Decibully is a Milwaukee-based folk rock band formed in 2001 by William J. … Read Full Bio ↴Decibully is a Milwaukee-based folk rock band formed in 2001 by William J. Seidel (vocals, guitar, percussion, Rhodes), guitarist W. Kenneth Siebert and keyboardist Nick Westfahl, the group soon added Ryan Weber (lap steel, synths, guitar, percussion), bassist Justin Klug, and drummer Jason Gnewikow to further round out their sound. Decibully spent the rest of 2001-02 practicing when time could be found, touring and self-releasing their debut album You Might Be A Winner, You May Be A Loser, But You'll Always Be A Gambler.

When Gnewikow moved to New York, he was replaced on drums by Aaron Vold. At the same time, banjo player Eric Holliday joined the band. Following a successful January 2003 tour, Decibully returned to the studio to begin working on their second full-length, the tentatively-titled When We Learned How To Dance. In late May 2003 Westfahl was replaced by Nicholas Sanborn on keyboards and the band began looking for a label.

Prior to Decibully, Seidel and Weber were founding members of Camden. In 1999, Camden recorded demos with Chris Rosenau, guitarist for Pele and Collections of Colonies of Bees. Based on their prior relationship and having seen Decibully live numerous times, Rosenau contacted Polyvinyl Records via a two o'clock in the morning phone message lauding the band. A few days later, an unmastered, incomplete version of the album arrived by mail. Band and label began talking and, following a return to the studio, the album was released as City of Festivals on October 14, 2003 followed by a self-booked national tour and an appearance at Polyvinyl's 2003 CMJ Showcase. With nearly a hundred shows played in support of City of Festivals, Decibully again returned to the studio to begin recording their follow-up album to the Polyvinyl debut.

All members are multi-instrumentalists, and it shows in the variety of sounds they use in their albums. They are most well known for their albums City of Festivals and Sing Out, America!, released in 2003 and 2005, respectively. Also, they have a reputation for their cohesive and strong live performances.

Uncle Sam
Decibully Lyrics

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All through uncle Sam's yard they grew thick
And then they grew arms
The stock piles
The kitchen tiles that we swept
Where we spent our lives
Down to the dime
To the last of our minds
We put down everything

The lake drew blood
Pools where we swam
And caught summer colds
The floods came
We gave in to the threat
When we placed our bets
Down to the dime
To the last of our minds
We put down everything
The world grew on the shrunken tools
That we built but we couldn't fix
The stock crash
Or the kitchen trash that we ate
The spice of our lives
Down to the dime
To the last of our minds
We put down everything
That wasn't damaged by smoke
Everyone listened
Whenever we spoke

Now everything is
How everyone thought that it could be

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Decibully's song "Uncle Sam's Yard" paints a vivid picture of the repercussions of industrialization and capitalism. The first stanza talks about how "they" grew thick and then they grew arms all through Uncle Sam's yard. This is a reference to the industrialization of America and how it began to spread and take on a life of its own. The stockpiles and kitchen tiles represent the abundance of material goods that America was producing, but also the menial labor that the working class had to endure to produce them. The second stanza talks about how the people spent their lives down to the dime, meaning that they gave everything they had to support the industrialization revolution. The line "the lake drew blood" represents how the natural world was affected by human progress, and how the environment was negatively impacted by industrialization. The third stanza talks about how the world grew on the shrunken tools that the working class built but couldn't fix, speaking to the fact that America's capitalism was built on the backs of the working class, but they were never truly able to reap the benefits. The final stanza speaks to how everyone believed that this progress was the way it was supposed to be, and how the world is now exactly how everyone thought it could be.

Line by Line Meaning

All through uncle Sam's yard they grew thick
The plants grew abundantly throughout uncle Sam's land.

And then they grew arms
The plants became overgrown and unwieldy.

The stock piles
Goods were amassing in bulk.

The kitchen tiles that we swept
Everyday chores were being performed.

Where we spent our lives
People resided in this place for a significant portion of their lifetime.

Down to the dime
Every last detail was paid attention to.

To the last of our minds
People gave their full attention and effort.

We put down everything
People invested everything they had.

The lake drew blood
Bad things happened at the lake.

Pools where we swam
People used to swim in the pools.

And caught summer colds
People got sick during the summer months.