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The Decemberists — Summersong
Album: The Crane Wife
Avg rating:
6.7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1273









Released: 2006
Length: 3:22
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Ramblin', where to begin?
I taste the summer on your peppery skin
Been saved, the warmer the waves
I felt us slip into a watery grave, oh oh
Ah-ha-oh
La-di-da-da-da
Ah-ha-ha-oh-oh

My girl, linen and curls
Lips parting like a flag will unfurl
She's grand, the bend of her hand
Digging deep into the sweep of the sand, oh oh
Ah-ha-oh
La-di-da-da-da
Ah-ha-ha-oh-oh

And summer arrives (ba-ba ba ba)
With a length of lights (ba-ba ba ba)
And summer blows away
And quietly gets swallowed by a wave
It gets swallowed by a wave

Waylay 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, oh oh
Ah-ha-oh
La-di-da-da-da
Ah-ha-ha-oh-oh

My girl, linen and curls
Lips parting like a flag will unfurl
She's grand, the bend of her hand
Digging deep into the sweep of the sand, oh oh
Ah-ha-oh
La-di-da-da-da
Ah-ha-ha-oh-oh

And summer arrives (ba-ba ba ba)
With a length of lights (ba-ba ba ba)
And summer blows away
And quietly gets swallowed by a wave
It gets swallowed by a wave
It gets swallowed by a wave
It gets swallowed by a wave
Comments (183)add comment
volnomad wrote:
Yes, this is a concept album and needs to be heard in its entirety before passing judgment. 
 

I know this is an old comment, but I agree. I bought this CD when it came out and listened to it repeatedly. I recently revisited it, and appreciate it again as a full-album experience.
sucko-barfo
 volnomad wrote:
Yes, this is a concept album and needs to be heard in its entirety before passing judgment. 

 
I understand your point and it is a valid one, but if one does not like this song, subjecting one's self to another fifty or sixty minutes of this ponderous warbling may not change many opinions.   I do like some of their tunes, even ones from this album, but this one doesn't do it for me.  The judgments posted in this thread are based upon this song.
For me, his voice is on the same plane as Thom Yorke, what's his name from Arcade Fire, and that dude-ess guy from Silversun Pickups. That is, it invokes the ol' PSD.  
Lenin in curls?
Yes, this is a concept album and needs to be heard in its entirety before passing judgment. 
first I psd, then dodge back to rate this group as crap
You know, I think I just don't like music with la-de-da lyrics. It's like nothing better came to mind...... La-de-da-de-da. C'mon, grow some hair.
Bland Band.  I don't need to hear from the Decemberists this often.  PSD
This thread is dis heavy particularly in relation to the ratings.  Let's have a little balance.  I really like it but that's not to say I can't hear good reasons for a version with a kind of jazz blues feel and a more upbeat tempo.
 ERERER wrote:
So tired of this.
  same. actually, i'm just tired of them in general. i know many who love this outfit, but they do nothing for me. instant PSD button.


This was my earworm while whale watching in Hawaii in February.
This makes the earlier song seem better, we're all listening together, so it makes it especially weird.
Snore. I like some Decemberists' songs, but this one is just damn boring.
 sirdroseph wrote:

You do realize that they already do, all of their albums, every freekin day!!!!{#Stop}
 
Exaggerate much?
Ew....and I'm not talking sheep
 ERERER wrote:
So tired of this.
 
Me too...   This songs does nothing for me..

So tired of this.
 jchrise wrote:
Tsk tsk...yet ANOTHER whiny-voiced Decemerist pretentious ScotishIrishEnglish folksy whaling-ish drunken pub-ish singalong diddy-doo. C'mon dudes, quit acting like the English group you aint'... you're from Portland for Pete's sake.

Now, if only the Decemberists could "quietly get swallowed by a wave".

 

Have you ever seen Portlandia? Hilarious show and explains a lot.{#Lol}

Very enjoyable as usual for The Decemberists. 


Tsk tsk...yet ANOTHER whiny-voiced Decemerist pretentious ScotishIrishEnglish folksy whaling-ish drunken pub-ish singalong diddy-doo. C'mon dudes, quit acting like the English group you aint'... you're from Portland for Pete's sake.

Now, if only the Decemberists could "quietly get swallowed by a wave".

Sure like this better than that "King Is Dead" stuff
Thank you for playing something other than King is Dead, they have an amazing amount of great music.
way  good  !
 Stranglersfan wrote:
One of my favorites right now. Colin's creative writing, rivals some of the greatest of songwriters. I wish you could play this album in its entirety.
 
You do realize that they already do, all of their albums, every freekin day!!!!{#Stop}
 jchrise wrote:
This group really really gets on my nerves. Something about a Portland based group trying to sound overly Irish...and Colin Meloy's voice is grating. Might not mind the songs once in a while, but they've become an RP staple I'm afraid.
 

If by staple, you mean every 10th song is a Decemberists song, then yes, they are a staple! And like a staple to the forehead their songs grate!{#Frustrated}
 Stranglersfan wrote:
One of my favorites right now. Colin's creative writing, rivals some of the greatest of songwriters. I wish you could play this album in its entirety.
 
It is an album that is best listened to start to finish I think.

Fake accents are terrible.
i'm there @ Beacon in less than 2 weeks!
One of my favorites right now. Colin's creative writing, rivals some of the greatest of songwriters. I wish you could play this album in its entirety.
 jchrise wrote:
This group really really gets on my nerves. Something about a Portland based group trying to sound overly Irish...and Colin Meloy's voice is grating. Might not mind the songs once in a while, but they've become an RP staple I'm afraid.
 

Yep — D's are a tad twee, in my opinion.
This group really really gets on my nerves. Something about a Portland based group trying to sound overly Irish...and Colin Meloy's voice is grating. Might not mind the songs once in a while, but they've become an RP staple I'm afraid.
 Marley wrote:
One of my favorite Decemberists songs ever. Can never get tired of this one. {#Yes}
 

Me too
 DaveInVA wrote:
Way better than Radiohead anyways :)
 

Peaches and oranges to me, and frankly I love them both (RH more, though).

Roy.
Vignale Gamine
Autobianchi A112
Way better than Radiohead anyways :)
I never really like the Decemberists that much and this song bolsters that opinion for me.{#Lol}
 kaybee wrote:
I guess I just have a thing for English sounding tenors singing introspective lyrics.
  Must be contagious ... I've got it too!!  {#Yes}
One of my favorite Decemberists songs ever. Can never get tired of this one. {#Yes}
 teliko wrote:
One of my favorite bands, though this certainly isn't their best song.
 
And, yet, you gave it an eight? I like them, too, but I gave this a 6 on my new scale based on how often I want to hear songs like the one I'm rating.

One of my favorite bands, though this certainly isn't their best song.
 sirrus wrote:
Colin Meloy's (singer) response to the "accent" thang, in an interview:


"Bob Pollard defends his quasi-British inflection by saying that was how he learned to sing, by mimicking his Beatles and Kinks records. I agree, but I would take it a bit further. Whereas country music is an intrinsically American tradition, I feel that pop music as we know it is a British one. So just as there are certain melodies and chord progressions that help define country music as country music and pop music as pop music, so are there vocal inflections that aid in that definition. The Stones, Elvis Costello, and the Pogues are a just a few artists who have adapted their vocal inflection to add dimension to their music in relation to the style in which they were playing. It's all about creating a character. I honestly don't do it intentionally-I feel like it's the songs that demand a stylized delivery."


 

thanks for the post.  I never understood what this accent discussion was all about, I didn't notice it I guess. 
Colin Meloy's (singer) response to the "accent" thang, in an interview:


"Bob Pollard defends his quasi-British inflection by saying that was how he learned to sing, by mimicking his Beatles and Kinks records. I agree, but I would take it a bit further. Whereas country music is an intrinsically American tradition, I feel that pop music as we know it is a British one. So just as there are certain melodies and chord progressions that help define country music as country music and pop music as pop music, so are there vocal inflections that aid in that definition. The Stones, Elvis Costello, and the Pogues are a just a few artists who have adapted their vocal inflection to add dimension to their music in relation to the style in which they were playing. It's all about creating a character. I honestly don't do it intentionally-I feel like it's the songs that demand a stylized delivery."


I guess I just have a thing for English sounding tenors singing introspective lyrics.
 sarahbean26 wrote:
What the hell is up with this guys accent?? He is from Montana!!!! Not f**king England!!!
 

hmmm  he could be singing in Farsi with a Portuguese accent but so what  let'em sing !

go tell  the brits to stop singing with an "american"  accent  hahaha

seems silly to worry about
 islander wrote:
 Tomorrow will be January, does that mean that we have 11 months of rest from this?
 

NO such luck i'm afraid   {#Headache}

6 -> 3

Doesn't survive being overplayed


 Tomorrow will be January, does that mean that we have 11 months of rest from this?
I like the song, but the album art kinda creeps me out.
 Ahnyer_Keester wrote:
Not great to begin with and I'm getting tired of hearing it.
 
What he said....

Something about this song gets me every time....like it.
Never get tired of this song. I love this album too, and it doesn't scare me like their one before.
 sarahbean26 wrote:
What the hell is up with this guys accent?? He is from Montana!!!! Not f**king England!!!
 

 cvandoren wrote:
...Pardon me for eliminating the icons in my quote so we don't have to see those again.
 

 stewliscious wrote:
Ya gotta admit though... all of those smileys in a row puking is pretty good.
 

Like synchronized swimmers, I'm transfixed wondering how they do that.  Especially the way they match the rhythm of the song.  Oh, right.

Rating 8 - most excellent, la de da de da... 

Bulemics, repent ye.

they make justice to the name; or as an excellent singer it can make an excellent band   -   7 / 8.



Hmm...this song - and this band - have definitely grown on me.

Sounds to me like Al Stewart has been
moonlighting giving vocal lessons.




{#Hearteyes}
Not great to begin with and I'm getting tired of hearing it.
Sucks.
Do not dig this song at all.
Just love this song and album.
renegade_X wrote:
Sounds like someone needs a hug. BTW how do you all get those smileys? I have no opotions, so i have to copy and paste.



Click the {#Angel} button

Sounds like someone needs a hug. BTW how do you all get those smileys? I have no opotions, so i have to copy and paste.
Ya gotta admit though... all of those smileys in a row puking is pretty good. cvandoren wrote:
What the hell is your problem? Do you think the guy is singing the entire song with a fake accent? Probably not, so you are trashing the singer's natural singing voice. You freakin Moron. Make sure you put 20 icons in your post in case you didn't think we would get your point. I notice you have more songs rated 1 or 10 than all your ratings from 2-8 combined. So all songs are godlike or suck in your opinion. Grow up. I am so tired with everyone's over the top trashing songs, bands, etc. Pardon me for eliminating the icons in my quote so we don't have to see those again.
Nice song. This guys voice reminds me of someone in the 80s. Anyone know who?
Summer solstice in three days!
sarahbean26 wrote:
What the hell is up with this guys accent?? He is from Montana!!!! Not f**king England!!!
Making any headway against that bulimia problem?
Chi_Guy wrote:
Hey everybody, STOP with the accent thing...everybody(almost) affects SOME sort of accent when singing. Hip-Hop. Country, reggae, all have peculiar(meaning particular) accents accociated with their genre. From Nashville to Kingston to NY,NY...That's music folks!
True enough, but his is soooooooo f*#king annoying!
' .. It's the Ye-ear of the CAAAAAAATTTTTTT'
Hey everybody, STOP with the accent thing...everybody(almost) affects SOME sort of accent when singing. Hip-Hop. Country, reggae, all have peculiar(meaning particular) accents accociated with their genre. From Nashville to Kingston to NY,NY...That's music folks!
Tossed off by big Veranda eh....sounds fun!
I like this band. I sort of thought he was singing: "My girl, all Lennon in curls Lips parting like a flag along on fur Cheese grand, the bend of her hand Digging deep into the sweep of the sand Inside her arrives with a lengthful eye Inside her blows away and quietly gets swallowed by a whale"
Deadwing wrote:
Just bought this CD recently and it's just great! Some of you guys need to just lighten up
This is a great CD, I was blown away by it. There's Tull, Traffic, U2, all kinds of great influences in one long original series of songs about war, classism, the power of money, tragedy, and iconic imagery woven in with incredible diverse and delicious music. A great newer band that's really taken their work up to a very high level from where they were before.
sarahbean26 wrote:
What the hell is up with this guys accent?? He is from Montana!!!! Not f**king England!!!
What the hell is your problem? Do you think the guy is singing the entire song with a fake accent? Probably not, so you are trashing the singer's natural singing voice. You freakin Moron. Make sure you put 20 icons in your post in case you didn't think we would get your point. I notice you have more songs rated 1 or 10 than all your ratings from 2-8 combined. So all songs are godlike or suck in your opinion. Grow up. I am so tired with everyone's over the top trashing songs, bands, etc. Pardon me for eliminating the icons in my quote so we don't have to see those again.
sarahbean26 wrote:
What the hell is up with this guys accent?? He is from Montana!!!! Not f**king England!!!
so what the F*&^ do you care. apparently all you can type is puke
AlienRelic wrote:
The singer's voice was affected when he was tossed off of some vast veranda.
That comment is a very witty take on the vocabulary in their songs. So much wittier than stupid barf icons used over and over ...
I thought it was pretty good. Not my favorite, but not bad.
What the hell is up with this guys accent?? He is from Montana!!!! Not f**king England!!!
I really like this song but every time I listen to this album I pass out from the fumes of toxic preciousness.
gravity_defiant wrote:
But WHAT is with the British accent? You're from Oregon!
actually, colin is from helena, MT...
I think that's actually a Scots accent. Al Stewart was born in Glasgow.
Well, I guess I like the intrumentles for their outdoorsman sound but I must agree, it is a little dull, and yes, the British voice is used for nothing.
the cover art is kinda freaky
Dullsville
AlienRelic wrote:
The singer's voice was affected when he was tossed off of some vast veranda.
gravity_defiant wrote:
Eh. I hate this song less than I hate everything else I've heard from the Decemberists. But WHAT is with the British accent? You're from Oregon!
British? He has a distinctive voice, but I just don't associate it at all with British.
gravity_defiant wrote:
Eh. I hate this song less than I hate everything else I've heard from the Decemberists. But WHAT is with the British accent? You're from Oregon!
The singer's voice was affected when he was tossed off of some vast veranda.
gatsby169 wrote:
Fabulous album, but I wouldn't put this song as my favorite.
Although I really like it...
Just bought this CD recently and it's just great! Some of you guys need to just lighten up
hippiechick wrote:
i really love this song, especially the la-dee -dah-dee dahs!
me too!! :)
i really love this song, especially the la-dee -dah-dee dahs!
Pazzat wrote: One of the things I love about The Decemberists is their use of words you rarely come across in pop songs. My current faves from the songs I've heard are 'dirigible', 'ne'erdowell', 'errant', 'verandah' (rhymed with Miranda, of course!), 'roustabout', 'cinammon' (OK, REM and Neil Young have used that one, but not rhymed it with 'aluminium'), 'bile' and 'pachyderm'. I laugh out loud at their audacity and irony while still loving the songs. What about "arabesques"?
Gentlemen, unfurl your fraggles.
Lovely. Thanks RP - my hard disk of music is getting pretty damn full thanks to you.
Fabulous album, but I wouldn\'t put this song as my favorite.
9 10
Teko wrote:
The last word I can imagine anyone using when describing The Decemberists is "clichéd", unless they're in some bizarro part of the country where all the top-40 pop is tales of shipwrecks and pirates sung lustily to accordions.
Yeh.
chintu wrote:
I like it more
pannaramma wrote:
I like it less each time I hear it. Especially the la-di-dah part
Eh. I hate this song less than I hate everything else I've heard from the Decemberists. But WHAT is with the British accent? You're from Oregon!
I like this a lot, but it's currently in too heavy of a rotation, which will spoil its appeal.
Lyrically, I like their intelligence and wit. Musically, they grate on my nerves. Not sure exactly how to say it - to me, the music is too sing-songey, too repetitive, sort of uninspiring. Still, I can't quite give up on them yet because of those wonderful lyrics...
I've read that they've been dubbed with a "prog rock" tag which befuddles me. I find them slightly annoying.....
I know they are the darlings of the avant-pop and NPR and all that but, for some reason, they just leave me cold. They're very talented to be sure and are quite good at story telling. I'll give them that. I just can't get behind them for the same intangible reasons I can't get behind so many bands that all instincts tell me I should like. I wish them much success, but sorry guys, they aren't going into my stack of cd's anytime soon.
Pazzat wrote:
One of the things I love about The Decemberists is their use of words you rarely come across in pop songs. My current faves from the songs I've heard are 'dirigible', 'ne'erdowell', 'errant', 'verandah' (rhymed with Miranda, of course!), 'roustabout', 'cinammon' (OK, REM and Neil Young have used that one, but not rhymed it with 'aluminium'), 'bile' and 'pachyderm'. I laugh out loud at their audacity and irony while still loving the songs.
We are on the same wavelength, my friend.
you see pop music can still be original and intelligent. this improves with each revisit.
pattiecovert wrote:
Haha, i thought it was "my girl, Lenin in pearls"
I was thinking Lenin in curls.... Better than a "vast veranda", I guess.
ktnsb wrote:
I'll be waiting for them to combine their creative lyrics with something other than whatever the musical comfort food du jour is, and to sing like they mean it.
It's odd you'd mention that, because I think the reason a lot of people dig hearing the Decemberists is how different they sound from everything else on the radio. True, "Summersong" is very pop, but I think about the fan-favorite songs -- "The Tain", "The Island", "The Mariner's Revenge Song", "16 Military Wives", "Infanta" -- and hear rich storytelling using a combination of sea chanties and prog, and that's as unique as anything I've heard in the last ten years. The last word I can imagine anyone using when describing The Decemberists is "clichéd", unless they're in some bizarro part of the country where all the top-40 pop is tales of shipwrecks and pirates sung lustily to accordions.
Definitely my least favorite tune off of an otherwise brilliant album. This tune's OK, but next to "Crane Wife 1 & 2" or "The Island", it's lite-rock.
pannaramma wrote:
I like it less each time I hear it. Especially the la-di-dah part
I've somehow managed to turn the La-dee-da part into a neutral experience. So I like this song.
pattiecovert wrote:
Haha, i thought it was "my girl, Lenin in pearls"
that is so funny. I love the image of Lenin in pearls.
I like it less each time I hear it. Especially the la-di-dah part
Haha, i thought it was "my girl, Lenin in pearls"
nigelr wrote:
Catchy little number, growing on me. Could be 8 before long.
Me too. It got me out from under my desk where I was curled up in fetal position during that last RHCP song.
Catchy little number, growing on me. Could be 8 before long. Been there, done that. Next would be 9.... More hooks than my fishing box, nice!
ktnsb wrote:
I love how music affects us all so differently. Where you hear passion and imagination, I hear rote recitations and capitulation to commercially acceptable forms. They are talented for sure. I suspect we place importance on different aspects of the music we love. For whatever reasons (all boring, no doubt) I generally tend to focus more on the musical forms rather than the lyrical ones. I also have a tendency to recoil from music that is widely acclaimed. That is irrational, but there it is, one of my filters. Here's to the Decemberists! I'm glad you enjoy them, and the conversation.
Infanta Coronets Parapet Palanquin ..and so man more.
Porgie_Tirebiter wrote:
If I were Tom, I'd sue the ba$tards! Deedily-da, deedily-da, deedily-doooo... I think I'm about to have a Breakdown, because I can't remember the name of that tune!
It's Good to be King?
sukilau wrote:
oddly reminds me of a Tom Petty tune..
If I were Tom, I'd sue the ba$tards! Deedily-da, deedily-da, deedily-doooo... I think I'm about to have a Breakdown, because I can't remember the name of that tune!
Blow your nose already, whine, whine.
this reminds me of Aladdin. Prince Ali-Alia Bobwa.