{"id":1789,"date":"2013-08-14T00:18:08","date_gmt":"2013-08-14T07:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/?p=1789"},"modified":"2015-01-12T09:31:48","modified_gmt":"2015-01-12T17:31:48","slug":"the-annotated-decemberists-no-12-cocoon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/2013\/08\/the-annotated-decemberists-no-12-cocoon\/","title":{"rendered":"The Annotated Decemberists No. 12: “Cocoon”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/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through the Portland, Oregon, group\u2019s entire catalog song by song\u2014examining all the obscure vocabulary, historical references and poetic subtext\u2014or go crazy trying.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 one is like a dream you can’t quite remember upon waking, but once you fall back asleep you’re instantly back in the moment. If asked, I couldn’t hum you more than one line of this song, but in the context of the album, it’s instantly familiar and comforting. Slow and somber, the lyrics are impressionistic, aside from a clear, early reference to the victims of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius\u2014a tragedy that may or may not keep coming up throughout the song and may or may not serve as a stand-in for the tragedy of 9\/11. Who knows? The meaning of a dream is rarely overt. More likely, you’re left with just the feelings it inspired\u2014and everyone you describe it to is going to have a different interpretation.<\/p>\n

\u201cCocoon\u201d<\/strong>
\nfrom Castaways and Cutouts,<\/em> 2002<\/p>\n