wash away the lime that seems to all in all been found
Surround me
Oh, drown me

Fits & Starts lyrics - The Decemberists

All rise for the commandant
As he addresses from the promenade,alright
We were having such a fine time
We were covered in a sweet rhyme, alright

But they got it all wrong at the FSO
Got us wound so taught that we're champing to go
Now we're all broke loose and we're coming on

It fits and starts [x3]
Fits and fits and fits and starts

I was watching on the apparat
Some comely little apparatchik fell
We were having such a fine time
We were sweating out a sweet rhyme, unshelled

But they got it all wrong at the FSO
Got us wound so taught that we're champing to go
Now we're all broke loose and we're coming on

It fits and starts [x3]
Fits and fits and fits and starts

The Harrowed And The Haunted lyrics - The Decemberists

Lay out the bowline,
Tether and belay,
Haul away.
There is amber in the embers,
There are riches on the ring.
Will I be so brave?

We, beloved of the springtime,
Our reliance to the light
All the night
Well, I always must remember,
How we called our kisses bright,
Will I make this right?

This is what you wanted
I'm harrowed and I'm haunted
Haunted by the light.
Will you be there waiting?
Or is your heartbeat fading?
Fading from the time,
Still miles to go before I arrive.

So lay out the bowline,
Feather and belay,
You boys haul away
I will roam and I will ramble
'Till my heart no longer craves
Our brazen days.

This is what you wanted
I'm harrowed and I'm haunted
Haunted by the light.
Will you be there waiting?
Or is your heartbeat fading?
Fading from the time,
Still miles to go till I arrive.

This is what you wanted
I'm harrowed and I'm haunted
Haunted by the light.
Will you be there waiting?
Or is your heartbeat fading?
Fading from the time...

Stateside lyrics - The Decemberists

You call,
I was drowning, weary after the party
And the line,
Couldn't hold you enough
We talked
But I could hear you quiet between thoughts
And the time
Dragged, divided aside

Will you call when you touch down?
When you come back around stateside
When you're stateside

And now,
Hear the growing call of the sun comming up
And I know
I will never belong

Will you call when you touch down?
When you come back around stateside
When you're stateside
When you're stateside

"What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World" (2015)

The Singer Addresses His Audience lyrics - The Decemberists

We know, we know, we belong to ya
We know you built your life around us
Would we change? We had to change some

We know, we know, we belong to ya
We know you threw your arms around us
In the hopes we wouldn't change
But we had to change some
You know, to belong to you

We're aware that you cut your hair
In the style that our drummer wore
In the video
But with fame came a mounting claim
For the evermore, you know...

So when your bridal processional
Is a televised confessional
To the benefits of Axe shampoo
You know we did it for you
We did it all for you

Cause we know, we know, we belong to ya
We know you built your life around us
And would we change? We had to change some

You know, to belong to you
You know, to belong to you
You know, to belong to you
You know, to belong to you

To belong, to belong, to belong
To belong, to belong, to belong
To belong, to belong, to belong
To belong, to belong, to belong
To belong, to belong, to belong
(To belong, to belong)
(To belong to you)
(To belong to you)


Cavalry Captain lyrics - The Decemberists

I am the cavalry captain
I am the remedy to your heart
I am the common collective
I am imprinted upon your stars

And when you shine shine your eyes
Looking lost, looking bright
We'll away on the light brigade

And if only for a second
(Only for a second)
And if only for a time
(Only for a time)
And if only for a second
(Only for a second)
And if only for a time
We'll be alive
We'll be alive

Ooh-oh-oh-oh

I am the cavalry captain
I am the remedy to your heart
I am the common collective
I am imprinted upon your stars

Ooh-oh-oh-oh

There is a world, there is a time
Looking calm, looking kind
We'll away at the break of day

And if only for a second
(Only for a second)
And if only for a time
(Only for a time)
And if only for a second
(Only for a second)
And if only for a time
We'll be alive
We'll be alive

I am the cavalry captain
I am the remedy to your heart
I am the common collective
I am imprinted upon your stars

Philomena lyrics - The Decemberists

Oh, Philomena, you in a tawdry gown,
Lean to your window, let slip a ribbon down.
A cure to your boredom if only you'd let me go
Down, down down

Long summer days can lead to lazy vices
Boys all at idle, left to their own devices
Open up your linen lap and let me go
Down, down, down

All that I wanted in the world was just to live to see a naked girl
But I found I quickly bored. I wanted more. I wanted more

So I'll be your candle and I'll be your statuette
And I'll be your lashing loop of a leatherette
And dark Philomena, if only you'd let me go
Down, down down

All that I wanted in the world was just to live to see a naked girl
But I found I quickly bored. I wanted more, oh, so much more

So I'll be your candle and I'll be your statuette
And I'll be your lashing loop of a leatherette
And dark Philomena, if only you'd let me go
Down, down down

Go down, down, down
Go down
Go down

Make You Better lyrics - The Decemberists


I want you, thin fingers
I wanted you, thin fingernails
And when you bend backwards
I wanted you, I needed you
Oh-oh, to make me better

I'll love you in springtime
I lost you when summer came
And when you pulled backwards
I wanted to, I needed to
Oh-oh, to make me better
Oh-oh, to make me better

But we're not so starry-eyed anymore
Like the perfect paramour you were in your letters
And won't it all just come around to make you
Let it all unbreak you to the day you met her
But it'd make you better
It'd make you better

I sung you your twinges
I suffered you your tattletales
And when you broke sideways
I wanted you, I needed you
Oh-oh, to make me better
Oh-oh, to make me better

But we're not so starry-eyed anymore
Like the perfect paramour you were in your letters
And won't it all just come around and make you
Let it all unbreak you to the day that you met her
And it'd make you better
Did it make you better?

And all I wanted was a sliver to call mine
And all I wanted was a shimmer in your shine
To make me bright

Cause we're not so starry-eyed anymore
Like the perfect paramour you were in your letters
And won't it all just come around and make you
Let it all unbreak you to the day you met her
But it'd make you better
It'd make you better

Lake Song lyrics - The Decemberists

Down by the lake
We were overturning pebbles
And upending all the animals alight
And I took a drag
From your cigarette and pinched it
'Tween my finger and my thumb
Till it died
And the sun burned low on the radio

Say that you will
Say you will or will you won't
Or you whatever you prevaricate
Your whole life, don't you?

This much I can say:
I would've waited till the oceans
Fell Away and all the sunken cities
Would reveal themselves to you

But you won't, will you?
Because you never do
And the sun burned through
Sweet as honeydew

And I
Seventeen and terminally fey
I wrote it down and threw it all away
Never gave a thought to what I paid
And you
All sibylline, reclining in your pew
You tattered me, you tethered me to you
The things you would and wouldn't do
To tell the truth I never had a clue

Now we arise
To curse those young suburban villains
And their ill-begotten children from the lawn
Come to me now
And on this station wagon window
Set the ghost of your two footprints
That they might haunt me when you're gone
And when the light broke dawn
You were forever gone

But I remember you:
You were full
You were full and sweet as honeydew

And I
Seventeen and terminally fey
I wrote it down and threw it all away
And never gave a thought to what I paid
All sibylline, reclining in your pew
You tattered me, you tethered me to you
The things you would and wouldn't do
You noticed how I never had a clue
Never had a clue
You were full and sweet as honeydew
You were full and sweet as honeydew

Till The Water's All Long Gone lyrics - The Decemberists

They came down from the mountain
They strayed too long from the fountain
And all the while
All the while they longed for us

But I won't betray you
I won't betray you
I won't betray you
I won't
No I won't betray you
No I won't betray you
No I won't betray you
I won't
Till the water's all gone

And you, my sweet flower
And how you grew more sweet by the hour
And loathe was I
Loathe was I to lose you
My tender rose
My limber rose
My slender loving daughter
My tender rose
My limber rose
My slender loving daughter

Till the water's all gone

They came down from the mountain
They strayed too long from the fountain
Oh my girl, oh my love I've lost you

But I won't betray you
I won't betray you
I won't betray you
I won't
No I won't betray you
No I won't betray you
No I won't betray you
I won't
Till the water's all gone

The Wrong Year lyrics - The Decemberists

Gray Jane was a riverchild
Born down by the river wild
Said, hey, what I wanna be
Nobody's gonna intervene

And she wants you but you won't do
And it won't leave you alone
And the rain falls on the wrong year
And it won't leave you alone
It won't leave you alone

Could be that he's into you
Could be that the obverse is true
Struck down as a summerchild
Ten steps just to run a mile

And he wants you but you won't do
And it won't leave you alone
And the rain falls on the wrong year
And it won't leave you alone
It won't leave you alone
It won't leave you alone

The spirit's willin'
Flesh is getting bored
Speakers blaring out some long forgotten chord
Some misbegotten, long forgotten chord

Sing me some eidolon
And I'll sleep all the winter long
Till then I can only be
Nobody's gonna intervene

And she wants you but you won't do
And it won't leave you alone
And the rain falls on the wrong year
And it won't leave you alone
It won't leave you alone
It won't leave you alone
It won't leave you alone

Carolina Low lyrics - The Decemberists

I am a boy
From the high country
And I've got a little love
For the offering

I come down from the mountain
Bow to the sea
And Carolina low
I will carry thee

Gonna take you up
Gonna take you 'round
Well your poor little pant legs
Are dragging down

Did you crack your lip?
Did you skin your knee?
And Carolina low
I will carry thee

What is sealed with a handshake
Is spoiled with a kiss
You got an ugly little mouth, boy
It’s come to this

I’m bound for the hilltop
Gonna make it bleed
And Carolina low
I will carry thee

I am a boy
From the high country
And I got a little love
For the offering
And I got a little love
For the offering
And I got a little love
For the offering

Better Not Wake The Baby lyrics - The Decemberists

Kick a hole in the hallway
While singing like a painted lady
Use your skull like a cannonball
But it better not wake the baby

How long will this go on?
How long, indeed?
You can bang a drum 'till the money's all gone
But it better not wake the baby

Make your moan of your lot in life
Split your mind half crazy
Gouge your eyes with a butter knife
But it better not wake the baby

How long will this go on?
How long, indeed?
You can bang a drum 'till the money's all gone
But it better not wake the baby

Drown yourself in crocodile tears
Curse the gods what made 'ye
Pine away for your better years
But it better not wake the baby

How long will this go on?
How long, indeed?
You can bang a drum 'till the money's all gone
But it better not wake the baby

How long will this go on?
How long, indeed?
You can bang a drum 'till the money's all gone
But it better not wake the baby

Anti-Summersong lyrics - The Decemberists

Here now, long gone
Three freaks in a Vanagon
Went to the river but the river got dry
And all the good people were hanging around

Too little, too late
Everybody gotta medicate
Through the winter when the winter comes down
And all the city comes to hanging 'round

I'm not going on
Just to sing another summer song
So long, farewell
Don't everybody fall all over themselves

I'm not (he's not) going on (going on)
Just to sing another summer song
So long (see ya later), farewell
Don't everybody fall all over themselves

I'm not (he's not) going on (going on)
Just to sing another sing-a-long suicide song
So long (see ya later), farewell
Don't everybody fall all over themselves

So, don't everybody fall all over themselves
Don't everybody fall all over themselves

Easy Come, Easy Go lyrics - The Decemberists

Limber Jack, he landed on his back
Was bedding on the netting when the rigging went slack
Was a moonless night, the stars all lending light
She's leering in the mirror when the rodent rode right

Cause you never really know
When the whistle's gonna blow
You never really know
Easy come and easy go

He was a stand-up gent, but no one knew his bent
And all the little bones that he hid in his vent
She was the come-on queen, to along the scene
He found her in the shower, she'd been gone for seven weeks

Cause you never really know
When the whistle's gonna blow
You never really know
Easy come and easy go

Cause you never really know
When the whistle's gonna blow
You never really know
Easy come and easy go

Limber Jack, his name is on the plaque
His mother is another that will never get him back

Mistral lyrics - The Decemberists

So we already wrecked the rental car
And I've already lost my way
But feet entombed in this cursed bar
For a day, anyway
So lay me down on the cobblestone
And then furrow this aching jet
The streets are built on ancient gold
And the crib, and the will

Woah, the mistral
Blown it all away
Woah, the mistral
Blown away
Woah, the mistral
Blown it all away
Wanna blow, wanna blow, wanna blow

So it's me and you and the baby boy
And the fort's shed away
Breaking out a little joy
Blown away, back in stance

Woah, the mistral
Blown it all away
Woah, the mistral
Blown away
Woah, the mistral
Blown it all away
Wanna blow, wanna blow, wanna blow
Woah, the mistral
Blown it all away
Woah, the mistral
Blown away
Woah, the mistral
Blown it all away
Wanna blow, wanna blow, wanna blow

Woah, the mistral
Blown it all away
Woah, the mistral
Blown away

12/17/12 lyrics - The Decemberists

What a gift, what a gift you can give me
Here with my heart so whole,
while others may be grieving
Think of their grieving

And oh my boy
Don't you know you are dear to me
You are a breath of life
and a light upon the water
A light upon the water

And, oh my love
If you only knew how I long for you
How I waste my days wishing you would come around
Just to have you around

And what a dear
What a sweet little baby
This cannonball in the bosom of your belly
It's just a kick in your belly

And oh my god,
What a world you have made here
What a terrible world, what a beautiful world
What a world you have made here

A Beginning Song lyrics -

Let's commence to coordinate our sights
And get them square to rights
(Get them square to rights)

Condescend to calm this riot in your mind
Find yourself in time
(Find yourself in time)

If I am waiting, should I be waiting?
If I am wanting, should I be wanting?
And all around me
(All around me)

Document the world inside his skin
The tenor of your shins
The timbre of your limbs

Now commence to kick each brick apart
To center on your heart
Starting with your heart (bright heart)

If I am waiting, should I be waiting?
If I am wanting, should I be wanting?
And all around me
(All around me)

It's it sunlight, it's it shadow
It's the quiet, it's the word
It's the beating heart It's the ocean it's the boys

It's you, my sweet love (my sweet love)
Oh, my love (oh my love)

And the light, bright light
And the light, bright light
Bright light, bright light

It's all around me
It's all around me
It's all around me


EP: "Long Live The King" (2011)

E. Watson lyrics - The Decemberists

The air all painted pallid gray
The storm was coming in
Folks were lining out in all directions
Me and Holt and Henry Short
Were pitching on the skiff
Trying to make it home before the night
And the gray waves were rolling
Bold the brave, brave ocean and rolled us suckers in

Well I don't keep to goings on
I tend to stick with kin
But Watson had it in from the beginning
He built that house on Chatham Bend
A white-washed knotted pine
Ninety acres furrowed for the cane
And he drove it down from Georgia
His dad a martyred soldier
In the war between the states

Lord, bring down the flood
Wash away the blood
And drown these everglades
And put us in our place
We laid Edgar Watson in his grave
We laid him in his grave

'Til I'm dust I'll never know
Why he came ashore, with all those killers
Gathered on the shoreline
Kicking holes in ugly mud
With trigger fingers pinched
A brace of rifles, bristled in the wind
And we towed his body northbound
And buried him all face down with a good view into hell

Lord, bring down the flood
Wash away the blood
And drown these Everglades
And put us in our place
We laid Edgar Watson in his grave
We laid him in his grave
We laid him in his grave
We laid him in his grave

Foregone lyrics - The Decemberists

Here arise and say it's a honey (?)
All this light that daybreak brings
And the ancient bands that brung me
To the bed where you're sleeping safe

And we had agreed on Henry
Long before a flutter felt
And so it will be till memory
Makes a shadow of ourselves

[Chorus:]
And the reach and the wrecks and the wrong
All would lead to believe that it's not
But it's foregone
It's foregone

Can it be that this is given
This awaking from long dark night
Of a soul so on and wizened
Sleep away to set to rights

[2x Chorus:]
And the reach and the wrecks and the wrong
All would lead to believe that it's not
But it's foregone
It's foregone
It's foregone, it's foregone

And the reach and the wrecks and the wrong
All would lead to believe that it's not
And the reach and the wrecks and the wrong
It's foregone
It's foregone
It's foregone
It's foregone

Carry on
Ooh carry on

Burying Davy lyrics - The Decemberists

Bring out your weeping weeds
Put on your ten-pint bowlers
Bring out your weeping weeds
We're burying Davy
We're burying Davy

Gather the screws and spades
Oil up your mud-brown slicker
Gather the screws and spades
We're burying Davy
We're burying Davy

Who'll plane the old pine boughs?
Who'll set his legs uncrooked?
Who'll plane the old pine boughs?
For burying Davy
For burying Davy

Mother wept no tears
His brother grew unruly
Mother wept no tears
At burying Davy
At burying Davy

Bring out your weeping weeds
Put on your ten-pint bowlers
Bring out your weeping weeds
We're burying Davy
We're burying Davy

I 4 U & U 4 Me lyrics - The Decemberists

You're all made of tattered heel
And you're the only constant on the line
We could go together some
And we could get each other through the night

We are one and we are two
And we are simply wicked to a tee
Never a better thing was said
Than I for you and you were made for me

Well, I heard that your plans were all fouled up
And I heard that you hit the wall
Hit your smarting arms and skinned your knees
Will you drop your sling and stone?
And you can't make it on your own
You see, it's I for you and you were made for me

When you were young your parents said
You act like that, you do it on your own time
So you grew up on crooked bends
So barely there you couldn't walk a straight line
So barely there you couldn't walk a straight line

Well, here we are and where we came and
It's a pretty sticky wicket, isn't it, dear?
A few mis-steps along the way
But I'm really pretty happy to be here

So this is a toast to the old town drunk
To the bums on the Broadway Bridge
Raise a glass to the ones of the Circle K
Will you drop your sling and stone?
You can't make it on your own
You see, it's I for you and you were made for me
You see, it's I for you and you were made for me

Oh, I heard that your plans were all fouled up
And I heard that you hit the wall
Hit your smarting arms and skinned your knees
Will you drop your sling and sword?
You can't make it on your own
You see, it's I for you and you were made for me
You see, it's I for you and you were made for me
And you were made for me
It's I for you and you were made for me

Row Jimmy lyrics - The Decemberists

Julie catch a rabbit by his hair
Come back step, like to walk on air
Get back home where you belong
and don't you run off no more

Don't hang your head let the two-time roll
Grass shack nailed to a pine wood floor
Ask the time? Baby I don't know
Come back later, we'll let it show

And I say row, Jimmy row
Gonna get there?
I don't know
Seems a common way to go
Get down, row, row, row
row, row

Here's my half a dollar if you dare
double twist when you hit the air
Look at Julie down below
the levee doin the do-pas-o

And I say row, Jimmy, row
Gonna get there?
I don't know
Seems a common way to go
Get down, row, row, row
row, row

Broken heart don't feel so bad
Ain't got half a what you thought you had
Rock your baby to and fro
Not too fast and not too slow

And I say row, Jimmy, row
Gonna get there?
I don't know
Seems a common way to go
Get down, row, row, row
row, row

That's the way it's been in town
ever since they tore the juke box down
Two-bit piece don't buy no more
not so much as it done before

And I say row, Jimmy, row
Gonna get there?
I don't know
Seems a common way to go
Get down, row, row, row
row, row

Sonnet lyrics - The Decemberists

Guido, I wish that you and Lapo and I
Could be taken by magic and placed in a boat
Where every rising swell
Would sweep us at our will across the sky

Then tempest never, or weather dire
Could ever make our blissful living cease
No, but abiding in a steady, blessed peace
Together in harmony

And Lady Vanna and Lagia then
She who looms the thirty best
Would join us at the enchanter's behest

And there we'd talk of love without an end
To make those ladies happy in the sky
With Lapo enchanted too, and you and I

"The King Is Dead" (2011)

Don't Carry It All lyrics - The Decemberists

Here we come to a turning of the season
Witness to the arc towards the sun
The neighbors blessed burden, within reason
Becomes a burden borne of all in one

[Chorus:]
But nobody, nobody knows
Let the yoke fall from our shoulders
Don't carry it all, don't carry it all
We are all our hands in holders
Beneath this bold and brilliant sun
But this I swear to all

A monument to build beneath the arbors
Upon a cliff the that towers towards the trees
But every vessel pitching hard to starboard
Lay it's head on summers freckled knees

[Chorus:]
And nobody, nobody knows
Let the yoke fall from our shoulders
Don't carry it all don't carry it all
We are all our hands in holders
Beneath this bold and brilliant sun
This I swear to all, this I swear to all

Buried wreath of trillium and ivy
Laid upon the body of the boy
Lazy will the long come from it's hiding
Return his quiet certitude to the soil

So raise a glass to turnings of the season
And watch it as it arcs towards the sun
And you must bear your neighbor's burden within reason
And your labors will be borne when all is done

[Chorus:]
And nobody, nobody knows
Let the yoke fall from our shoulders
Don't carry it all don't carry it all
We are all our hands in holders
Beneath this bold and brilliant sun

And this I swear to all
And this I swear to all
And this I swear to all

To all, to all, to all

Calamity Song lyrics - The Decemberists

Had a dream
You and me and the war of the end times
And I believe
California succumbed to the fault line
We heaved relief
As scores of innocents died

And the Andalusian tribes
Setting the lay of Nebraska alight
'Til all that remains is the arms of the angel

Hetty Green
Queen of supply-side bonhomie bone-drab
You know what I mean
On the road
It's well advised that you follow your own bag
In the year of the chewable Ambien tab

And the Panamanian child
Stands at the Dowager Empress's side
And all that remains is the arms of the angel
And all that remains is the arms of the angels

And you've receded into loam
And they're picking at your bones
Will call cold
We'll come home

Quiet now
Will we gather to conjure the rain down?
Will we now
Build a civilization below ground?
And I'll be crowned the community kick-it-around

And the Andalusian tribes
Setting the lay of Nebraska alight
'Til all that remains is the arms of the angels
'Til all that remains is the arms of the angels

Rise To Me lyrics - The Decemberists

Big mountain, wide river,
there's an ancient call,
these tree trunks these stream beds,
leave our bellies full
they sing out, I am gonna stand my ground
you rise to me and I'll blow you down
I am gonna stand my ground
you rise to me and I'll blow you down

Hey Henry, can you hear me,
let me see those eyes
this distance, between us
can seem a mountain size
but boy, you are gonna stand your ground
they rise to you you'll blow them down
let me see you stand your ground
they rise to you you'll blow them down

My darling, my sweetheart,
I am in your sway,
two cold climbs, come spring time
so let me hear you say, my love
I am gonna stand my ground, they rise to me and I'll blow them down
I am gonna stand my ground, they rise to me and I'll blow them down
cause I am gonna stand my ground you rise to me and I'll blow you down

Rox In The Box lyrics - The Decemberists

If the rocks in the box
Get the water right down to your socks
This bulkhead's built of fallen brethren bones

We all do what we can
We endure our fellow man
And we sing our songs to the headframe's creaks and moans

And it's one, two, three
On the wrong side of the lee
What were you meant for?
What were you meant for?

And it's seven, eight, nine
You gave your shuffle back in line
And if you ever make it to ten, you won't make it again
And if you ever make it to ten, you won't make it again

And you won't make a dime
On this gray granite mountain mine
Of dirt you're made and of dirt you will return

So while we're living here
Let's get this little one thing clear
There's plenty of men to die, you don't jump your turn

And it's one, two, three
On the wrong side of the lee
What were you meant for?
What were you meant for?

And it's seven, eight, nine
You gave your shuffle back in line
And if you ever make it to ten, you won't make it again
And if you ever make it to ten, you won't make it again

And it's one, two, three
On the wrong side of the lee
What were you meant for?
Whatever you're meant for

And it's seven, eight, nine
You gave your shuffle back in line
And if you ever make it to ten, you won't make it again
And if you ever make it to ten, you won't make it again
And if you ever make it to ten, you won't make it again

January Hymn lyrics - The Decemberists

On a winter Sunday I go
To clear away the snow
And green the ground below

April all an ocean away
Is this the better way to spend the day?
Keeping the winter at bay

What were the words I meant to say before you left?
When I could see your breath lead where you were going to

Maybe I should just “let it be”
and maybe it will all come back to me
Sing oh January oh!

How I lived a childhood in snow
And all my teens in tow
Stuffed in strata of glow

Hail the winter days after dark
Wandering the gray memorial park
A fleeting beating of hearts

What were the words I meant to say before she left?
When I could see her breath lead where she was going to

Maybe I should just “let it be”
And maybe it will all come back to me
Sing oh Janu...
Oh January oh

Down By The Water lyrics - The Decemberists

See this ancient riverbed
See where all the follies led
Down by the water and
Down by the old main drag

I was just some tow-head teen
Feeling round for fingers to get in between
Down by the water and
Down by the old main drag

The season rubs me wrong
The summer swells anon
So knock me down, tear me up,
But I would bear it all broken just to fill my cup
Down by the water and
Down by the old main drag

Sweet descend this rabble round
The pretty little patter of a seaport town
Rolling in the water and
Rolling down the old main drag

All dolled up in gabardine
The lash-flashing Leda Of Pier Nineteen
Queen of the water and
Queen of the old main drag

The season rubs me wrong
The summer swells anon
So knock me down, tear me up,
But I would bear it all broken just to fill my cup
Down by the water and
Down by the old main drag

The season rubs me wrong
The summer swells anon
So knock me down, tear me up,
But I would bear it all broken just to fill my cup
Down by the water and
Down by the old main drag

Down by the water and
Down by the old main drag

Down by the water and
Down by the old main drag

All Arise! lyrics - The Decemberists

Baby wants a new spin
Baby wants a broken heart
Hear you found a lynchpin to keep it all from falling apart
But you keep on rollin'
You keep on rollin'

Better find a way
Better kick it from your big, brown eyes
Hear it tightens up when you fall after fifty tries
Like a ship at ocean
Like a ship at ocean
Like a ship at ocean
Like a ship at sea

You spit thick and you cross your heart
But the culvert's all run dry
From keeping shotgun shy all arise
Just be mine tonight

So the dollar shot shot broke the law and they knocked you down
Better call the coppers if you need someone to push you around
But you keep on stealin'
You keep on stealin'
Yes, you keep on stealin'
Well, there's nothing left to steal

You spit thick and you cross your heart
But the culvert's all run dry
From keeping shotgun shy all arise
Just be mine tonight
Just be mine tonight
Just be mine tonight

June Hymn lyrics - The Decemberists

Here's a hymn to welcome in the day
Heralding a summer's early sway
And all the bulbs all coming in,
To begin
The thrushes bleating battle with the wrens
Disrupts my reverie again

Pegging clothing on the line
Training jasmine how to vine
Up the arbor to your door,
And more
You're standing on the landing with the war
You shouldered all the night before

[Chorus:]
And once upon it
The yellow bonnets
Garland all the line
And you were waking
And day was breaking
A panoply of song
And summer comes to Springville Hill

A barony of ivy in the trees
Expanding out it's empire by degrees
And all the branches burst a' bloom
Into bloom
Heaven sent this cardinal, maroon
To decorate our living room

[Chorus:]
And once upon it
The yellow bonnets
Garland all the line
And you were waking
And day was breaking
A panoply of song
And summer comes to Springville Hill

And years from now
When this old light isn't ambling anymore
Will I bring myself to write
"I give my best to Springville Hill"

[Chorus:]
And once upon it
The yellow bonnets
Garland all the line
And you were waking
And day was breaking
A panoply of song
And summer comes to Springville Hill

This Is Why We Fight lyrics - The Decemberists

Come the war
Come the avarice
Come the war
Come hell

Come attrition
Come the reek of bones
Come attrition
Come hell

This is why
Why we fight
Why we lie awake
And this is why
This is why we fight

When we die
We will die
With our arms unbound

And this is why
This is why
Why we fight
Come hell

Bride of quiet
Bride of all unquiet things
Bride of quiet
Bride of hell

Come the archers
Come the infantry
Come the archers
Of hell

This is why
Why we fight
Why we lie awake
This is why
This is why we fight

And when we die
We will die
With our arms unbound
And this is why
This is why we fight
Come hell
Come hell

This is why
Why we fight
Why we lie awake
This is why
This is why we fight

When we die
We will die with our arms unbound
And this is why
This is why we fight

So come to me
Come to me now
Lay your arms around me
And this is why
This is why
We fight
Come hell
Come hell
Come hell
Come hell

Dear Avery lyrics - The Decemberists

Dear Avery, I think of you only
Were you waving, were you dead on the vine
Oh Avery, I think of you lonely
But I could just grab you by the nape of your neck

There are times life will rattle your bones
And will bend your limbs
You're still far away the boy you've ever been
So you bend back and shake at the frame
Of the frame you made
But don't you shake alone
Please Avery, come home

Headstrong, you and your long arms
Listing lazily on the cusp of your tease
But you were my Avery and when you needed saving
I could just grab you by the nape of your neck

There are times life will rattle your bones
And will bend your limbs
You're still far away the boy you've ever been
So you bend back and shake at the frame
Of the frame you made
But don't you shake alone
Please Avery, come home
Don't you shake alone
Please Avery, come home
Come home

"The Hazards Of Love" (2009)

The Hazards Of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won't Wrestle The Thistles Undone) lyrics - The Decemberists

My true love went riding out
In white and green and gray
Past the pale of Offa's Wall
Where she was want to stray
And there she came upon
A white and wounded fawn

Singing
"Oh, oh
The hazards of love"

She, being full of charity
A credit to her sex
Sought to right the fawn's hind legs
When here her plans were vexed
The taiga shifted strange
The beast began to change

Singing
"Oh, oh
The hazards of love"
Singing
"Oh, oh oh oh
The hazards of love"
You'll learn soon enough
The prettiest whistles won't wrestle the thistles undone
Undone

Fifteen lithesome maidens lay
Along in their bower
Fourteen occupations paid
To pass the idle hour
Margaret heaves a sigh
Her hands clasped to her thigh

Singing
"Oh, oh
The hazards of love"
Singing
"Oh, oh oh oh
The hazards of love"
You'll learn soon enough
The prettiest whistles won't wrestle the thistles undone
Undone
Undone
Undone
Undone

A Bower Scene lyrics - The Decemberists

Thou unconsolable daughter
Said the sister
When wilt thou trouble the water
In the cistern

And what irascible blackguard
Is the father

And when young Margaret's waistline
Grew wider
The fruit of her amorous entwine
Inside her

And so our heroine withdraws
To the Taiga

Won't Want For Love (Margaret In The Taiga) lyrics - The Decemberists

Gentle leaves, gentle leaves
Please array a path for me
The woods are blowing thick and fast around

Columbine, Columbine
Please alert this love of mine
Let him know his Margaret comes along

And all this stirring inside my belly
Won't quell my want for love
And I may swoon from all this swelling
But I won't want for love

Mistlethrush, Mistlethrush
Lay me down in the underbrush
My naked feet grow weary with the dusk

Willow Boughs, Willow Boughs,
Make a bed to lay me down
Let your branches bow to cradle us

And all this stirring inside my belly
Won't quell my want for love
And I may swoon from all this swelling
But I won't want for love

Oh, my own true love
Oh, my own true love
Can you hear me, love?
Can you hear me, love?

And all this stirring inside my belly
Won't quell my want for love
And I may swoon from all this swelling
But I won't want for love

Won't want for love...
Won't want for love...
Won't want for love...

The Hazards Of Love 2 (Wager All) lyrics - The Decemberists

And here I am
Softer than a shower
And here I am
To garland you with flowers

To lay you down
In clover bed
The stars a roof
Above our heads

And all my life
I never felt the tremor
And all my life
That now disturbs my fingers

I lay you down
In clover bed
The stars a roof
Above our heads

And we'll lie 'til the Corn Crake crows
Bereft of the weight of our summer clothes
And I'd wager all

The hazards of love
The hazards of love

And take my hand
And cradle it in your hand
And take my hand
To feel the pull of quicksand

I lay you down
In clover bed
The stars a roof
Above our heads

And we'll lie 'til the Corn Crake crows
Bereft of the weight of our summer clothes
And I'd wager all

The hazards of love
The hazards of love
The hazards of love
The hazards of love

The Queen's Approach lyrics - The Decemberists

I'm
Made of bones of the branches
The boughs and the brow-beating light

While my feet are the trunks
And my head is the canopy high

And my fingers extend
To the leaves
And the eaves
And the (bright?)

Might I shine?
It's my shine (child?)

He
Was a baby abandoned
Entombed in a cradle of claim (clay?)

And I was a soul
Who took pity
And stole him away

And gave him the form of
A fawn to inhabit
By day

Bright Eyes, stay
It's my day

And you
Have removed this temptation
That's troubled my innocent child

To abduct and abuse and to render, (bereft?) and defiled

But the river is deep
To the banks and the water is wild,
I will fly you
To the far side

Isn't It A Lovely Night? lyrics - The Decemberists

[Margaret:]
Isn't it a lovely night?
And so alive
With fireflies
Providing us their holy light

And here we made a bed of boughs
And thistledown
That we had found
To lay upon the dewy ground

And isn't it a lovely way
We got in from our play
Isn't it, babe?
A sweet little baby

[William:]
And wasn't it a lovely breeze
That swept the leaves
Of arbor eaves
And bent to brush our blushing knees

[Margaret and William:]
And here we died our little deaths
And we were left to catch our breaths
So swiftly lifting from our chests

And isn't it a lovely way
We got in from our play
Isn't it, babe?
A sweet little baby

The Wanting Comes In Waves / Repaid lyrics - The Decemberists

[Colin:]
Mother I can hear your foot-fall now
Soft disturbance in the dead-fall how
It proceeds you like a black smoke pall
Still the wanting comes in waves
And you delivered me from danger then
Pulled my cradle from the reedy glen
Swore to save me from the world of men

Still the wanting comes in waves
In waves
And waves
And the wanting comes in waves
And the wanting comes in waves

And I want this night
And I want this night
Oh

[Shara:]
How I made you
I wrought you, I pulled you
From ore I labored you
From cancer I cradled you
And now

This is how I am repaid
This is how I am repaid

Remember when I found you
The miseries that hounded you
And I gave you motion
Anointed with lotions
And now

This is how I am repaid
This is how I am repaid

[Colin:]
Mother hear this proposition right
Grant me freedom to enjoy this night
And I'll return to you at break of light
For the wanting comes in waves
And waves
And waves
Still the wanting comes in waves
Still the wanting comes in waves
Still the wanting comes in waves
And you owe me life
And you owe me life

[Shara:]
And if I grant you this favor to hand you
Your life for the evening
I will retake by morning
And so
Consider it your debt repaid
Consider it your debt repaid
Repaid
Repaid

The Rake's Song lyrics - The Decemberists

I had entered into a marriage
In the summer of my twenty-first year
And the bells rang for our wedding
Only now do I remember it clear
Alright, alright, alright

No more a rake and no more a bachelor
I was wedded and it whetted my thirst
Until her womb started spilling out babies
Only then did I reckon my curse
Alright, alright, alright
Alright, alright, alright

First came Isaiah with his crinkled little fingers
Then came Charlotte and that wretched girl Dawn
Ugly Myfanwy died on delivery
Mercifully taking her mother along
Alright, alright, alright

What can one do when one is widower
Shamefully saddled with three little pests
All that I wanted was the freedom of a new life
So my burden I began to divest
Alright, alright, alright
Alright, alright, alright

Charlotte I buried after feeding her foxglove
Dawn was easy, she was drowned in the bath
Isaiah fought but was easily bested
Burned his body for incurring my wrath
Alright, alright, alright

And that's how I came your humble narrator
To be living so easy and free
Expect that you think that I should be haunted
But it never really bothers me
Alright, alright, alright
Alright, alright, alright

The Abduction Of Margaret lyrics - The Decemberists

And all the while whispering arbors
Provide cover

What previous witnessed ardor
Of our lovers

Our heroine here falls prey to
Her abductor

All a gallop with Margaret slung rude
Cross withers

Having clamped her innocent fingers
In fetters

This villain must calculate crossing
The wild river

The Queen's Rebuke / The Crossing lyrics - The Decemberists

I'm made of bones, of the branches, the boughs and the brow-beating light
While my feet are the trunks and my head is the canopy high
And my fingers extend to the leaves and the eaves and the bright

Brightest shine
It's my shine

And he was a baby abandoned, entombed in a cradle of clay
And I was the soul who took pity and stole him away
And gave him the form of a fawn to inhabit by day

Brightest day
It's my day

And you have removed this temptation that's troubled my innocent child
To abduct and abuse and to render her rift and defiled
But the river is deep to the banks and the water is wild

I will fly you to the far side

Annan Water lyrics - The Decemberists

Annan water
You loom so deep and wide
I would cross over
If you would stem the tide
Build a boat
That I might ford the other side
To reach the farther shore
Where my true love lies in wait for me
In wait for me
In wait for me
In wait for me

Oh, gray river
Your waters ramble wild
The horses shiver
And bite against the bridle
But I will cross
If mine own horse is pulled from me
Though my mother cries that if I try
I sure will drowned be
Will drowned be
Will drowned be
Will drowned be

But if you calm
And let me pass
You may render me a wreck
When I come back
So calm your waves
And slow the churn
And you may have my precious bones on my return

Annan water
Oh hear my true love's call
Hear her holler
Above your water's pall
God, that I could
That my two arms could give me wing
And I would cross your breath
And rest my breast about her amber ring
Her amber ring
Her amber ring

But if you calm
And let me pass
You may render me a wreck
When I come back
So calm your waves
And slow the churn
And you may have my precious bones
On my
On my
Return

Margaret In Captivity lyrics - The Decemberists

I have snipped your wingspan
My precious captive swan
Here all clipped of kickstand
Your spirit won't last long

Don't you lift a finger
Don't you snap and jaw
Limber limbs akimbo
Rest till rubbing raw

Oh my own true love! Oh my own true love!
Can you hear me, love? Can you hear me, love?

Don't hold out for rescue
None can hear your call
Till I have wrest and wrecked you
Behind these fortress walls

Oh my own true love! Oh my own true love!
Can you hear me, love? Can you hear me, love?

The Hazards Of Love 3 (Revenge!) lyrics - The Decemberists

Father I'm not feeling well
The flowers me you fed
Tasted spoiled for suddenly
I find that I am dead
But father don't you fear
Your children all are here
Singing ooooh the hazards of love

Papa turn the water down
The basins overflown
The water covers everything
And me left all alone
But papa here in death
I have regained my breath
To sing ooooh the hazards of love
To sing ooooh the hazards of love

Spare the rod, you'll spoil the child
But I'd prefer the lash
My sisters drowned and poisoned
All, and me reduced to ash
And buried in an urn
But father I return
Singing ooooh the hazards of love
Singing ooooh the hazards of love
The hazards of love
The hazards of love

The Hazards Of Love 4 (The Drowned) lyrics - The Decemberists

Margaret arrayed the rocks around the hull before it was sinking
A million stones, a million bones, a million holes within the chinking

And painting rings around your eyes these peppered holes so filled with crying
A whisper weighed upon the tattered down where you and I were lying

Tell me now, tell me this, a forest's son, a river's daughter
A willow on the willow wisp, our ghosts will wander all of the water

So let's be married here today these rushing waves to bear our witness
And we will lie like river stones rolling only where it takes us

But I pulled you and I called you here
And I caught you and I brought you here
These hazards of love, never more will trouble us

Oh Margaret the lapping waves are licking quietly at our ankles
Another bow another breath this brilliant chill's come for the shackle

With this long last rush of air we speak our vows and sorry whispers
When the waves came crashing down, he closed his eyes and softly kissed her

But I pulled you and I called you here
And I caught you and I brought you here
These hazards of love, never more will trouble us
And these hazards of love, never more will trouble us

"The Crane Wife" (2006)

The Crane Wife 3 lyrics - The Decemberists

And under the boughs unbowed
All clothed in a snowy shroud
She had no heart so hardened
All under the boughs unbowed

Each feather it fell from skin
Till threadbare while she grew thin
How were my eyes so blinded?
Each feather it fell from skin

And I will hang my head, hang my head low
And I will hang my head, hang my head low

A gray sky, a bitter sting
A rain cloud, a crane on wing
All out beyond horizon
A gray sky, a bitter sting

And I will hang my head, hang my head low
And I will hang my head, hang my head low

And I will hang my head, hang my head low
And I will hang my head, hang my head low

And I will hang my head, hang my head low
And I will hang my head, hang my head low

The Island: Come & See / The Landlord's Daughter / You'll Not Feel The Drowning lyrics - The Decemberists

[Come & See]

There's an island hidden in the sound
Lapping currents lay your boat aground
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 overhanging trees
Among the bones of cormorants
No boot-mark here nor fingerprint
The rivers roll down to a soundless sea
Come and see
Come and see

The tides all come and go
Witnessed by no waking eye
The willows mark the wind
And all we know for sure
Amidst this fading light
We'll not go home again
Come and see
Come and see

In the lowlands, nestled in the heath
A briar-cradle rocks its babe to sleep
Its contents watched by Sycorax
And Patagon in parallax
A foretold rumbling sounds below the deep
Come and see
Come and see

The tides all come and go
Witnessed by no waking eye
The willows mark the wind
And all we know for sure
Amidst this fading light
We'll not go home again
Come and see
Come and see

[The Landlord's Daughter]

As I was a-ramble
Down by the water
I spied in sable
The landlord's daughter
I produced my pistol, then my saber
Said, "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
But I'll take those sweet lips and thou will deliver!"

[You'll Not Feel The Drowning]

I will dress your eyelids
W' dimes upon your eyes
Lay you close to water
Green your grave will rise

Go to sleep now, little ugly
Go to sleep now, you little fool
Forty winking in the belfry
You'll not feel the drowning
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
You'll not feel the drowning

Go to sleep now, little ugly
Go to sleep now, little fool
Forty winking in the belfry
You'll not feel the drowning
You'll not feel the drowning

Hear you now the captain
Heave his sorrow'd cry
"The weight upon your eyelids
Is dimes laid on your eyes"

Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then) lyrics - The Decemberists

[Soldier:]
Heart-carved tree trunk, Yankee bayonet
A sweetheart left behind

[Girl:]
Far from the hills and the sea-swelled Carolinas
That's where my true love lies

[Soldier:]
Look for me when the sun-bright swallow
Sings upon the birch bough high

[Girl:]
But you are in the ground with the wolves and the weevils
All a-chew upon your bones so dry

But when the sun breaks
To no more bullets in Battle Creek
Then will you make a grave?
For I will be home then
I will be home then
I will be home then
I will be home then
Then

[Girl:]
When I was a girl how the hills of Oconee
Made a seam to hem me in

[Soldier:]
There at the fair when our eyes caught, careless
Got my heart right pierced by a pin

[Soldier:]
But O did you see all the dead of Manassas
All the bellies and the bones and the bile?

[Girl:]
No, I lingered here with the blankets barren
And my own belly big with child

But when the sun breaks
To no more bullets in Battle Creek
Then will you make a grave
For I will be home then
I will be home then
I will be home then
I will be home then

[Soldier:]
Stems and bones and stone walls too
Could keep me from you
This skein of skin is all too few
To keep me from you

[Soldier and Girl:]
But O my love though our bodies may be parted
Though our skin may not touch skin
Look for me with the sun-bright sparrow
I will come on the breath of the wind

O Valencia! lyrics - The Decemberists

You belong to the gang
And you say you can't break away
But I'm here with my hands on my heart

Our families can't agree
I'm your brother's sworn enemy
But I'd shout out my love to the stars

So await for the stone on your window, your window
I'll await by the car and we'll go, we'll go

When first we laid eyes
I swore to no compromise
'Til I felt my caress on your skin

Well, how soon we were betrayed!
Your sister gave us away
And your father came all unhinged

So await for the stone on your window, your window
I'll await by the car and we'll go, we'll go

But O Valencia!
With your blood still warm on the ground
Valencia!
And I swear to the stars
I'll burn this whole city down

All I heard was the shout
Of your brother calling me out
And you ran like a fool to my side

Well, the shot, it hit hard
And your frame went limp in my arms
And an oath of love was your dying cry

So await for the stone on your window, your window
I'll await by the car and we'll go, we'll go

But O Valencia!
With your blood still warm on the ground
Valencia!
And I'll burn this whole city down
Valencia!
With your blood getting cold on the ground
Valencia!
And I swear to the stars
I'll burn this whole city down

The Perfect Crime #2 lyrics - The Decemberists

Sing, muse, of the passion of the pistol
Sing, muse, of the warning by the whistle
On a night so dark in the waning
A dawn obscured by slate-sky raining, oh oh

Five and twenty burglars by the reservoir
A teenage lookout on the signal tower
The mogul's daughter in hog-tie
The mogul fingers the wrong guy, all right

It was the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect crime
It was the perfect crime

The bagman's quaking at the fingers
The hand-off glance a little lingers
A well-dressed man in the crosshairs
A shot rings out from somewhere upstairs

It was the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect crime
It was the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect crime

It was the perfect crime

It was like a ticker-tape parade
When the plastique on the safe was blown away
And we all gaze from eye to eye
As we mouth our silent goodbyes

The valley's sleeping like a bastard
It stinks of slumber and disaster
Two words are spoken with tap-wire
The agent's ploy finds a sure-fire backfire

It was the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect crime
It was the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect crime

When The War Came lyrics - The Decemberists

With all the grain of Babylon
To cultivate, to make us strong
And hidden here behind the walls
Are shoulders wide and timber long
'Til the war came
'Til the war came

A terrible autonomy
Has grafted on to you and me
Our trust put in the government
They told their lies as heaven sent
'Til the war came
'Til the war came

And the war came with a curse and a caterwaul
And the war came with all the poise of a cannonball
And they're picking out our eyes by coal and candlelight
When the war came, the war came hard

We made our oath to Vavilov
We'd not betray the Solanum
The acres of asteraceae
To our own pangs of starvation
When the war came
When the war came

And the war came with a curse and a caterwaul
And the war came with all the poise of a cannonball
And they're picking out our eyes by coal and candlelight
When the war came, the war came hard

With all the grain of Babylon

Shankhill Butchers lyrics - The Decemberists

The Shankill Butchers ride tonight
You better shut your windows tight
They're sharpening their cleavers and their knives
And taking all their whiskey by the pint

[Chorus:]
'Cause everybody knows
If you don't mind your mother's words
A wicked wind will blow
Your ribbons from your curls
Everybody moan, everybody shake
The Shankill Butchers wanna catch you
Awake

They used to be just like me and you
They used to be sweet little boys
But something went horribly askew
Now killing is their only source of joy

[Chorus]

The Shankill Butchers on the rise
They're waiting till the dead of night
They're picking at their fingers with their knives
And wiping off their cleavers on their thighs

[Chorus]

The Shankill Butchers wanna kill you
The Shankill Butchers wanna cut you
The Shankill Butchers wanna catch you
Awake
Awake
Awake
Awake

Summersong lyrics - The Decemberists

Ramblin', where to begin?
I tasted summer on your peppery skin
Been saved, the warm of the waves
I felt a slip into a watery grave

My girl, linen and curls
Lips parting like a flag all unfurled
She's grand, the bend of her hand
Digging deep into the sweep of the sand

Summer arrives with a length of light
Summer blows away
And quietly gets swallowed by a wave
It gets swallowed by a wave

Waylaid, the din of the day
Boats bobbing in the blue of the bay
In deep, far beneath all the dead sailors
Slowly slipping to sleep

My girl, linen and curls
Lips parting like a flag all unfurled
She's grand, the bend of her hand
Digging deep into the sweep of the sand

Summer arrives with a length of light
Summer blows away
And quietly gets swallowed by a wave
It gets swallowed by a wave...

The Crane Wife 1 & 2 lyrics - The Decemberists

[1]

It was a cold night
And the snow lay 'round
I pulled my coat tight
Against the falling down
And the sun was all
And the sun was all down
And the sun was all
And the sun was all down

I am a poor man
I haven't wealth nor fame
I have my two hands
And a house to my name
And the winter's so
And the winter's so long
And the winter's so
And the winter's so long

And all the stars were crashing 'round
As I laid eyes on what I found

It was a white crane
It was a helpless thing
Upon a red stain
With an arrow its wing
And it called and cried
And it called and cried so
And it called and cried
And it called and cried so

And all the stars were crashing 'round
As I laid eyes on what I found
My crane wife, my crane wife
My crane wife, my crane wife

How I helped her
And how I dressed her wounds
And how I held her
Beneath the rising moon
And she stood to fly
And she stood to fly away
And she stood to fly
She stood to fly away

And all the stars were crashing 'round
As I laid eyes on what I found
My crane wife, my crane wife
My crane wife, my crane wife

[2]

My crane wife arrived at my door in the moonlight
All star bright and tongue-tied I took her in
We were married and bells rang sweet for our wedding
And our bedding was ready when we fell in

Sound the keening bell
And see it's painted red
Soft as fontanel
The feathers in the thread
When all I ever meant to do was to keep you
My crane wife
My crane wife
My crane wife

We were poorly, our fortunes fading hourly
And how she vowed me, she could bring it back
But I was greedy, I was vain and I forced her to weaving
On cold loom, in a closed room, with down wove

Sound the keening bell
And see it's painted red
Soft as fontanel
The feathers in the thread
When all I ever meant to do was to keep you
My crane wife
My crane wife

There's a bend in the wind and it rakes at my heart
There is blood in the thread and it rakes at my heart
It rakes at my heart

My crane wife

Sons And Daughters lyrics - The Decemberists

When we arrive, sons and daughters
We'll make our homes on the water
We'll build our walls aluminum
We'll fill our mouths with cinnamon now

These currents pull us 'cross the border
Steady your boats, arms to shoulder
'Til tides all pull our hull aground
Making this calm harbor now home

Take up your arms, sons and daughters
We will arise from the bunkers
By land, by sea, by dirigible
We'll leave our tracks untraceable now

When we arrive, sons and daughters
We'll make our homes on the water
We'll build our walls aluminum
We'll fill our mouths with cinnamon now

When we arrive, sons and daughters
We'll make our homes on the water
We'll build our walls aluminum
We'll fill our mouths with cinnamon now

When we arrive, sons and daughters
We'll make our homes on the water
We'll build our walls aluminum
We'll fill our mouths with cinnamon now

Hear all the bombs fade away
Hear all the bombs fade away
Hear all the bombs fade away
Hear all the bombs fade away

After The Bombs lyrics - The Decemberists

And after the bombs subside
And this long, low campaign
Calls it good for the night

We meet in the streets
Will we meet in the bar's cold light?
We grip at our hands
We hold just a little tight

After the bombs
After the bombs
Subside

And after the rockets calm
And the glimmer of fire
Portends an early dawn

We pinch at our skin
While we wonder how we
Escaped harm

We forget all our trials
While there
In our baby's arms

After the rockets
After the rockets
Calm

Then we'll go dancing
Won't we go dancing
Yes we'll go dancing

'Till it all
Starts over again

Then we'll go dancing
Yes we’ll go dancing
Won't we go dancing

'Till it all
Starts over again

Culling Of The Fold lyrics - The Decemberists

Cut him up, boy
You've got to cut him up, boy.
He's a wicked disgrace,
And he said it to your face
You better cut him up boy.

Take by the teeth,
Get him down on his knees,
With your hands all shaking,
That'll teach him how to take it,
Gotta cut him up, boy.
(And how...)

Ply her heart with gold and silver.

Take your sweetheart down to the river.

Dash her on the paving stones,
It may break your heart to break her bones,
But someone's got to do the culling...
Of the fold.
(Oh, oh oh.)

Cut him up, girl.
Really cut him up girl
He lives by himself,
In a hole in a wall
You've got to cut him up, girl.

You can take him in a stitch,
Dump his body in a ditch
Leave his limbs all naked,
That'll teach him how to take it,
Better cut him up girl.
(And how...)

Ply her heart with gold and silver.

Take your sweetheart down to the river.

Dash her on the paving stones,
It may break your heart to break her bones,
But someone's got to do the culling...
Of the fold.
(Oh..)

Listen up boy,
And listen up girl.
It's a shallow little trench,
And it's giving off a stench.
It's a shallow little world.

Feeling down in the face,
Could you use a little space?
When the radio crackles,
And the in-laws cackle.

Better cut him up boy,
And cut him up, girl.

Ply her heart with gold and silver.

Take your sweetheart down to the river.

Dash her on the paving stones,
It may break your heart to break her bones,
But someone's got to do the culling...
Of the fold.
Oh, the culling...
Of the fold.
(Oh, oh, oh, oh!)

The Perfect Crime #1 lyrics - The Decemberists

Two, three, four!

I got a gun, I got a girl
I got a bullet-proof plan to pull
The perfect crime
I got the perfect crime

I got a warehouse down at the docks
I got fifteen precincts of cops bought
The perfect crime
I got the perfect crime

You got to get your clock locked
Get your stopwatch synchronized
You got to get it so you can't put a pin through your alibi
To pull the perfect crime
To pull the perfect crime

Bu-bu-bu bah

I got a guy bought on the inside
I got a night guard gagged and hog-tied
The perfect crime
This is the perfect crime

I got a brain, I got the brawn
I got all the proper papers for the gendarme
The perfect crime
C'est ca the perfect crime

I got the mob boss bought
I got a letter from the DEA
I got a mockup of the lockup
Where they stock up all their fucking change
To pull this perfect crime
This is the perfect crime

Bu-bu-bu bah

We hit a snag when we tripped the alarm
Because the dock side specs have been tipped off in time
To this perfect crime

Call out the dogs, call out the cops
We caught the deputy officer
Cold-cock or we'll do time
For this perfect crime

So we ran around town with the cops stepping on our tails
Because we'd rather break depth then a French fuck in county jail
Just for the perfect crime
For the perfect crime
This is the perfect crime

Followers