{"id":1662,"date":"2012-05-15T20:20:28","date_gmt":"2012-05-16T03:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/?p=1662"},"modified":"2015-01-12T09:31:50","modified_gmt":"2015-01-12T17:31:50","slug":"the-annotated-decemberists-no-10-a-cautionary-song","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/2012\/05\/the-annotated-decemberists-no-10-a-cautionary-song\/","title":{"rendered":"The Annotated Decemberists No. 10: “A Cautionary Song”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Perhaps no band\u2019s lyrics better lend themselves to pseudo-academic analysis than those of The Decemberists.\u00a0The Annotated Decemberists<\/a>\u00a0is an attempt to puzzle through the Portland, Oregon, group\u2019s entire catalog song by song\u2014examining all the obscure vocabulary, historical references and poetic subtext\u2014or go crazy trying.<\/em><\/p>\n

This song is a bit problematic. I’ve been dreading writing about it ever since I started in on Castaways and Cutouts, <\/em>because essentially what we have is a fairly horrific description of the gang rape of a prostitute set to jaunty accordion music. While it’s not exactly played for laughs, it is a bit quirky\u2014it can’t help but be with that oom-pah rhythm. The theme of women at the mercy of dastardly scoundrels comes up again and again in The Decemberists’ discography, but nowhere else is Colin Meloy quite so … flip about it. And then there’s the grim punchline at the end of the song, which confirms the song’s setup: This whole cautionary tale is being told like a bedtime story to a child as some sort of ill-conceived lesson about appreciating one’s mother. It’s a bit disturbing and discomforting if you stop to think about it too much. It has kind of ruined the song for me. I’ve probably ruined it for you, too.<\/p>\n

Well, there it is.<\/p>\n

“A Cautionary Song”<\/strong>
\nfrom Castaways and Cutouts,<\/em> 2002<\/p>\n