Got 19 Minutes? The Decemberists' ๐ฅโด๐ถ๐ ๐พ๐ ๐๐ฝโฏ ๐ข๐ถ๐๐นโฏ๐
This Is Why We Canโt Have Nice Things
The Decemberistsโ new album is not due until summer, but based on the two singles they have already released, last monthโs Burial Ground, and this new, showcased gem, Joan in the Garden, this forever fanatic is fucking floored.
First, Burial Ground almost sounds like a Byrds tune with its driving, jangly, open guitar chords, but, no, Red Herring. Lest you think The Decemberists have become a pop band, you need to listen, as Colin repeatedly advises us, closely, to the subject of this article: Joan in the Garden, a 19-minute EPIC, inspired by death of Joan Of Arc.
If You Got โEm, Smoke โEm
Pun intended.
First, the lyrics:
In a book I found
Joan in the garden
I will write this down
I will lay her heart in mine
For a time
Write a line
Erase a lineIn the dawning light
As she left her body
Gifted second sight
Did she lay her dowry by
Lay it by
Write a line
Erase a lineAnd if you listen closely
You can hear them singing ho, oh, oh, oh
And if you listen closely
You can hear them singing ho, oh, oh, oh
HosannaMake her ten miles tall
Make her arms cleave mountains
Let her temptors fall
Make her tears weep fountains by
Now to try:
Write a line
Erase a lineJust another tinsel ornament
Another troubled sky
We are folded in the firmament
Catch us as we flyI donโt remember what I ought to be
I only know whatโs right
Iโm suspended from the orrery
Bursting into lightAnd If you listen closely
You can hear them singing:
Hosanna, hosannaAnd if you listen closely
You can hear them singing:
Hosanna, hosanna yeah!Over stone and grapevine
Over the souls on the breadline
Thereโs a reckoning at hand
Our handSee them flayed at the flagpole
Catch it all on your console
We have come at your command
We stand
We standBlessed babe on display
Break her skull on the parquet
Wayward mariner awake!
We prayShe is daughter and son
The imperium undone
All the autocrats are laid
To waste
To wasteOh holy whore androgyne
Come and sunder the stop signs
Break it all so we can build againBring on duke or dauphin
Blood will flow like a fountain
As it ever was so it will be again
As it ever was so it will be again
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna yeah!โ Colin Meloy
I find it impossible not to drone on here about the actual fate of Joan Of Arc, but if you need a recap, here you go. True to form, The Decemberists pen an historical rendering of another story, a myth, a truth, a dreamlike image of an event so pivotal, so massive to our narrative arc, that it can only be conveyed via another monstrosity. In this case, it is a quasi-prog-rock โpieceโ that for the first time, the band did not dissect into pieces for the listenerโs digestion. We are fed it whole, just as the unimaginable tragedy must have been experienced by those who witnessed it.
Impossible to swallow. Impossible to behold. Impossible to fathom.
Morrissey wrote, in the lyrics to The Smithsโ Bigmouth Strikes Again:
And now I know how Joan of Arc felt
Now I know how Joan of Arc felt
As the flames rose to her Roman nose
Colin Meloy and crew take us there, completely, to that moment that lasts and echoes to this day, and as her dying prayers and anguished cries rose above, they were heard on high. No, I wonโt babble on more about the lyrics, as tempted as I am, but you get the gist.
The Music
What begins as the event did, a choir of angels watching, singing sweetly to comfort her, as the crowd surely did, a spark ignites. It ascends slowly, consumes, and each second elapses and is reported, documented, to be forever eternalized. The guitar creeps in as the flames creep up, as does Colinโs voice, amidst the increasingly insane din of the spectacle, and eventually horrifies all as the pyre overtakes her. The song transforms from an ominous and jet black goth dirge into a manic, bloody, horrid Francium fete fit for only the darkest of all angels. As her soul is torn from her body, and she lapses, confused, bewildered, hallucinating, above, we too are dragged, ripped, confused and bewildered, into another world, far beyond this one.
But I Digress
In Creative Writing, we were first instructed to, โShow, donโt tell.โ In other words, donโt simply write, โIt was tragic to witness,โ but put the reader there, physically, using as many senses as possible, to SHOW them instead.
Indulge Me
Au cลur de Rouen, sur la place pavรฉe, une jeune femme se tenait attachรฉe au bรปcher, les flammes lui lรฉchaient les pieds. Les murmures de la foule se sont transformรฉs en un silence assourdissant alors que le feu crรฉpitait, peignant lโair dโune odeur de bois brรปlรฉ et de chair humaine. Le ciel sโassombrit, comme sโil pleurait lโinjustice qui se dรฉroulait devant lui. Les yeux de la jeune femme brillaient de peur, mais sa dรฉtermination brillait ร travers les larmes qui coulaient sur son visage.
Le bourreau se tenait prรชt, un sourire tordu sur le visage, levant haut le flambeau. Les gens du peuple haletaient, certains se dรฉtournant, incapables de supporter ce spectacle. Et puis, les flammes lโont engloutie, un cri perรงant dรฉchirant la place. Le son rรฉsonnait sur les bรขtiments en pierre et se rรฉpercutait dans le cลur des spectateurs.
ร travers le chaos, une voix solitaire sโรฉleva au-dessus des cris, un cri de dรฉfi. โPas plus!โ Cโรฉtait lโun des roturiers, la voix tremblante dโรฉmotion. โCโest fini maintenant !โ Ses paroles ont dรฉclenchรฉ une flamme de rรฉbellion dans la foule, un รฉlan de dรฉtermination se propageant comme une traรฎnรฉe de poudre.
Les cieux pleuraient, les anges tรฉmoignaient de la cruautรฉ de lโhomme. Mais ร ce moment-lร , alors que les cris de la jeune femme se fondaient dans un silence obsรฉdant, une nouvelle rรฉsolution est nรฉe. La bataille contre lโinjustice ne faisait que commencer.
โ JJ
(It felt apropos to translate to French.)
Yes, Iโm done. Shaddup.
The Decemberists have made a triumphant return with their new singles. I wait with bated breath for the album. For now, dive into the details of their other latest release and upcoming North American tour below.
Pop Goes 1825
The Decemberistsโ other appetizer, โBurial Ground,โ is a conscious blend of jangly guitars, swelling horns, and infectious melodies. Lead singer Colin Meloyโs clever lyrics, accompanied by James Mercer of The Shins on backing vocals, create a pop gem that is sure to captivate audiences.
According to Meloy, the song is a tribute to spending time in graveyards, with the melody coming to him in a dream. This dream-inspired track stands out as a testament to the bandโs songwriting prowess and ability to craft catchy tunes. But again, do not be fooled. They remain The Decemberists.
Upcoming Tour Dates
The Decemberists will embark on an extensive North American tour, spanning both spring and summer legs. From Kingston, NY to Troutdale, OR, fans across the country can catch the band live at various iconic venues.
Spring Leg
- April 30: Kingston, NY โ Ulster Performing Arts Center
- May 3: Brooklyn, NY โ Brooklyn Paramount Theatre
- May 24: Nashville, TN โ Ryman Auditorium
Summer Leg
- July 12: Bend, OR โ Hayden Homes Amphitheater
- August 3: Troutdale, OR โ McMenamins Edgefield
Links
Explore more:
@thedecemberists @dullandwitlessboy @jennycd @criticalfunk @natemusic @musicofeyelids @petrahaden @noraoconnorkean @hoganhere @ezraholbrook @theshins
P.S. Can we open for you guys someday? For free? Weโll roadie.
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